By JOHN BENSON

January 26, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

The current Harlem Globetrotters lineup is a team of extremes with the popular traveling squad boasting not only its tallest member ever in 7-foot-8-inch Tiny Strugess but also the shortest in 5-foot-2-inch Jonte “Too Tall” Hall.

Height is nothing new to the basketball skill team that has been globetrotting for 86 years. Still, it’s the lack of height that makes Hall the story of the current season. Formerly a Washington General, the Maryland native made the improbable leap from perennial loser to Globetrotter late last year. To put it in perspective, the jump has been made only four times in the traveling team’s nearly nine decades of existence. However, improbable and basketball are two words Hall has spent his whole life separating.

“Growing up in Baltimore, after everybody left the gym, I stayed because I knew I had to put in extra work than the average guard, which at the time was 6-foot growing up,” said Hall calling from Indiana. “I just spent the extra hours working on my shot. I had to work on tough shots and be able to shoot from anywhere on the court. I also worked on my dribble. I did drills with two basketballs at a time and sprinting with the ball so I could have an extra step compared to an average guard.”

That effort led to a successful high school career, which was followed by playing for Community College of Baltimore County. Once out of school, Hall explored every basketball avenue possible.

“I was trying out different professional organizations, and a lot of doors got shut in my face,” Hall said. “That just made me work extra hard. But it was the height thing.”

Ironically, it was his talents and height that caught the eye of the Washington Generals in 2010. The opportunity came at a time when Hall was just about to give up on a career in professional basketball. What makes his story even more impressive is the fact that not only did he make the improbable leap to the Generals, but then a year and a half later his dribbling and shooting skills — he’ll tell you along with his fun personality — led to a Globetrotters invite. The team returns to Youngstown for games at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday at the Covelli Centre.

“It wasn’t given to me; I worked hard at it and I was offered a tryout,” Hall said. “There were maybe 30 guys there. They were huge, but yet I made it. It’s a dream come true. I still have to wake up and look in the mirror and say, ‘Wow! I’m a world famous Harlem Globetrotter.’ I can’t believe it.”

That wow factor is something that gave Hall hope when he was a kid. While others were telling him he was too short to play basketball, he was wowed by the achievements of the 5-foot-7-inch Earl Boykins, a Cleveland native who played in the NBA. Hall hopes his on-court accomplishments, including being able to hit six of 10 Globetrotters 4-point shots – which is 35 feet from the basket, nearly 12 feet beyond the NBA’s three-point arc — will inspire height-challenged youths and adults to realize any dream is achievable.

“Boykins paved the way for me, so it’s exciting to follow his footsteps,” said Hall, who is good for one or two slam dunks a night. “It shows that it’s a small world after all and hard work pays off no matter what age, what size. I want kids or adults to say, ‘You know what, if ‘Too Tall’ Hall can do it, I can do it.’”