He Trots Globe Just Like His Dad Once Did

Sterling Forbes Jr. seems to be following in his father’s footsteps, and in the same kind of footwear--sneakers.

The younger Forbes, who played at University High School, Santa Monica College and Southwest Texas State, is a member of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, just as his father used to be.

Sterling Sr., the former Jordan High School and Pepperdine University star whose National Basketball Assn. days with the Lakers were cut short by a back injury, played with the Globetrotters from 1960 to 1963. Sterling Jr., who graduated from Southwest Texas in 1986 and joined the Globetrotters in 1988 after playing professionally in Argentina, said that his father used to help him practice such things as dribbling and rebounding after school.

He “grew up wanting to be a Globetrotter and remember hearing the stories my father used to tell about his travels with the team. Now I’m living them for myself.” The elder Forbes, who lives in Pomona, was well qualified to teach his son the fundamentals of basketball; he is ninth on the Pepperdine career-scoring list with 1,349 points and fourth in rebounding with 869. His son was a top scorer for Southwest Texas.

The Globetrotters will play the Washington Generals, the team that generally tours with the Globetrotters and generally loses, at 1 and 6 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Great Western Forum.