A Personal Fantasy

The last couple of days I have been spreading mulch over my flowerbeds. It is a fairly mindless job, so I have plenty of time to think. One way to pass the time is to think up fantasies. I have one which is not beyond the realm of possibility.

My fantasy is to turn Barrack into a basketball powerhouse. For those who study the history of the game, during the 1920's and 1930's Jewish basketball teams were a mainstay in professional sports. My father, who was only 5'6" was on such a team. When he died, an obituary in his hometown paper in Bangor, Maine, said he was the greatest Jewish basketball player to come out of the state of Maine. Philadelphia had it's great Jewish basketball teams as well. Quoting Steve Cohen, "There was a time when short, angry Jewish players dominated basketball. They came from South Philadelphia, and they were determined to make anti-Semites respect them."

The coaching ranks of both professional and college teams are filled with Jews. The great Red's of the past, Red Auerbach, Boston Celtics, and Red Holtzman, New York Knicks, both Jews, led their teams to multiple NBA titles. Bruce Pearl, head coach at Tennessee, also coaches the US Macabee team.

So, how do I achieve my fantasy. All it takes is money. I would just need an endowment of $300,000/year to give a full paid scholarship to Barrack for the twelve best Jewish basketball players in the Philadelphia area. Each year, 3 scholarships would be given in each grade. The team would be composed of three seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshman.

My fantasy starts out small. We would beat all the teams in the Philly area. Then we would receive our invitations for national tournaments. Shoe and clothing endorsements would follow. Colleges would begin scouting and recruiting our players. And in a short period of time, we would be one of the best high school teams in the country. Of course, we would then be invited to travel to foreign countries.

And so, Harold Katz and Ed Snyder, if you are paying attention and would like to do something useful for the Jewish community, $150,000 a year each would not be a big deal for you. But just think what it would do for Jewish basketball.