Corey “Thunder” Law: HPU’s Globetrotter
By Joseph Wetzler //
Corey Law always knew he wanted to play professional basketball. What he didn’t know was that it would be for the Harlem Globetrotters. Law never stops perfecting his craft. About 20 minutes before his interview with High Point University, Law was out on the Slane basketball courts spinning the famous multi-colored Globetrotters ball around his neck, waist and shoulders. He then took an underhand, half court shot…and made it.
Former classmates and friends from his time at HPU greeted Law. He laughed and talked about how much fun he was having and some of the experiences he has gone through since joining the Globetrotters.
His performance at the College Slam Dunk Contest in 2013 started all of this. The day after Law graduated, he received an email from a recruiter telling him that he had been drafted by the Globetrotters. Law thought this was a prank and didn’t believe the email.
“I was like, wait, the Globetrotters don’t even have a draft. Then I got online and I’m like, they do have a draft!” said Law.
He received a phone call shortly after, and he couldn’t believe it. Law jumped at the opportunity and has now been a part of the world-renowned basketball team for almost four months. In that time, Law has played about 130 games. In the next month, he will play about 40 more.
During one of his early practices, after a series of “thunderous” dunks impressed some of the players, the team began calling him Corey “Thunder” Law.
On Guinness World Records day 2013, Law broke the world record for longest basketball shot at the U.S Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ, when he nailed a shot from 109 feet, 9 inches. The regulation length for an NBA court is 94 feet. Law was almost 16 feet past the baseline when he threw the ball like a football into the hoop.
The toughest part of being a Globetrotter, for Law, is the traveling. He goes from city to city, country to country, each and every night. He has been in eight different countries and over 30 states in his short time with the team. Law says that it wears on him, but seeing the smiles on people’s faces and hearing kids chant his name makes him forget how tired he is.
Visiting the kids not fortunate enough to make it games is one of Law’s favorite parts of being a Globetrotter. He enjoys putting smiles on the faces of kids around the world, and his face lit up as he told a story about visiting a hospital in Los Angeles.
“We visited a children’s hospital in Los Angeles and the doctor said this kid hadn’t smiled in two weeks,” says Law. “When I walked in the door, he had the biggest smile on his face.”
He tells another story about how he surprised a young boy, George, who has been battling cancer in Houston, Texas. Law first took a video of George’s classmates in his school. His mom then showed George the video, and while his face was glued to the iPad, Law was standing right behind it. George shouted that Corey “Thunder” Law was in his living room with the biggest smile on his face.
Those are the kinds of things that keep Law going each and everyday. He is the type of person that can put a smile on anyone’s face no matter the situation. He has embraced the opportunity to both play the sport that he loves and put smiles on people’s faces. He calls it the best job in the world.
For Corey “Thunder” Law, his personality and ability to make people smile makes him the perfect Globetrotter – one that HPU is proud to call their own.