University of Massachusets Athletics
Rhymer Earns Globetrotter Roster Spot
October 16, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 16, 2002
AMHERST, Mass. -- The Harlem Globetrotters broke their 14-day training camp in Prescott, Ariz., with former Minuteman standout Kitwana Rhymer as one of the team's 30 players selected to wear the fabled red-white-and-blue uniforms of the Hall of Fame team.
"With the Globetrotters induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame last month, the players came into camp knowing they have to be top notch and we believe this year's squad is truly worthy of our prestigious status among the best basketball teams ever," said owner and chairman Mannie Johnson.
Rhymer, the 2001 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, led the Minutemen in field goal percentage (.533) and blocked shots (47) as a senior last year, while ranking fourth on the squad in scoring (8.9 ppg) and minutes played (714). He finished his career ranked fifth on both the school's all-time field goal percentage (.525) and blocked shots (184) lists, and was ninth in games played (121).
A native of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, is a former member of that country's national team. He was a standout at St. Raymond's (N.Y.) High School, and helped the team to the 1995 New York City championship team.
The Globetrotters will begin their 2002-03 European Tour Oct. 18, and the 2002 Fall College Tour will begin Nov. 5 with a game at Purdue, the first of nine competitive match-ups against some of the nation's top collegiate programs, including 2002 NCAA champion Maryland, St. John's, Connecticut, Mississippi State and Ohio State.
The 2002-03 North American Tour, sponsored by Burger King, gets underway in late December. During the three-month tour, the Globetrotters will visit more than 200 cities in the U.S. and Canada through early April.