Professors school students at hoops

It was the end of the first period. The opposing team missed a shot by a hair, and the fan-favorite team was off, sprinting to beat the clock, passing, skirting around the other players.

"Don't fall asleep out there!" someone shouted from the sidelines.

As the buzzer sounded, the ball went in for a three-pointer. The crowd at the sidelines went wild. The score was 35 to 33.

And the professors were winning.

"I've never seen anything like this," the announcer said at halftime. "Team Ph.D. is giving you a run for your money."

To support the Measles Initiative, the JHU Red Cross, Sigma Alpha Mu and the Student Council organized a professor versus student basketball game-the Shots 4 Shots Tournament. Students paid a dollar to watch the two teams compete in the Athletic Center last Friday night.

"The International Measles Initiative, which aims to eradicate measles in Africa, is a large part of the Red Cross agenda around the country," said junior Shruti Mathur, the International Service Chair of the JHU Red Cross.

"There are 1,200 children dying in Africa every day, but only 82 cents is needed to save a child's life," she said. "It's such an awesome cause to devote to because so little can do so much good. College students don't have that much money, but anyone can spare a dollar."

To fundraise for the Measles Initiative, Mathur came up with the idea for the Shots 4 Shots tournament.

"To me, it's about thinking of creative, out-of-the-box ideas," she said. "During the fall semester, we had a Date Auction, which was very successful. And we wanted another event that wouldn't be just sitting at booths. Shots 4 Shots is very catchy and everyone likes basketball. So we decided to try it."

"It's such an important initiative that we wanted to get the most people and groups to get involved."

According to sophomore brother Jerry George, Sigma Alpha Mu provided the referees for the game.

"We wanted to start setting a tone for our fraternity, doing more with community service," George said. "Hopkins has been lacking in that respect, but I think it's really important."

After recruiting 12 student teams to play in a week-long tournament, the Red Cross sent out an e-mail asking for all "willing and able" professors.

"We didn't realize that so many professors actually played basketball," she said. "It turned out even better than I imagined it."

Friday evening at the Athletic Center, while the top two student teams competed in the finals for a chance to play in the tournament, the professors were practicing on the other half of the gym.

"We're not optimistic, but you never know," said Barry Zirkin, a professor at the School of Public Health. "A couple of us play with these students in the gym and they're very good. And I think one of the guys on our team hasn't played since 1984."

Dan Naiman, the head of the applied math department, took a more light-hearted tone about the game.

"I used to play for the NBA in the 60s, you know," he said. 'You do realize I'm kidding, right?

"Really, I expect we'll have one or two cases of cardiac arrest," he added.

Naiman said that the professor team had practiced intensely online to prepare for the game.

"We have this special strategy," Naiman said. "We're working out all our plays electronically. It's one of those well-kept secrets. A lot of people don't know about it, but that's how the professional teams do it. You don't actually practice, you just e-mail. I guess during the game, we're just going to have to try to look like we know what we're doing."

The game began at 8 p.m.; from the first moment, the crowd started cheering whenever the professors had the ball. The score was very close throughout the match.

A tense moment came when one of the professors lost a contact lens and had to get a substitute.

With one minute left in the second half, the student team made a three-point shot to tie the score at 66. The students finally won on foul shots, 71 to 69, because the professors quickly accumulated nine fouls at the end of the game.

Mathur said the Red Cross hoped to organize a rematch in the fall. The event ended up raising over $1,200 for the Measles Initiative.

"We reached so many people," she said. "All of those who showed up to the game, or played, or helped us organize it, all of those people got involved."

"I think it was the right outcome," said Doug Sandhaus, a professor of business and internet law. "Our best moment was when we were winning at halftime. I'm glad we had them that close, and I'm going to do what I can to fail every one of them," he said.