The Dynamic Duo

Bruce Wayne and his faithful ward Dick Grayson never had it so good.

The Batman and Robin of television fame may have had a grand old time in the city of Gotham, but there's no way they enjoyed themselves more than the Harvard men's basketball team's most visible freshmen.

Tagged "the dynamic duo" by a sportswriter after their disappointing debut in the squad's season-opening victory over Merrimack, Kyle Dodson (a/k/a Robin) and Bill Mohler (he's Batman) are a pair of very happy campers.

"I love Harvard--it's a real nice place," says Robin--er, Dodson, a 6-ft., 4-in., 205-lb., fast-moving forward.

"I've actually entirely forgotten what high school was like," adds Mohler, a 6-ft., 8-in., 225-lb, center/forward. "It seems like I've been a freshman forever."

In those three eternal months be two have emerged as the members of the Class of '88 most likely to see action on Coach Frank McLaughlin's squad this winter.

But they probably won't be appearing for very long stretches, at least until later in the season. "We're cautious with freshmen," says McLaughlin, "because you don't want to break them.

"They're as good as we've had, as far as freshmen are concerned," adds the eighth-year mentor.

Another very good ex-Yardling agrees. "Right now it's hard to be a freshman," says senior Co-Captain Joe Carrabino, who was an Ivy League Rookie of the Year in his youth.

"I was thinking back to when I was a freshman," he recalls. "It's hard to be relied upon, but they're handling it well."

"They're doing a good job of adjusting," agrees senior Co Captain Bob Ferry, also a former Ivy Rookie of the Year.

They also seem to be making a good time of adjusting. After a less-than-stellar mutual debut, the two spelled each other in the first half of Sunday's victory over St. Michael's.

Dodson scored his first varsity points, then yielded to Mohler, who committed a pair of nervous turnovers but also blocked a couple of shots.

"I was really excited," says Mohler. "I was scared to shoot--I was afraid I'd throw it over the backboard."

That's not a problem he's used to having. As a senior at St. Albans, in Washington, D.C., the current Weld resident averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds while leading his squad to a league championship.

Playing against Carrabino in practice, the Chevy Chase, Md. native has impressed his weightlifting partner. "Bill Mohler brings a new air of excitement to the team," says last year's Ivy Player of the Year. "He's improved 100 percent.

"He's learning the intricacies of the game--he's learning the little things that will make a big difference."

The Boy Wonder is also picking up a thing or two, and not just on the court, where he says he still feels a bit nervous.

Dodson's adjustment from West Orange (N.J.) High School and its athletics--football as well as basketball--to college, he says, has been made easier by support from his mates, both team and room.

"I love my room--we have a good time," he says of life in Pennypacker. And as for the team. "They're very helpful, very supportive. It seems like they're looking out for you and want you to do well."

On a team that has more freshmen than members of any other class, that's not surprising. Dodson's level of interest in what some would consider his greatest field of expertise, however, is.

"I'm not a sports fan," he says. "I don't know anything [about professional or college sports]--I'd rather do something different" Like play tennis. Or read.

"I've always liked reading," offers the prospective Literature or English concentrator, who's enjoying Literature of the Outsider, Justice and Spanish, but not overjoyed with Ec 10.

Mohler, while he certainly seems to enjoy reading, is also devoted to other pursuits For one thing, he's a big fan of the Washington Redskins, Capitals and Bullets, the Chicago Cubs and the Baltimore Orioles.

He's also a longtime supporter of the Georgetown University Hovas, the defending national champs in basketball. "Even before they were good."

And in his spare time, he's enjoyed summer work in a molecular biology lab at the National Institute of Health That certainly fits into a schedule that includes French Calculus, Shakespeare and Organic Chemistry.

He may even turn out to be a Biochemistry concentrator. "I'm pretty interested in this DNA thing," remarks the University of Maryland and Wake Forest recruit, who says he's enjoying a friendly rivalry with his Yale graduate parents and sister.

Long Looks

Dodson, who got long looks from recruiters at Stanford, Princeton, Vanderbilt, William and Mary, and Holy Cross, is pretty interested, in basketball for right now, and says he and Mohler will "just have to get acclimated a little."

They seem to be acclimating to everything except life without gets and siblings. Mohler misses his mutt Stanley, Dodson his younger brother Michael - especially Harvard basketball.

"I think it's a tough experience for freshmen in general," McLaughlin says of the adjustment to college life, adding that the dynamic duo is "coming along."

"They add a lot to our team," says Ferry. And Carrabino offers the most encouraging thought. "It's only a matter of time.