Wednesday, March 13, 2019
By Brian Foley, Web Content Specialist
On Friday, March 8, 78 students from across Wisconsin, including 16 from eight different Milwaukee Public Schools after-school programs, flocked to the Milwaukee Bucks' practice facility for the third annual NBA Math Hoops board game competition in Wisconsin.
NBA Math Hoops brings in fourth- to eighth-grade students from across the area to participate in the event at the Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin Sports Science Center. "Mathletes" from Milwaukee, Madison, Oshkosh, Racine, and everywhere in between attended the tournament on Friday. MPS was represented by:
- 53rd Street CLC
- Camp Congress
- Camp Thoreau
- Greenfield CLC
- Lincoln Avenue CLC
- OW Holmes CLC
- Seifert CLC
- Zablocki CLC
The NBA Math Hoops event is a free program for participating Milwaukee Public Schools after-school groups through a partnership with the Bucks and a sponsorship with GE Healthcare. Fifteen MPS afterschool programs participated in the NBA Math Hoops program during the 2018-19 school year.
The board game is closely aligned with the sport of basketball itself. The games begin with a tipoff, and proceed with a series of shots, fouls, free throws, steals, and turnovers. The 16-week season starts with a three-week preseason slate where the participants work through several curriculum pieces. From there, the games ramp up through the championship in week 16. There is even a trade deadline in week nine, when students are allowed to deal up to two NBA or WNBA players!
In the statewide tournament, each team plays three games in first round. The top four teams advance to the single-elimination semifinals, where it is then wittled down to two squads for the finals, and a champion is eventually declared.
MPS has a history of success in this event, with Camp Fairview and 53rd Street CLC winning the first two statewide tournaments. Last year's champions from 53rd Street - Kyla McCray and Fayth Buchanan Cooper - were back to defend their title this year, but it was Lincoln Avenue CLC who represented MPS in the semifinals before ultimately bowing out in a tight battle with the Boys and Girls Club Oshkosh team. Diego Sanchez and Sergio Garcia (see left) represented Lincoln Avenue.
According to the website, NBA Math Hoops provides a "fast-paced basketball board game, curriculum, and community program that allows students to learn fundamental math skills through direct engagement with the real statistics of their favorite NBA and WNBA players." The organization also cites a startling statistic that 82 percent of low-income students are not proficient in math. "Failing a math class in middle school is a key indicator for dropping out of high school, which leads to a lifetime of struggle." This event provides another opportunity for these students to learn and grow through areas that are more relatable to their own lives.
Students' test scores have improved in each year of the national event; scores jumped roughly 30 percent in the first three years of the NBA Math Hoops experience.
"Games such as NBA Math Hoops are an especially wonderful fit for the after-school setting because they “disguise learning," CLC supervisor Beth Kurtz said.
"Students who participate in NBA Math Hoops practice math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and statistics... Further, students practice critical leadership and youth development skills such as teamwork and good sportsmanship."
Each student also received a Bucks gift bag for participating, along with a high-five from Bango the team mascot and a Brook Lopez-signed card from the Splash Mountain himself.
Great job and good luck to everyone throughout next year's Math Hoops season!