Ben Stiller to direct 'Nerdball'

The 2007 documentary Quantum Hoops is a must-watch for any basketball fan because it tells the story of the 2006 Caltech men’s basketball team and their epic quest for immortality. The five seniors on the 2006-07 squad, having no high school basketball experience at all when they accepted their spots on the roster at Caltech, were looking for the team’s first win in 11 seasons. Even more, the Beavers were looking for their first conference win in 21 years. They were the Washington Generals of Division III basketball.

Now their story is being told again, this time as a Disney comedy that has been picked up by Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films. “Think Dodgeball meets Revenge of the Nerds,” some pun-laden studio press release will eventually proclaim.

Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld’s Red Hour will produce a comedy based on the story of a group of brainiacs — future political and industrial titans — who tried to overcome a lack of athletic skills by getting an exiled NCAA coach to lead their team to what seemed for two decades an impossible dream: one in the W column. The script will be written by Stan Chervin. (Via Deadline)

The story is ripe for a goofball comedy, as the then-current players and especially the school’s former athletes were, to put it in technical terms, DOOOOOOOOOOOORKS. I watched Quantum Hoops for the first time two years ago and I still haven’t stopped trying to give my TV a wedgie.

As for the Caltech Dreamin’ Beavers, they finally won a game on January 6, 2007 to end their 11 season slump. But it wasn’t until earlier this year that the Beavers finally snapped their conference losing streak at 310 games. And on that February night, there were boobs being touched in Pasadena. Maybe even two pairs.

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