Watch this.

Jason Gibbons stands at half court, out where any shot taken in a game would come from desperation. He turns his back to the basket, cradles a basketball in his right hand and lets a shot go over his head. As he turns around to see how he did, Gibbons’ shot finishes its arc and — swish — nothing but net.

Watch this. Then he does it again.

Watch this. Then he does it again.

Three consecutive times, Gibbons makes this same no-look, half-court shot. You or I could try this 100 times and call it a victory to clang the ball off the rim once or twice. Gibbons makes three in a row, and grins like he knew he had it the whole time.

Somebody goes through the trouble of documenting feats like this, and Gibbons’ three consecutive no-look, half-court makes qualifies as a world record on the web site recordsetter.com.

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It’s just another part of the basketball journey that has taken Gibbons, known as the White Shadow in showtime basketball circles, from Bath to the world. Gibbons can make eye-popping shots and head-shaking dunks. He can spin a basketball on almost anything. What Gibbons wants to do most is use his skills to help people. Gibbons has run a basketball camp for special needs children, and he criss-crosses the country to speak at schools in an effort to eliminate bullying.

Gibbons, who recently moved to Hallowell, will put on a basketball handling clinic at Augusta’s Williams Park at noon on Sept. 20. The clinic is $20 per person and will follow a free demonstration of Gibbons’ skills, which includes Gibbons’ anti-bullying presentation.

“Kids seem to connect with the real-life stories that I share about bullying. I often bring out victims of bullying to put a face to the problem. I ask kids to take a pledge to take a stand against bullying wherever they see it, face to face or cyberspace,” Gibbons said.

Gibbons, 39, got his start as a basketball trickster in 2004, when he saw the Harlem Rockets perform in Bath. Gibbons challenged one of the Rockets to a dunk contest. While the challenge wasn’t accepted, the player told Gibbons to make a tape of himself showcasing his basketball skills and send it to the team. If the Rockets liked it, they’d offer Gibbons a tryout.

So Gibbons, who played his high school basketball at small Open Bible Christian Academy in Bath, went to a local court, set up a camera and recorded himself dunking and shooting. Gibbons basically begged the Harlem Rockets for a tryout. He got it.

“It was two days of hard-nosed, competitive basketball,” Gibbons said. “I played over my head a little bit.”

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Gibbons played with the Harlem Rockets for 10 years. Working with a church in New Mexico, Gibbons got to know Larry “Gator” Rivers. Rivers played with Meadowlark Lemon, Curly Neal and the Harlem Globetrotters, and now ran the Globetrotter Legends team. Rivers offered Gibbons a tryout.

Gibbons plays with the Legends. He’s shown off his skills at Portland Red Claws and Portland Sea Dogs games. He’s performed in front of Michael Jordan (Yeah, that Michael Jordan). He’s performed at the NBA’s All-Star Weekend.

Showtime basketball has been very good to Gibbons. Why not use it to be good to others?

“I started working with children and adults with developmental disabilities in 2000. I’ve mentored with Big Brothers Big Sisters for six years and volunteered with schools’ special ed classes before so I jumped at the chance to do it for a living,” Gibbons said.

This shot, like the ones Gibbons made from half court, is nothing but net.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM

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