March Basketball Special Edition Paper

PHOTO: GOLDIE FIELDS

Special Edition

SHALHEVET HIGH SCHOOL

CHAMPIONS

PHOTO: YESHIVA UNIVERSITY

Victory at Sarachek makes Firehawks No. 1 named the tournament’s Most Valuable

BY SIGAL SPITZER, SPORTS EDITOR With much of the student body watching a live video feed in the Beit Midrash, the Firehawk varsity basketball team won check Tournament at Yeshiva University in New York March 11, defeating Frisch Academy of Paramus, New Jersey, 62 – 53 and rising to No. 1 in national Jewish basketball Cheers could be heard in the hallways as the Firehawks extended their lead by

quarter.

“It was crazy,” said junior Jennie Dra“I could feel the excitement and nervousness in the room, but I think we all knew

Fellow senior Ari Wachtenheim was awarded the First Team All-Tournament and then won it. was named a tournament all-star.

-

Continued om Page 4

SPECIAL EDITION

THE BOILING POINT

MARCH 2013

2

EPIC PLAYOFF RU

teams by the numbers sh wi Je School Ranking Win-Loss

Points Total

27-2

294

1

25-4

294

3

19-5

273

4

24-5

260

5

18-5

235

6

21-8

228

7

18-5

223

8

20-9

214

9

18-14

212

10

20-5

198

BY JONAH GILL, STAFF WRITER SOURCE: JEWISHHOOPSAMERICA.COM

1

Firehawks No. 1 in two polls

BY COLLEEN BAZAK, CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Hoops America’s National Top 25 Jewish high school survey.

Eighty Jewish high schools, most not Orthodox and many much larger than Shalhevet, are followed and ranked weekly by the site, which has 12 basketball experts from around the country vote give up to 25 points to each school. with Chicagoland Jewish High School of DeerMeanwhile, the Firehawks were automatically ranked No. 1 among 20 Orthodox high schools by winning the Sarachek contest in New York March 11. Chicagoland, a school with 165 students (Shalhevet has 162), did not compete at Sarachek.

Panelists for JHA come from all over the country, and according to the group’s website, range from former college basketball players to dedicated basketball fans. No

Of the Top 25 teams, 13 competed at the Sarachek tournament.

“A lot of this is luck,” said senior Eitan Rothman, who at 6’9” is the team’s center. “There are big schools with really bad teams and small schools that have good teams because they have the personnel needed.

“On the other hand,” he added, ”we’ve been playing together for a while, we know the system, have a good coach, a starting player [Jojo Fallas] who’s playing D-1 next year, me who’s tall, and a great point guard. We put the pieces together.”

Judaic Studies Director Reb Noam Weissman said the improvement had been gradual.

“They were talented in playing well together,” Reb Noam said. “It’s not something that happens over night.“

They ranked the teams every Monday of the season, with Shalhevet and ChicagoShalhevet and Chicagoland were the only teams who were undefeated against other Jewish Hoops America teams. ChiBP PHOTO BY NOAH ROTHMAN cagoland beat nine other JHA teams, and GUIDANCE: Coach Collin sketched advice for the team.

Shalhevet defeated seven.

Shalhevet’s 2012 – 2013 Boys Varsity Basketball team made it farther in the CIF playoffs then any other sports team in school history, reaching the Southern Section Division 5A championship game.

The road to that game was not a short journey.

Strengthened physically and mentally by an intensive, year-long game and practice schedule, the Firehawks stormed through the regular season with a win-loss record of 20 and 1. This included victories over cross-town rival YULA Jan. 2, as well as Milken on Feb. 9 – both larger schools who compete in different divisions.

“I knew this would be a special season,” said team overall record. “We dedicated some long nights for this season and it paid off.” hawks suffered a single early-season loss to the Division 4 Renaissance Academy Wildcats of La Can15-game winning streak. Players gave much of the credit to their second-year coach, Collin Jamerson.

“Collin did a really good job this year, just getting us prepared and on the same page,” said co-captain work you put in -- I just felt like this year’s team was really special, because we focused on what we wanted to accomplish, and everything we did was about accomplishing that goal.”

When the division playoffs began, the Firehawks also faced the largest expectations in school history – and their toughest challenge.

Shalhevet competes in the CIF Southern Section, a massive association of over 570 schools that includes all public and private schools in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura and four School District. If it were a state itself, the Southern Section would be 10th largest in the U.S. Within Southern Section, Shalhevet competes in Division 5A, which has 45 member schools, with an average of 200 students in grades 9 – 12. Shalhevet’s enrollment this year is 162.

The Firehawks entered the playoffs as the No. 2 overall seed, and as coach Collin Jamerson said, was against the Bloomington Christian Ravens.

