Staff, student to battle in hoops charity game
Solve this math problem: A group of Naperville Central High School students want to beat their teachers in a game of charity basketball.
If X number of students plays Y number of teachers for five minutes each for the ninth year in a row, how many baskets does it take to win?
"Who cares?" ask Naperville Central teachers, who, for once, aren't looking for a correct response.
When there's history to preserve and weeks of trash talking on the line, teachers say the answer isn't what's right, it's what is necessary to survive the staff vs. students matchup.
At this year's game, to be played tonight to benefit Marklund Home, faculty took that first step toward survival by asking the school's all-time leading scorer, senior Drew Crawford, to referee the games alongside a faculty member.
Genius? Perhaps.
"This isn't something that we just came up with and thought up last night," Spanish teacher Eric Kaisling said. "This is our way of preserving victory. If he goes out there, we all look silly."
Tip-off is at 7 p.m. for the now-popular annual event that was resurrected nine years ago as a way to build school pride and raise awareness for certain charities.
Organizers hope to raise $10,000 this year to benefit the Marklund Home, a facility for those with developmental disabilities. Last year's game raised $8,000 to benefit ALS in honor of teacher Clyde Sundquist, who died.
Donations come in the form of $5 at the door, $75 per student team, and from raffle tickets and donated items to be raffled.
One large coed staff team will take on seven coed student teams for five minutes each. Each game counts as one point. The first team to earn four points, wins.
No, it's no fluke Naperville Central faculty leads the staff vs. students series seven games to one.
What may set them back in age, faculty members make up for in intelligence and experience - and in clout. Staff cheerleaders remind students of that with cheers such as, "That's all right, that's OK, we control your GPA."
Yet the faculty still reminisces about the one that got away.
"The varsity team had some 6-10 freak of an individual that started dunking over the teachers," Kaisling said.
"The year that we lost, he definitely took us to school," said cultural anthropology teacher Todd Holmberg.
Regardless of the outcome, staff members are proud of the enthusiasm students have for the event and for raising money for charity.
"The kids who come and play do a great job," Holmberg said. "They come out and pay a pretty sizable entry fee, and it's just a great event and really encapsulates what's great about Naperville Central."
Teachers don't worry about probability too much when it comes to the outcome of the game.
"This could be the 50th (year we've played in a row), we don't know," Kaisling said. "We only know that we lost once."