Jason Fraser to teach brave inner-city team the true meaning of basketball

Just when you thought the Jason Fraser saga couldn't get any stranger!

When we last heard about Fraser, he had broken his finger on a solo practice dunk and was flying home to America.

Before that, he was dominating the New Zealand basketball scene while playing for a parking garage branded with AOL-speak.

Well that's all in the past! Jason Fraser is now back in the United States, and will join one of the most prestigious basketball teams in the country.

Greg Cerillo, coach of Fraser's former New York Wizards team, explains:

The New York Wizards are pleased to announce that two of their former players have signed to play with the Harlem Globetrotters. Amityville and Villanova standout Jason Fraser will be appearing for the Globetrotters as Apollo Fraser at events throughout the country. [...] The loss of both these players is big to our club yet the pride we feel in their accomplishments and in what they are doing offsets any personal loss to our Team (sic).

Jason is even listed on the Harlem Globetrotter Web site under the frightening Hellenic moniker "Apollo Fraser." It's practically Facebook-official!

Yes, Apollo "Jason" Fraser, the former Villanova center who was once ranked #1 in the nation in high school, has joined the Harlem Globetrotters.

Fraser will wear the number-42 jersey in an apparent tribute to Frank Tchuisi.

At press time, it is unknown how the Globetrotters will incorporate Fraser's amazing ability to pump fake, travel, and commit a three-second violation all in the same possession into their crowd-pleasing repertoire.

One thing's for sure: the old water bucket-filled-with confetti gag is going to suffer if Fraser pump fakes three times before throwing it.

[The Harlem Globetrotters via VUhoops]

"Hoops Mania" tips off Friday

Villanova fans will celebrate the upcoming basketball season this Friday at "Hoops Mania," the annual pep rally on campus at the Pavilion.

The free event, which seems to start earlier in the day each year, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m, and fans should arrive early to ensure admission, which is on a first-come, first-served basis. Last year's Hoops Mania proved so popular that fans were refused admittance well before the scheduled start of festivities.

In addition to the "games," "prizes," and "surprises," promised by the promotional poster, this year's mania will feature the annual Blue vs. White intra-squad scrimmage. In previous years, this scrimmage was sometimes held the morning of the homecoming football game. Fans who didn't travel to Canada last month will get their first look at the much-hyped freshman players: Corey Fisher, All-American Corey Stokes, Malcolm Grant, and redshirts Antonio Pena and Andrew Ott will make their Pavilion debut in the fun-filled, alley-oop-heavy exhibition.

Hoops Mania has been held in roughly its current incarnation since the beginning of the Jay Wright era in the fall of 2001, when fans excitedly chanted "horror, horror" in an effort to woo the highly touted Amityville, N.Y. prospect Jason Fraser, who was rumored to be in attendance.

Last year's festivities included a surprise visit by rapper 50 Cent, who delighted the packed house with an impromptu performance.

Though the details of the night's "surprises" are as yet unknown, Hoops Mania usually includes at least one celebrity guest to complement the spectacle of Jay Wright's traditionally spectacular entrance with his team.

How Wright will "top" his previous entrances, which have included riding onto the court in a stretch Hummer limousine, is the subject of rampant speculation leading up to the event.

Fraser, injured again, flies home

Jason Fraser has suffered yet another season-ending injury, this time in New Zealand.

Fraser sustained a broken finger in his left hand in practice while attempting a "casual slam dunk," said John Davey, CEO of the Waikato (New Zealand) U-Park-It Pistons, Fraser's latest professional team.

The injury comes just as Fraser seemed to emerge with a great game last month.

Fraser flew back to the United States last night and is not expected to return to the U-Park-It squad this season.

According to the Stuff.co.nz report, Fraser, "who hails from New York and played his college basketball for renowned Villanova University in Pennsylvania, averaged just under nine rebounds a game, was inside the league's top 10 of field goal shooters and was scoring an average of 12 points per game."

Fraser plays perfect game for "U Park It Pistons"

Jason Fraser scored 32 points on a perfect 11-11 shooting performance to lead his team to victory this week in New Zealand's National Basketball League.

Fraser, the once highly-touted prospect at Villanova, played arguably his best game since his high school days to pace the "U Park It Waikato Pistons" in a 106-99 win over the much-feared TET Taranaki Mountain Airs -- on the road, no less.

Fraser also had 11 rebounds.

Fraser had arrived on Villanova's campus in 2002 along with future stars Randy Foye, Allan Ray, and Curtis Sumpter, and was expected to be the best player by far of that group. Unfortunately, a failure to develop in the college game and several knee injuries limited Fraser's effectiveness in four disappointing years on the Main Line.

Fraser now appears healthier, and is averaging 7.7 points and 7.8 rebounds for the year in the NBL, according to Basketball New Zealand.