Long Range: Athlete of the Week Damian Long

There used to be a time--just a few weeks ago, actually--when the Harvard men's basketball team might have worried about how it would outscore its opponents with junior forward Dan Clemente, the team's leading scorer, out for the year.

Suffice it to say that those days are gone now.

Long gone, as a matter of fact.

While a host of Harvard players have improved their games in the wake of Clemente's absence, no one has stepped up his play more in recent games than Harvard's captain, senior guard Damian Long.

In the Crimson's huge 48-43 upset victory at Dartmouth on Saturday, Long played a crucial role in securing the win and, consequently, sole possession of first place in the Ivy League. On a day in which players on both sides struggled with their shooting and got into foul trouble, Long was one of the few combatants left standing at game's end.

The 6'3 swingman led all scorers with 11 points, including a game-high three three-pointers. In addition, Long snagged three steals and eight rebounds.

Those eight boards broke Long's previous career-high of seven, a mark that he had set earlier in the week in the Crimson's 78-71 loss to Vermont.

For Long, Saturday's game against the Big Green was just another link in a chain of remarkable performances that he has quietly pieced together this season. After enduring a 1998-99 campaign that was, by his own standards, less than stellar, Long has come on in a big way this year.

In addition to leading the team in free-throw percentage (80.0 percent), Long is currently the team's second leading scorer (13.9 ppg). This season, Long has scored in double figures in all but one of Harvard's 14 games.

He had done so only six times in his previous three years on the team.

Long has especially been on a tear from behind the arc, hitting 22 of his last 48 attempts from long range. Also, his three treys against Dartmouth extended his streak of games with multiple three-point baskets to 12.

In short, Long's inspired play has gone quite a way in providing the leadership that is so necessary for a team as young as the Crimson, which has two freshmen in the starting lineup.

Assuming Damian Long continues on his current pace, the Crimson may be in the Ivy League race for the long haul.

--BRIAN E. FALLON