Dec 21, 2011 By: yunews
Past Men's Basketball Captains Honored at Alumni Day Maccabees Game
With his opponents attempting to swat away the basketball, center Shlomo Weissberg dribbled to the basket. 鈥淲ho鈥檚 ready?鈥 Weissberg shouted. Quickly, he passed the ball underhand to a teammate, who made the shot. The two exchanged high-fives.
[flickrslideshow acct_name="yualumni" id="72157628499690951"]
Weissberg had to bend down a little. His teammate, Guy Zaibert, was six years old.
Zaibert came to YU鈥檚 Wilf Campus with his father, 鈥97-鈥98 Macs captain Alon Zaibert, to participate in a unique Alumni Day celebrating past captains of YU鈥檚 men鈥檚 basketball team. Forty three former captains spanning eight decades gathered at the Max Stern Athletics Center on December 18 to reunite with team members and perennial coach Jonathan Halpert, shoot some hoops, and to be honored at a halftime ceremony during the Macs鈥 2 p.m. home game against the St. Joseph鈥檚 College Golden Eagles.
鈥淲hat an incredible opportunity to be able to welcome back to campus more than 50 past players,鈥 said Illana Feiglin, director of . 鈥淎nd then, on top of that, to have the chance to see them interact with their children, grandchildren and in some cases, great-grandchildren, in a space and capacity that was sacred to these men during their time as student-athletes was truly awe-inspiring.鈥
Before the game, current Macs players took the court to compete in mini 3-on-3 tournaments and shooting contests with team alumni and their families.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge thrill to have my son here,鈥 said the older Zaibert, a software company executive from Atlanta who pushed his flight to Israel back a day so he could attend. During lunch鈥攚hich featured a screening of 鈥,鈥 a short documentary about the team鈥擹aibert shared a table with friend and former teammate Steven Kupferman, captain in 鈥96-鈥97, and Kupferman鈥檚 9-year-old son Zev. While their children shared pizza, Zaibert and Kupferman reminisced about their favorite basketball moments.
鈥淒efinitely, my favorite game was the one we played in Madison Square Garden for the Eastern College Athletic Conference,鈥 said Zaibert. 鈥淥r when we played Baruch College. We won ten seconds from the end.鈥
鈥淭here鈥檚 a sense of camaraderie you develop,鈥 explained Kupferman, now a dentist. 鈥淚 brought it with me to my practice.鈥
For Shabsi Schreier, 鈥83-鈥85 captain, that camaraderie extends to the teams that came before and after his own. On Sunday, he and his wife Julie unveiled an interactive display outside the Melvin J. Furst Gymnasium, featuring the history of the men鈥檚 basketball team, lists of past captains and 1,000 point scorers, and information about the current team. 鈥淲e wanted to show the hemshech ha-dorot, the continuity from past to future,鈥 he said.
Chen Biron, who along with Omer Haim is co-captain of the current team, feels a similar connection. 鈥淭o hear about this historic event and all the players that were going to be here made me really excited and happy,鈥 he said before Sunday鈥檚 game. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to play hard and make the school and the people in the stands proud.鈥
Don Geller, captain of the 鈥48-鈥49 Macs and the most senior captain in attendance, recalled organizing the Metropolitan Jewish Day School Basketball League with the advisement of then-coach Bernard 鈥淩ed鈥 Sarachek while still in college. 鈥淩ed was a great coach,鈥 said Geller. 鈥淗e鈥檇 bring pro-ballers down to train us. We trained once with Red Holzman, coach of the New York Knicks.鈥
On Sunday, another great coach, Jonathan Halpert, a 鈥65-鈥66 Macs captain who has presided over more than 800 games and 40 years of YU basketball, was recognized. In Halpert鈥檚 honor, the University will name the basketball court for him at a special tribute to him in the spring. A group of former players are raising money for the Coach Jonathan Halpert Scholarship Fund to help future students attend YU.
鈥淲hen my guys run on the court, they have 鈥榊eshiva鈥 written across their chests, as we did in our years,鈥 said Halpert. 鈥淲e are out there representing the Jewish people with class, dignity, skill and sportsmanship, so that when people talk about YU, they can say, 鈥榊es, they鈥檙e leaders of the Jewish people, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, teachers鈥攁nd they are basketball players on the collegiate level, too.鈥 鈥
Watching the current Macs take the court against St. Joseph鈥檚 College later in the day, David Kufeld, the 鈥78-鈥80 captain鈥攁nd only Maccabee ever drafted to the NBA鈥攑ut it this way: 鈥淏asketball may not be the first thing you think of when you think of Jews, but at YU, it鈥檚 a part of our Jewish identity.鈥
View archived photos shared by former Maccabees .
