Harlem Wizards Entertain for a Worthy Cause

The final score never matters in games like these.

While the Harlem Wizards won convincingly over the South Hills Dream Makers at  on Tuesday night, the evening's true winner was the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Pennsylvania and Southern West Virginia, which received all of the proceeds from a nearly packed house at Baldwin High's varsity gymnasium paying anywhere from $8 to $12 per ticket.

The Wizards vs. Dream Makers basketball event was the brainchild of a group of fourth-grade girls from the Baldwin-Whitehall area, and their parents, who formed the Dream Makers team for the sole purpose of sponsoring a one-day fundraising event for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

The Wizards are a touring professional entertainment basketball team made up of former collegiate and professional players often compared to the Harlem Globetrotters, and the Dream Makers, well ... aren't.

Instead, the Dream Makers were made up of simply a group of notable South Hills residents, including quite a few from Baldwin-Whitehall, such as 's Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Randal A. Lutz, Baldwin High's 2010-11 female athlete of the year and this writer—Baldwin-Whitehall Patch Editor .

, who grew up in and attended schools in Whitehall until 10th grade, also played for the Dream Makers, as did B-W School Board member Martin Michael Schmotzer.

Gibson is a goalkeeper for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program and a recent gold-medal winner at the world under-18 championships. He is considered by NHL Central Scouting to be the highest-ranking North American goalkeeper for the upcoming 2011 NHL Draft.

Gibson said that a neighbor of his was helping to run the Wizards-Dream Makers game, and since he was back in Whitehall preparing for the NHL combine, he decided that he would play in the game to help a worthy cause.

"She (neighbor Kellie Barker) asked me to come here and help everything out," Gibson said. "I can't turn it down. It's a no-brainer."

Gibson acknowledged that he'd be taking it easy during the basketball game so as to avoid injury before the NHL Draft.

One lucky fan on Tuesday won a goalie stick autographed by Gibson as part of a raffle contest.

Another athlete watching her step that night (but still managing to lead the Dream Makers in points, unofficially) was Nurkic, who has accepted a scholarship to play basketball at Duquesne University, starting this fall.

"Dr. Lutz asked me if I wanted to play," said Nurkic, a 2010-11 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous Five selection. "It's a good cause, and I like basketball. And I thought it would be neat playing."

One Dream Maker definitely not taking it easy was Schmotzer, who was all over the court (and, at one time, sprawled out in the front row).

Schmotzer scored the game's first two points and added a nice running hook shot for two more in the fourth quarter.

The longtime school board member seemed to enjoy not only the game but also helping the Make-A-Wish foundation.

Schmotzer said that his job on Tuesday was "to pass the ball and score as many points as possible" but added shortly after, "I'm a very charitable-minded person."

This writer couldn't match Schomtzer's output. He shook off a "Mr. Clean" comment from the game announcer to score just two points.

(View the large photo gallery toward the top of this page to enjoy part of the experience.)