Night League is an intramural basketball league run by New Trier that plays on Wednesday nights during the winter. Teams are comprised of 5-10 people, with divisions for each grade for the boys teams.
Night League is packed every year with competition. Teams are either in it to win it (the championship) or are formed just to have fun with friends. Even now there is a pre-season favorite to win it all in the Junior Boys Division.
Black Magic, the all-junior team that has won every Night League championship since its team members began high school, is looking to repeat their success this season.
The past two years, they have posed a threat to every other team and have dominated each division they have played in. This year, however, looks to be a little different for Black Magic.
Many teams are feeling confident going into the season against the former champs. “They are definitely a powerhouse waiting to be taken down,” says SEAL Team Six member Michael Dugan. “They have a lot of size and power, but a team with a quick back court will be able to take them down this year.”
“Confidence is high with two championships under our belt,” says Black Magic member Kevin Mulhern. “But we have been hit hard with injuries and other teams are loading up so we have to watch our backs.”
Teams in the same division as Black Magic have poured all their resources into beating the reigning champions.
Many teams in this division have put a target on Black Magic, and if they knock them out of the competition, then they have a shot at winning the championship.
The players of Black Magic seem to take this act of putting in new players in stride, and they aren’t taking it as a direct threat.
“People want to beat us,” says Mulhern, “so if they are stacking up their teams then we will just have to prove we’re still on top.” And they will have to prove they can handle the pressure of winning another championship, even with all of the injuries the team is facing.
Injuries are going to be a problem for Black Magic this year, since much of the squad previously played for the New Trier Football team. “A lot of the players on our team received their injuries from playing football,” said Mulhern. “We have a kid with torn labrums, a kid with a torn meniscus, and I have a fractured ankle, so it is definitely going to be a challenge to get ready to play healthy teams, especially the ones with re-tooled rosters.”
Of course, Black Magic isn’t the only good team in the Junior boys division, as there are many groups with talented players.
Teams such as Team HUB, SEAL Team Six, Club Spicy, and Chicago Bliss are all looking to contend with Black Magic this year. Team HUB is the consensus number two team, according to many Night League Players.
But the key to success in this league is having a squad that has people who know how to play basketball. “We went through a vigorous rebuilding phase this offseason,” said Dugan, “we lack size and the ability to grab boards, but we feel that if our shots fall and we can run a well-played zone on defense, we can put up some numbers.”
Regardless of whether or not teams are in it to win it, one thing is clear in the Junior Boys division: Black Magic is the team to beat.
The powerhouse with a target on their back. Between their injuries and teams putting together solid squads, this is the year Black Magic could go down.