Tournament basketball is entertaining because of the competition and the stakes. The best high school squads in the region were on the court for the last week at Norfolk Scope.

As the college season moves to March Madness, win-or-go-home, closely followed by bracket pools, is the main difference in Notre Dame vs. Old Dominion on Nov. 24 compared to the same two opponents on Mar. 24.

Judging by their record, of 23,000+ wins and 345 losses (so somewhere around 276-4 each year) during the past 85 years, when the Harlem Globetrotters play games at Norfolk’s Ted Constant Convocation Center Friday evening and Sunday afternoon, competition won’t be the most apt description.

That said, one of my first basketball or sporting memories is of the Harlem Globetrotters, sometime in the mid-80s at Indiana State University’s Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind.

I don’t specifically remember a 60-foot hook shot. I do remember water balloons. But that I remember anything at all from age three or four says a lot about the impression a Globetrotters game leaves, which goes double, triple or more for young kids.

There’s a lot more to take from the Globetrotters in fun, humor and memories than any single “real” basketball game.

A youngster has no need to care about the difference in the Washington Generals, Washington Huskies and Washington Wizards and might well never care enough about basketball to ever see the Huskies or Wizards. Plus, give the Globetrotters some credit for their recent wins, because the Generals could take the Wizards.

Almost as good a reason to go over to one of the two Norfolk games is the Harlem Globetrotters’ history of charity work.

On Wednesday morning, “Big Easy” Lofton of the Globetrotters is visiting kids at The Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk.

Donating money to charities is worthy of notice and applause. It’s even rarer and takes more energy and commitment to donate your time and yourself. The Harlem Globetrotters do that, most especially for kids, in every arena they visit.

Beating the Generals/Wizards 170-75 is funny. Dousing an unsuspecting kid or ref with water balloons, or whatever gags the Globetrotters now do 25 years later, is funnier. Making a personal impression with children is the biggest reason the Globetrotters still draw crowds in every city they play in.