Paige Hosbein Last Friday night, the famous Latin Parker basketball game transpired – when the poised, studious Latin students become rowdy Roman cheerleaders in the stands of McGraff Philips Arena, proudly sporting orange and blue. They won by 10 points with a final score of 50 to 40, in case you didn’t get to go and witness their greatness. Junior Nikita Volynskiy noted, “The team clearly put in the work. Overall, it was an exhilarating game filled with exceptional talent and school comradery. It’s moments like these when school pride is so high that I feel insanely lucky to attend Latin.” Preceding the game, senior and captain Ben Krambeck said assertively, “We are confident that we can get the win. Parker has had a few surprising successes this year, but we are 4-0 now and looking great ourselves.” Senior and captain Izz Hernandez added, “So far our team is looking pretty solid. We have 4 seniors and 8 juniors with only 5 returning varsity players, so we’re still getting things together.” Luckily, Ben Krambeck was able to overcome his small ankle injury in time for the game. He explained: “I sprained my ankle in the game against Waldorf where we won 71-17. I was hesitant to play in the Lisle game on Saturday, but did, and we ended up winning. I was relieved to be back in for the Latin-Parker game.” The team’s pregame ritual includes a meeting with Coach VanderMeulen where they discuss the competition and their game plan. During home games, they stretch, dribble to warm up, and huddle to hype each other up. When the music starts, they are reading to do their official warm up shots and drills on the court. “For the parker game, we always meet after school to eat Jimmy Johns and relax before the tough environment, and then we go to the gym to get shots up,” said David Hynes, a senior on the team. Junior Charlie Bryant’s tradition may surprise you; he eats two twix bars before important games. Senior Izz Hernandez added, “My ritual is slapping the wall above the door before we run out. It’s simple but I’ve done it for every game I’ve played for Latin.” Regarding the team’s dynamic, Ben says, “Our team is all juniors and seniors this year, and I think that has helped us out a lot. We are an extremely close group – more than past seasons – and it shows on the court. We are smaller this year than in previous years as we lost our two “big men,” but we are an extremely strong defensive team with several threats from the 3 point line as well as by the rim. We are looking forward to a great season.” Similarly, David said, “The seniors especially have been playing basketball together in multiple different leagues for years, and being leaders of this team is just the next step down the long road of playing together.” While the game lived up to its hype, to David, basketball is more than beating an infamous rival.  “For me, basketball has always been about the team. We practice or play six times a week from November to late February, and this hard work and commitment really creates a bond with my teammates that is unique to this sport.”]]>