Cardiac Cagers Making Progress

If basketball were a game of Monopoly, Harvard men's coach Frank Sullivan would feel like he just received a "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

With his team's overall record now at 4-2 (1-0 Ivy), Sullivan has finally broken out of the losing rut that plagued him during the his first two seasons at Harvard.

The Crimson players are hustling, working hard, pulling for each other and steadily improving in all areas of their game. (See graphic below.)

Most importantly, they're winning. Unlike past seasons, in which the "wait 'til next year" refrain was used more often than the average Harvard student's snooze button, it finally seems that the proverbial future is now.

Granted, Harvard's first six opponents this season have been somewhat weaker than last year's foes. Still, it's difficult to imagine this year's squad falling behind Boston College 32-2 at the beginning of a game, as it did last season.

Because the scoring is more balanced and team defense is tighter, Harvard is simply putting itself in position to win more games. Beating the Crimson is no longer as simple as shutting down one player.

"Last year, we went out a lot of times thinking that Tyler [Rullman '93] had to get 20 [points], but we weren't playing as a team. This year, we know that if one guy doesn't shoulder the load all the time, someone else will," one player said.

Another factor to consider is that Sullivan and his staff are now entering their third season. Coaching players who are accustomed to their system has definitely made a difference.

"I think now that Coach Sullivan has more players that he recruited himself and that those players are used to his style, we're responding better," sophomore Mike Glimore said. "We're just playing a lot more together now than we did before."

Ragin' Rankin: No one has had a bigger hand in Harvard's turnaround than sophomore Darren Rankin. With two consecutive appearances on the Ivy League's weekly Honor Roll, the 6'7" forward has clearly emerged as a force inside.

Rankin's averages of 17.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game all rank in the League's top five, as does his .833 shooting percentage from the line.

It is hard to believe that at this time last season, Rankin was still fighting for playing time, often seeming tentative when he entered games. No longer.

"I am just absolutely amazed at how much that kid has improved," said Dartmouth Coach Dave Faucher after his team fell to Harvard on Tuesday. "Last year, he was just a bull in a china shop, but now I barely recognize him.

"He's a real go-to guy for [Coach] Frank [Sullivan] now," Faucher continued. "I mean, this should serve as inspiration for every young player out there. It shows what hard work and patience can do."

Stats, Stats: Rankin isn't the only Harvard player among the Ivy League statistical leaders. Several of his teammates have also leapt out in front in various categories.

Captain Tarik Campbell leads the Ancient Eight with 6.9 assists per game and ranks sixth with 2.3 steals per game, just behind junior Jared Leake, who is tied with Rankin at 2.7 thefts per outing.

Freshman Kyle Snowden stands tied with Rankin for third in rebounding, and Gilmore ranks seventh in free throw shooting with a .792 percentage.

And One More Stat: Speaking of free throw shooting, the team's improvement in that category must be a huge relief for Sullivan and his staff.

Harvard's 14-for-19 performance from the line against Dartmouth finally pushed the team's percentage over .600 (at .602, there's still not a lot of room to spare). And it was Snowden's two free throws with three seconds left that gave the Crimson a 67-66 victory.

If Harvard had shot even decently against Colgate on November 29--that is, if it had missed any fewer than the 17 free throws that it did--it would have beaten the heavily-favored Red Raiders, too.

Vermont Up Next: Harvard faces Vermont in its next match on Sunday at 2:00 at Briggs Cage. The Catamounts will be led by sophomore guard Eddie Benton, a 5'11" dynamo averaging well over 20 points per game.

"[Benton]'s going to get his shots," said junior Jared Leake. "I mean, they're going to set screens for him, and he's pretty much got the green light. But we've got to stop their other players, too.

"We're not going in there with the attitude of 'Stop Eddie Benton, win the game,'" Leake said. "We just want to concentrate on executing our stuff and playing hard."

Around the Ivies: League favorite Penn again deserves top billing, as it knocked off cross-town rival St. Joseph's, 79-77, for the first time since 1979.

Jerome Allen, last year's League MVP, notched 21 points and 11 assists to gain Player of the Week honors. Against St. Joseph's, he was big in the big moments, scoring 11 of Penn's final 12 points, including an NBA-length three-pointer as the shot clock expired.

Harvard gets its first look at the Quakers on January 7, when the Crimson makes its annual swing through Philadelphia and Princeton.

Princeton, for its part, also looks tough this season. While not expected to give Penn a real challenge for the League title, the Tigers have run up a 4-3 record, losing only to Vanderbilt, Tulane and LaSalle, all of which will contend for NCAA berths.

One team definitely not contending for a berth will be Yale. The Elis lost two tough games over the weekend in New York City at the Lapchick Memorial Tournament, hosted by St. John's University. Yale now stands at, ahem, 2-5. Head-to-head

A comparison of last year's varsity basketball team with this year's:

1992-1993  1993-1994 69.5  points per game  71.3 79.8  opponents' points per game  67.5 .421  FG pct.  .438 .472  opponents' FG pct.  .442 -0.7  rebound margin  +9.6 7.8  steals  12.3