Harlem Globetrotter Handles Franklin is Living The Dream

The original Harlem Globetrotters will be dribbling their way into the Four States Entertainment Center on Tuesday, January 27. This Thursday afternoon during my show I will have the honor to talk with Globetrotters player Handles Franklin.This is the 8th season that Handles Franklin has been with the team he's always wanted to play with since being a kid. Handles is a 6-1 Guard from Harrisburg, Penn., who played college ball for Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania 1997.

At Lock Haven, Handles finished second on the school's all-time assist list and fifth on the all-time steals list. He finished in the top 10 in the nation in assists and steals twice in his college career.

You may have seen Handles in numerous TV commercials from 2000-2004, freestyling with other basketball stars like Paul Pierce and Vince Carter. It was the talent he displayed in those commercials that got him the attention of the HG organization. Some of Handles wizardry was seen at the All-Star Celebrity game on ESPN during NBA All-Star Weekend. And Handles says his most famous moment is being able to play basketball with President Obama while entertaining kids at the White House Easter Egg Roll.

Handles recalls having great positive role models growing up, which includes his father a police officer, and his mother who worked at a hospital. He credits his high school coach, Bill Gaffey, for setting him on the right path and for instilling in him that education is very important.

While wearing the red, white and blue patriotic uniform of the Harlem Globetrotters, Handles remembers walking through an airport in Australia when a little girl approached him to ask "Are you Superman?" Handles says he's no Superman because he has a fear of "little crawling creatures." He even says he remembers an incident in Guam in which he was in the locker room and a gecko lizard sent him running out of the room.

Handles is a member of the class of 2002 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and wears number 14 on the court.

If you want to win courtside seat tickets to the basketball game, you had better hurry. Just upload a 30-second video to YouTube showing off your basketball skills and then send us the link for judging. The winner will also receive HG merchandise. Total package is worth more than $300. The last day to enter is noon tomorrow (Wednesday) and the winner will be very soon!