Harlem Globetrotters star Meadowlark Lemon dead at 83

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The Harlem Globetrotters had also been a thriving professional basketball team, once winning the World Professional Basketball Tournament before the rise of the NBA (AFP Photo/)Washington (AFP) - Meadowlark Lemon, the lithe showman, jester and trick-shot genius who entertained audiences worldwide as the heart and soul of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, has died at age 83, the team announced Monday.

Lemon, who played 24 years with the Globetrotters during the height of their fame, was a master of razzle-dazzle and good-natured crowd-pleasing hijinks. His legendary hook shots from half court and no-look behind-the-back passes became marquee features of the traveling…