Daniel Buchbinder ’23 and Bjorn Lervick ’23, champions of the 2023 Northwood Basketball League.
As Northwood transitioned from a COVID lockdown, new traditions developed amongst the school community. One of those traditions is the now-annual Northwood March basketball tournament, held after the season between members of the boys’ hockey teams.
The tournament has steadily grown in both popularity and exposure over the last two school years, with a commissioner, custom uniforms, a physical trophy, and a live broadcast of the Final being introduced last March. The tournament operates on an NCAA March-Madness™ style, single-elimination bracket system. Each game is win-or-go-home. Games usually take place during open gym hours on weeknights and weekends and sometimes draw crowds of over 30 people crowding the gym’s squash-slash-hockey-shooting-slash-basketball court, where the games take place.
This year’s Commissioner is still Jack Kent, and the bracket is wide open, as last year’s defending champs, Daniel Buchbinder ‘23 and Bjorn Lervick ‘23, graduated and, regrettably, will not have the chance to defend their title. “It’s obviously tough,” said Buchbinder about not defending his title. “Nothing I can do. Hopefully, the league brings in some new talent.” Buchbinder commented on the experience of winning the championship last year: “It was pretty surreal. Just a well-run league. Definitely have to give a lot of credit to my teammate, Bjorn. We had great chem. We were doubted and called overrated the whole tournament. But who has a ring on their finger now? Shoutout to the fans and especially the Northwood dining hall staff for fueling Bjorn and me. We couldn’t have done it without the proper nutrition. I will always hold the NBL close to my heart,” Buchbinder added.
Only 12 of the players in the 2024 tournament participated in last year’s dance, a testament to the frequent turnover in the school, particularly in the hockey program. This isn’t to say there’s a lack of turnout for the tournament. Sixteen teams have signed on to participate in the tournament. Many of those new participants are underclassmen, ensuring that the tradition of Northwood Basketball continues on next year.
Alexis Trudeau ’24, a player in his final year at Northwood, participated in the league in all three seasons. “We see it grow, and it’s becoming a tradition. Kids are gonna be doing it 20 years from now, and it’ll probably be the 24th edition,” Trudeau said. “It’s so much fun when the boys rally in March to play basketball. I’ve been part of it all three years, so it’s pretty cool. I’m with Pete Moore this year. Tall guy, skilled, can shoot. A 6’5” guy that can shoot, he’s the only guy,” added Trudeau with confidence.
See games live and in person most weeknights and weekends in the fitness center.