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Naperville Central's Nussbaum wins 700th game

On the one hand, it was another typical day for veteran, multisport coach Andy Nussbaum at Naperville Central.

The longtime head coach for the Redhawks girls basketball and softball teams and assistant football coach is used to going from one sporting event to another and from one season to the next.

On Saturday Nussbaum's Redhawks won a 56-49 game at Plainfield Central for his 700th varsity win at the school. But there were no balloons or a big celebration as Nussbaum raced off to catch a boys basketball game at Lockport where his twin sons were playing for Naperville Central.

Nussbaum now has topped the 700-win mark in both softball and basketball at the school, and may actually have already reached the mark in basketball had he decided not to officially count 8 games he won during a COVID-shortened season two years ago.

"Well, we've had good players you know," Nussbaum said modestly. "In a sense we've built a certain tradition where the players are like, 'Oh, no, this is the way we do things here'. I don't have to really do too much, you know what I mean? This is how this operates. The older players teach the younger players."

Nussbaum has coached several great players over the years including All-American Candace Parker, who guided the school to state titles in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons. The Redhawks were 68-2 over those two state title years and won 120 games in Parker's four years.

On Saturday, freshman star Trinity Jones scored 28 points in the win at Plainfield Central, giving the 10-9 team four straight wins. Nussbaum carried a 690-330 mark into this season, his 35th as the head coach (including the COVID campaign). He has served as the head coach for the softball program for four decades. This spring would mark his 40th year at the helm if not for having one spring wiped out by COVID.

"Today we really didn't play as well as we can play. But good teams find a way to win when you don't play your best, and I thought that was certainly what happened," said Nussbaum, who knows a thing or two about winning games.

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