Although the Ravens came out with some inten-

sity and kept the game close e Shalhevet’s talent proved too to handle, and Shalhevet pull second half, winning 61 – 44.

Shalhevet’s next game AGBU (Armenian Genera Union) Pasadena. Once aga speed and shooting ability ran out of the gym, with Shalhev AGBU by 40 points.

came against the Valley Tora the third round Feb. 20, the w rim. Although they had al Valley Torah earlier in the sea went down to the wire.

of the ball, while the Wolfpack an early lead highlighted by se Liberman’s dunk. But led by hawks fought back and were From then on, this game

get a big lead. Although nei best games, whenever Shalhe Jojo knocked it down, and N the same for Valley Torah.

game turned into a classic. Do what it has all year -- handed he delivered, knocking down Shalhevet up by two.

Then, Valley Torah needed overtime. Instead, amid chee from the Shalhevet fans, the F a turnover. At this point, eve sure Shalhevet had won the was just getting started.

the ball under his own basket been the mistake of the season game. Attempting to throw a cha Halpert, he threw it late, the ball.

Amid gasps from the crow to the corner to heave up a 3-p the game. It air-balled, but a

CIF Final: A rare dark moment as Firehawks fall to

BY ERIC BAZAK, STAFF WRITER The Firehawk varsity basketball team exited the Anaheim Convention Center Feb. 28 with gloomy faces, after being defeated 50-36

by Rolling Hills Prep in the CIF Division 5A Championship game with two busloads of Shalhevet students watching.

The game had been relatively close for three

Huskies contained the Firehawks to a mere two points, with a stunning 12-0 run to seal the game and take home the trophy – in the process, snapping Shalhevet’s 19-game winning streak.

In the locker room afterwards, Athletics Director Eli Schiff tried to cheer up the teary-eyed players and motivate them for their upcoming Sarachek tournament.

“One hard game doesn’t take away what we accomplished this whole season,” Mr. Schiff said. “There is a lot of excitement ahead, so try not to be too disappointed.”

But it was a bitter loss for the Firehawks, -

time they’d come close was in 2005, when they

BP PHOTO BY GOLDIE FIELDS GUARD: Ari Wachtenheim tries to stop RHP from scoring.

The administration was no less excited than the students, cancelling half a day’s worth of classes, and ordering Firehawk-red towels and shirts to hand out to the whole school to wear during the game. But the day’s problems start-

ed early, when the buses left half an hour late and most students missed the beginning of the game.

More seriously, starters Jojo Fallas and Ariel spite being ill, they played for the majority of the game, with Jojo leading Shalhevet with 20 More than 100 students and almost half the faculty made the trip. The crowd was very into the game, loudly rooting for the Firehawks un-

Rolling Hills Prep ing into the second h coach, Courtney Bea key to winning the g “We need to mak and keep playing h

The Firehawks w the second half, wi

They would even The Firehawks were down early on, only scoring four points They managed to cut halftime, making the score 23-20 after 16 minutes of play.

In the locker room during half time, Coach Collin encouraged them to play their best basketball.

When asked about his strategies for the second half, Collin had a lot of tactics.

“We have to attack the zone on offense,” he said. “Play more 2-3 zone defensively, and start running to get some fast breaks.”

BP PHOTO BY NOAH ROTH LOCKER ROOM: After the game, faces told the story of their loss.

MARCH 2013

SPECIAL EDITION

THE BOILING POINT

3

UN CAPPED A SEASON OF VICTORIES

early, in the end o much for them led away in the

came against al Benevolent ain, Shalhevet’s n the other team vet blowing out

ah Wolfpack in week before Pulready defeated ason, this game

k jumped out to enior Nathaniel y Jojo, the Firee able to go up

BLOCK: Eitan Rothman, No. 32, tried to block a Valley Torah pass.

was a nail-biter.

ither team played their evet needed a big shot, Nathaniel Liberman did

own by 1, Shalhevet did d the ball to Jojo -- and a huge 3-pointer to put

d to score to at least force ers of Mi shenichnas Adar Firehawk defense forced eryone in the gym was game. But the drama

t, made what may have n had Shalhevet lost this a pass to a cutting Simand Liberman snagged

wd, Liberman then raced pointer that would win Valley Torah player got

out, but as time expired, a last second layup rolled in, forcing overtime.

As the Shalhevet crowd sat stunned, the Valley Torah fans went into a frenzy. Any sports fan would expect the Valley Torah team with all of the momentum to have come out and dominated in overtime.

Instead, Shalhevet came out, and thanks to stingy defense and good shooting, shut out the Wolfpack in overtime, wining the game by a score of 70 – 63 against San Gabriel Prep.

