Sitting down with two world-famous basketball players, we are talking about something round, with layers of fibres and a leathery surface.
And no, not the bouncy thing that gets twirled, lobbed and dunked in fantastical ways with every game from the Harlem Globetrotters.
Instead, we are talking about haggis.
While Julian McClurkin is known as ‘Zeus’ throughout his impressive 14 years with the Harlem Globetrotters, his teammates have given him another nickname.
The Globetrotter said: “I always like trying new food.
“So my teammates call me the foodtrotter because I will try something different in very single city we go to.”
Why Zeus and Hops will not be trying haggis
In 2017, Zeus was one of the players who played at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre where his teammate scored a 131ft trick shot from the tower.
So it needs to be asked, has he tried the Scottish speciality?
Zeus admitted he had not and when discovering what was in it shook his head and said: “If you just put it in front of me and say, ‘This is haggis. This is what we do here.’ But don’t tell me what it is.”
Maxwell ‘Hops’ Pearce added: “I’m not much of a foodie but I think you diminish my chances of trying the more I know about the anatomy.”
After finding out Zeus had eaten black pudding before, I advised him not to Google that one either.
While haggis was not a strong start, the idea of trying a deep-fried Mars bar or a Rowie in Aberdeen seemed to hit a sweet spot for the two athletes.
The fans hold all the cards in this tour
Zeus and Hops are two of the players from the “world’s basketball team” the Harlem Globetrotters due to arrive in the city this week at P&J Live.
For over 95 years, the Globetrotters have been an icon for crazy basketball skills, breaking down barriers and family entertainment.
The team continue to provoke wonder with every game with no two games ever the same. And Zeus said this year they have a surprise in store.
He said: “This tour is really different.
“You’re gonna see your high-flying slam dunks and the halfcourt trick shots but I think we have involved the fans even more.
“Even to the degree where the fans have the ability to change the game completely.”
Not just putting a ball in the basket
For Hops, who has been with the team for six years, this will be his first time playing in UK venues.
Excited to maybe catch a few Manchester United games and see family members in Stirling, Hops said he is always blown away by the power of the team to unite people.
He added: “I think it took a few months of experience [when joining the team] to really feel the magnitude of that.
“I think that was ultimately what made me realize I’ve gotten to a platform where I’m able to use basketball in a variety of ways and not just by putting the ball into the basket, something that means so much more.”
Off the court, the team always strive to support different programmes in schools and children’s hospitals.
On their last tour in Aberdeen, Zeus and Buckets Blakes hosted a workshop with budding basketball players at St Machar Academy.
Zeus added: “What we do on the court is the main thing that got everybody’s attention but I think the off-the-court philanthropy we do is even more important.
“That’s what’s kept us in the hearts and minds of so many people even while we’re across the water.”
‘It’s not work for us’
Another beloved characteristic is that Globetrotters know how to have fun.
And nothing says fun to Zeus like breaking world records.
One of his favourites is having 16 slam dunks in one minute.
The six-time world record holder said: “I remember reading The Guinness Book of World Records when I was younger and saying it’d be pretty cool to be in this book one day.
“I never thought I would be.”
For those coming to see them play on February 16, the basketball star said he hopes the enjoyment is obvious: “We all have smiles on our faces. It’s not work for us.”
However, Zeus said he would never be eating black pudding again (he Googled it).
The Globetrotters will go head-to-head against the Washington Generals on February 16.
Limited tickets are available via the P&J Live website.
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