Position: G Date of Birth: 07/25/1978 Height: 5′ 8″ Weight: 165 lbs College: Bergen Community College (N.J.) ’01 Hometown: Manhattan, New York
Biography: Blenda Rodriguez first picked up a basketball because he wanted to do everything his big brother, Elvis, did, and he’s never looked back.
Blenda was also influenced greatly by the Globetrotters and another ball handling marvel, Pistol Pete Maravich. “The tricks the ‘Trotters and Pistol Pete did were unreal to me; I didn’t think those things were possible.”
His passion for basketball led him to create his own ball handling show that he performed in NBA arenas and schools, which took him throughout the U.S., London and Japan. Blenda was rated the number one ball handler in 2007 at a StreetGodz event freestyle battle, where he competed against the top eight ball handling free-stylists from New York, California, Illinois, and Virginia.
Blenda was also featured in the DVDs “One Love True Balling-Volume 2” and “One Love Pure Heat-Volume 3,” with NBA stars Kobe Bryant , Steve Nash, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and more. The Globetrotters’ scouting staff discovered his incredible skills, and after a tryout, Blenda became a member of the most famous basketball team on the planet.
Blenda also enjoys martial arts, and the discipline and hand-eye coordination translate seamlessly to his ball handling prowess.
A fan of the New York Knicks, Blenda has had his share of awesome experiences in the Knicks’ home arena, Madison Square Garden. Prior to joining the Globetrotters, he performed some ball handling at half-time of a Knicks’ game, and in February 2008, he had the honor of playing in the Globetrotters’ game at Madison Square Garden the night Globetrotters Legend Curly Neal had his jersey number retired. Blenda joined his teammates at mid-court to honor the dribbling master, as Curly’s jersey was raised to the rafters of the world’s most famous arena.
With Blenda’s ball handling expertise and lively personality, someday he may have the same honor bestowed upon him.
Credits
- Harlem Globetrotters 2007-2013 (3rd Latin player in it’s 88 year history and trick instructor).
- Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice
- John and Kate + 8
- The Today Show
- Good Morning America
- Sesame Street with Elmo
- Netflix “Doin’ It In the Park”
- American Choppers
- “My Own Spinning Game” on candystand.com
- Rated Best Trickster in the United States 2007
- Featured in Bounce Magazine
- Featured in New Balance commercial
- Work with Nike & Adidas
- Featured on DVD “Streetball Classic”
- Featured in commercial for Ecko Clothing
- Featured on DVDs “True Ballin’ Vol 2” and “Love Pure Heat Vol 3”
- Don Francisco’s “Sabado Gigante”
- ESPN’s “City Slam”
- The Colbert Report