It was Purim night when the Firehawks took on

player Mati Hurwitz, the atmosphere was absolutely electric, with Shalhevet piling kids into a bus to go to the game.

Although the Eagles were mostly taller than the Firehawks, Shalhevet played a great game. Led again

by Jojo Fallas, with 32 points. Shalhevet never trailed en route to a 70 – 58 victory. A standout player for San Gabriel was junior forward Josh Ajayi, who at one point in the game laid a tomahawk dunk on freshman Jacob Dauer.

Senior guard Ari Wachtenheim also played very well, controlling the offense throughout the

PLAN: Coach Collin Jamerson took the team through a detailed plan of the next play.

game for the Shalhevet offense, and sophomore Simcha Halpert shot the lights out to set up a meeting in the CIF Section Championship against the No. 1-seeded Rolling Hills Prep Huskies – the only playoff game Shalhevet lost. (See story, P. 2.)

“It’s going to be tough next year, coming from doing so well this year while next year we’re losing so many great seniors,” said sophomore sharpshooter Simcha Halpert.

But sophomore guard Zev Marcus said not to count the Firehawks out.

“With Collin as our coach, we can win any tournament,” Zev said.

Page Design by Sydney Miller

Long road to that n championship seaso

o RHP Huskies

p had a few strategies gohalf as well. Their assistant ach, said defense would be game. ke sure to stay disciplined hard,” Coach Beach said.

were looking strong to start ith senior Eitan Rothman

HMAN

Firehawks trailing by two.

Rolling Hills prevailed in the fourth harrassing defense and effective transition offense on the other end. Argu-

Year

ably the key play in the game was when Rolling Hills brought and a layup with under four minutes left to play. They outscored Shalhevet 14-2 in the closing eight minutes to clinch the win.

“I knew the game was over when there was about a minute remaining and the other team was just passing the ball around to waste time,” said point guard Ari Wachtenheim.

Adding to the disappointing day, due from Shalhevet’s choir didn’t get their chance as planned to sing the national anthem before the game began.

Originally scheduled to be performed by choir members Danny Silberstein, Liat Bainvoll, Rachel Spronz, and Benny Balasz, the Star-Spangled Banner was sung by Danny and fellow senior Leah Glouberman, who had driven down in Danny’s car instead of taking the bus.

Rachel Spronz was also a little melancholy after the incident.

“We worked so hard and it was all hyped up, but we couldn’t get to do it at the end.” Rachel said.

That might have summed up the mood of the day for everyone – and especially the basketball team.

BP Staff Editors-in-Chief Colleen Bazak Jacob Ellenhorn Managing Editor Emilie Benyowitz

Coach

Win-Loss

2004-05

Chad Dillard

2-10

2005-06

Chad Dillard

5-14

2006-07

Chad Dillard

5-14

2007-08

“Flava” Winbush

7-13

2008-09

“Flava” Winbush

4-12

2009-10

“Flava” Winbush

13-9

2010-11

Collin Jamerson

16-6

2011-12

Collin Jamerson

17-8

20012-13

Collin Jamerson

24-2

Chief Layout Editor Rachel Spronz Sports Editor Sigal Spitzer Photography Editor Goldie Fields

Layout Editors Sydney Miller Margo Feuer Faculty Advisor Mrs. Joelle Keene

SOURCE: MACSLIVE.COM

ntually capture the lead late er from the corner, then made two free throws on the ensuing possession to go up 31-30 over the Huskies.

However, the Huskies responded by sinking a three from the top of the arc at the buzzer, ending the third

PHOTOS: YESHIVA UNIVERSITY DRIBBLE: Simcha Halpert takes the ball down the court to make a clean shot.

SPECIAL EDITION

THE BOILING POINT

MARCH 2013

4

After Cornell, Fallas would like to play pro in Israel

M V P

Senior defensive guard Jojo Fallas, Firehawk co-captain and Sarachek MVP, answered quesions from Features Editor Alexa Fishman.

Q A

We’ve all heard that you’ll be playing Division 1 college basketball next year for Cornell. How did that come about?

So the head of my AAU program, Rob Icarc, called me one day and left a message on my phone saying that he wanted to talk to me about playing basketball at Cornell. I was thrilled, and immediately called him back to ask for details. He told me nothing was certain, but Cornell needed a point guard. He asked me if I was interested, and I said of course. That got the ball rolling, and from there, I contacted coaches at Cornell and sent them game tapes.

We talked on the phone and I visited the school. I had to send them my entire application, and I loved the school—but I only wanted to go there if I could play basketball. It was a whole long process, and one day they offered me a spot on the team.

Q A

Did any other schools recruit you?

About 25 Division 3 schools recruited me. I turned down a few, and reached out to a few, but they turned me

Q A

How far do you think you’ll go in basketball? How far do you want to go?

