Basketball stars share magic at charity event

By AJ Cadman

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

In every essence of the word, Sunday night’s “A
Midsummer Night’s Magic” basketball game was truly an
All-Star game.

In its return to UCLA, the 15th Annual Magic Johnson Charity
All-Star game attracted celebrities from actor Samuel L. Jackson of
the movie “Shaft” and Laurence Fishbourne of “The
Matrix,” to MTV VJ Bill Bellamy and Real World Hawaii cast
member Teck.

As an All-Star game, there was little defense but enough chances
to awe the crowd with an array of playground moves and dunks.

Led by former Laker great Magic Johnson, the Blue squad saw an
early cushion dissolve away at the end of the first half, but still
hung on for a 170-160 victory over the Red team.

“We appreciate the help of our corporate sponsors and the
people who came out tonight to help 37 kids receive the opportunity
to go to college,” Johnson said. “That’s what it
really is all about.”

With Magic patrolling the sidelines to ensure the event went off
without a hitch, he kept in mind the meaning behind the game.

The man who brought Showtime to Los Angeles pulled a few tricks
from up his sleeve, including a few no-look passes that many of the
NBA players on the floor seemed unable to handle.

But it was the Glove, Seattle point guard Gary Payton, who
performed his own magic with a clever wraparound dish to Johnson
that got the six-time NBA World Champion his first bucket just two
minutes into the contest.

With some of his former Bruin teammates ““ including Earl
Watson, Rico Hines and Billy Knight ““ watching, Baron Davis
got the loudest ovation for his return to Pauley Pavilion on the
Blue squad.

After a nifty through-the-legs pass to former Syracuse Orangemen
standout Jason Hart for a layup, the Santa Monica native and
Crossroads High legend dazzled the crowd with a coast-to-coast jam
off a pass to himself from the backboard in the second quarter.

He followed up with a breakaway windmill dunk 19 seconds into
the second half and a 180-degree double pump breakaway jam a minute
later.

Unlike this past year’s massacre of Maryland by the Bruins
in the NCAA Tournament, a former Terrapin stole the show in
Pauley.

Houston Rocket guard Steve Francis electrified the game with
numerous soaring jams and long-range perimeter shooting.

Scoring at will in a defense-absent contest, Doctor Francis
found time to even operate on some of the NBA’s newest
rookies, including a ballhandling exhibition for the nation’s
collegiate scoring champion Courtney Alexander, who set the record
when he played for Fresno State University.

Near the end of the game, Francis attempted to dribble the ball
off of Alexander, only to turn the ball over and ignite laughter
from both benches. Francis finished the evening with a game-high 42
points, while Alexander chipped in 26 points of his own for the Red
squad.

Johnson also invited fellow Michigan State alums Morris Peterson
and Mateen Cleaves to play.

Peterson attempted multiple high-flying antics while Cleaves
displayed the floor leadership that won the Spartans the national
title this past season.

But with all the stars that did come out, some people were left
scratching their heads over the NBA superstars who committed to
play and pulled out just before Sunday’s contest.

Notable players absent on the floor but tabbed to take part
included Philadelphia 76er guard Allen Iverson, scheduled to make a
rare West Coast appearance, and Orlando Magic forward Tracy
McGrady.

“I’d like to thank the NBA players who came out
tonight to support this,” Johnson said at halftime while
introducing the 37 scholarship winners selected by the Magic
Johnson Foundation for the Taylor Michaels scholarship.

“You already know I am mad at the ones who didn’t
show and told me they were coming,” Johnson said.

Regardless of the no-shows, Sunday night’s game gave an
opportunity to prospective college students, a gift from an
All-Star among all-stars.