Too nice for the court? McClurkin is breaking records with a smile as a Globetrotter

Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, Julian “Zeus” McClurkin didn’t realize the Harlem Globetrotters were a real team.

“I saw them on ‘Scooby Doo,’ but Batman was also on ‘Scooby Doo.’ I knew that’s not a real person, so I didn’t think it was a real team,” says McClurkin, on his way from Greensboro to Raleigh to promote the Globetrotters’ Carolina shows.

The team plays two games at UNCC’s Halton Arena Saturday.

McClurkin may not be a fictional superhero, but at 6 feet 8 inches tall, he comes close. His 16 slam dunks and most bounced three-pointers, both in a minute’s time, are two of nine Guinness World Records the team set in November. It boasts a total of 15.

Back in middle and high school, McClurkin wouldn’t have been nominated for most likely to break a basketball-related world record. In fact, until 11th grade, he didn’t make the team at all.

“Basketball was the only sport I wasn’t very good at, and I’m very stubborn,” says McClurkin, who followed his brother Robert – nine years his elder – into the sport.

“He was one of the better basketball players in Columbus. He would take me all around with him,” he recalls. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t good enough to be on the court. I was on sidelines doing tricks and spinning the ball.”

The sidelines apparently served him well. He tells kids that his career is proof that you don’t have to change who you are to “make it.”

“All those naysayers and coaches that cut me and all the teammates who told me I was too soft and too nice to play basketball (were wrong),” he adds.

McClurkin played college basketball at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, did a stint in Paraguay, got a master’s degree in marketing from Franklin University (in Columbus), and eventually landed on the Washington Generals – the team famous for losing to the Globetrotters.

He showed off his skills until the home team recognized his pizzazz on the court.

“I guess they got tired of me dunking on them,” he says with a laugh.

The team was the perfect fit for a showman who is always smiling, proving he doesn’t need the killer instinct his teammates and coaches preached about.

“I’m a minister at my church. I’m a people person. If I foul you, I apologize for it,” he says. “My coaches hated that about me.”

As for the brother that motivated him to keep playing? He’s finance director at a large car dealership in Columbus.

“He won’t play me one-on-one anymore,” McClurkin says. “I still can’t beat him. He won’t give me the chance.”

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Too nice for the court? McClurkin is breaking records with a smile as a Globetrotter."