Right now I don’t know. I want to work hard and see where it takes me. I would love to play professionally in Israel after college for a few years if I can.

Q A Q A

What do you do for training outside of school?

I work one-on-one with my trainer, Dwain Williams, who played Div. 1 basketball in the D league at Providence.

Do you stop everything on Saturday?

I still play on Saturday, but it makes things more complicated because I keep Shabbat. I can’t drive to which requires a lot of planning. I play in tournaments

during the summer, and all of them go over the weekend, so I have to plan ahead and make sure I have a way to get to the game without breaking Shabbat.

Q A

What was it like to play the CIF game It was a little nerve-wracking because I’ve

started, I was really nervous about how it would end up, but once I was in the game, it felt like a normal game.

During the game, I just forgot about being sick and did what I’m used to doing. Does your family members also play?

Q A

I think it was because out team in general had a bad

We were disappointed about how we played, and in the third quarter, I wanted to come out and be aggressive. I had to make sure that there was nothing that we could’ve done more that we didn’t during the game. There were lots of opportunities to score because we moved the ball— and everything started clicking.

Q A

How did you feel about losing to Rolling Hills Prep in Anaheim?

It was heartbreaking. It was a goal of ours since Colin came in my sophomore year, and we really felt like it was our year to do it. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t was a very special season.

Q A

What was it like being named Sarachek MVP?

and a t that moment there was no other feeling that I could have than appreciation for all of that.

Q A

How did you -

PHOTO: YESHIVA UNIVERSITY STEAL: Senior Jojo Fallas stole the ball to make a basket.

ball?

I’ve been playing for as long as I can remember.

My mom always tells this story about how when I was 9 months old, I used have this little ball and run up to our tiny basket and dunk it.

Q A

good at it?

I’ve kind of always been good around my friends,

Athletic Union] summer team, where I played with people throughout the country.

were so many people that have helped me get to where I am,

Victory at Sarachek makes Firehawks national champs Continued from Page 1 Segal and team chaperones Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg and Rabbi Aharon Assaraf, and Agenda Chair Daniel Schwartz.

The victory also propelled Shalhevet to the much larger group of all Jewish high schools (see story, P. 2).

a special schedule for the day, with a oneand-a-half hour window extending from 11 to 12:30 p.m. for students to watch without missing class.

Technology Director Mr. Yossie Frankel

hawks!” in support of their performance.

The annual Sarachek Tournament opened March 7, hosted by YU in its Max Stern Athletic Center. Twenty teams competed from around the U.S. Early in the week, Shalhevet defeated Cooper Yeshiva of Memphis by 12 points

the game on a large screen, instead of the Success, New York, by 3. Crosstown rival by popcorn and school spirit, more than half the school attended, including many teachers.

Yelling and screaming at the Firehawks focused intently on what was happening 2,500 miles away. During tense moments, lenced the room.

After a swished three-point shot from Jojo or a visionary pass by Ari Wachten-

conference overall – as Shalhevet had last year – defeating North Shore in the conso-

Firehawks took an early lead, 9-0 in the

strong from the locker room to outscore the Firehawks in the third quarter, 17-10.

Shalhevet’s lead lasted until the end of the third quarter when the Cougars stole the scoreboard by two points. At times, Frisch extended its lead by up to seven points, but by the mid-fourth quarter, the Firehawks were back up by nine points, staring at the championship trophy.

Then, with just under one minute to play, Shalhevet attempted to run the clock by wasting time. Defensive fouls by the Cougars resulted in 14 foul-shot points for the Firehawks, who attained a free-throw shooting percentage at a team record of 85 percent. Without it, they probably would not have won.

Interviewed by YU broadcasters on the live feed, Firehawk Coach Colin Jamerson was asked why he hadn’t called a time-out in the game’s last minutes. He replied that he likes the players to rely on themselves and each other as much as possible.

Players said that was one of their favorite things about their coach.

“I love playing for him,” said Jojo, “because he will let you play your game and give you freedom, and at the same time instruct you to make you a better player.”

After being presented with the chamles that night and was welcomed to school with a breakfast party in the foyer.

Rabbi Segal said it was an important moment for the school.

“While I would prefer to think the community would base their judgement of us by the happy, pasionate and knowledgeable alums we are producing or the middot of our students, I know that winning this

PHOTO: YESHIVA UNIVERSITY JUMP: Pointguard Ari Wachtenheim made a jumpshot in YU’s auditorium.

PHOTO: YESHIVA UNIVERSITY SCORE: Eitan Rorthman and Ari Wachtrenheim defended the ball and the lead.

Orhodox community,” Rabbi Segal said.

“It’s just the reality.”