M. Basketball Begins New Season With High Expectations

At the start of last season, the prognosis for the Harvard men's basketball team wasn't too promising. After losing Tim Hill '99--the program's career assists leader and seventh all-time scorer--and Mike Beam '99, many felt that the 1999-00 season would be a "rebuilding year."

Conventional wisdom dictated that a team that would have to rely so heavily on young players could never equal the performance of a team guided by veterans.

As it would turn out, conventional wisdom was wrong.

Last year's Crimson team, on the strength of seasoned players like forward Dan Clemente and guard Damian Long '00 as well as the talents of younger stars like Drew Gellert and Elliott Prasse-Freeman, equaled the mark of the previous year's team with a 7-7 record in Ivy competition.

Now, with the many of the same players returning for the 2000-01 season, the expectations are high that the Crimson, led by captain Clemente, will build on its success from last year and again remain competitive in the race for the Ivy League crown. In a preseason media poll, Harvard was ranked third.

Harvard certainly has many positives to build upon going into the season. On the offensive side of the ball, the 1999-00 Crimson made 178 three-pointers--the third most in school history--with a 36.7 percent success rate. Also, Prasse-Freeman led the Ivy League in assists per game and ranked ninth in the nation as a freshman.

On the defensive side of the ball, Harvard was also impressive statistically. The Crimson led the Ivy League in turnovers forced with 17.9 per game, turnover margin (plus-2.2), and steals per game (8.6). Gellert set a school record by finishing the year with 74 steals and led the Ivy League with 2.8 steals per game.

However, Harvard will have to shore up certain areas where it has demonstrated inconsistency before it can be considered a legitimate contender for the title.

"The challenge for us clearly is our field goal defense and rebounding," Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan said. "We've been in the top half of every statistical category in the league except for rebounding and field goal percentage defense."

Last season, Harvard ended near the bottom of the Ivy League by allowing its opponents to hit 44.8 percent of their shots. Having a strong field goal defense is crucial for the Crimson. In games in which Harvard holds it opponents under .400 shooting, the Crimson is an astonishing 44-2 over the last five years and 5-0 last year. Unfortunately, Harvard went 7-15 in its remaining games, in part because of its relatively weak field goal defense.

In terms of rebounding, Harvard ended the season with a minus-1.0 rebounding margin. Despite its strength in steals and generally efficient backcourt defense, the Crimson frontcourt struggled in pulling down errant shots. In preseason practices, Sullivan frequently stressed this element of the game to his players.

"In order to be successful in any league, and ours is no exception, you have to be able to consistently rebound the ball," Sullivan said.

Last season, Harvard's bright spot in the rebounding department was center Tim Coleman, who was fifth in the league in rebounds per game. The Crimson will be without Coleman this season, however, as academic reasons have forced him to take the year off. He will return for the 2001-02 season.

Both players and coaches alike have made better defense and rebounding a central goal for the upcoming season.

"I think that where we will end up this season will depend on how we play defense and how we rebound the ball," Clemente said.

Ultimately though, a possible run for the Ivy title will rest on all the facets of the game and not solely on their collective defensive prowess.

The Crimson Backcourt

As a unit, Harvard's corps of guards is generally considered the strongest component of the team. The Crimson backcourt, led by returning starters Gellert and Prasse-Freeman, is not only offensively explosive and defensively sound, but this year it will also be deep with the resurgence of old and new players alike.

The success of the Crimson offense will greatly rely on the skills of its point guard, sophomore Prasse-Freeman. In addition to leading the Ivy League with 111 assists in league play, the 6'3 guard also set a freshman record with 196 assists and had a good all-around season. He also chipped in 7.2 points per game, was third on the team in rebounding and second on the team in steals.

However, Prasse-Freeman occasionally had problems turning the ball over. For his first 18 games, Prasse-Freeman had a lackluster 1.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Over his last nine games, though, he improved to a 2.3-to-1 ratio and showed signs of continued development.

"We did a lot of things poorly last year," Prasse-Freeman said. "I turned the ball over way too much and our defense wasn't superb. Those are the things we're working on this year and hope to see an improvement, from myself on a personal level, and from the team across the board."

Playing next to Prasse-Freeman is Gellert. The 6'3 junior shooting guard started all 27 games in his sophomore campaign last year. Aside from setting a school record and ranking nationally in steals, Gellert also contributed substantially in other facets of the Crimson attack. He ended the year averaging 6.8 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and dished out 97 assists to place him second on the team behind Prasse-Freeman.

In addition to Gellert and Prasse-Freeman, there is a litany of players that will provide experience, skill, and depth for the backcourt. Sophomore Brady Merchant, who can also play as a small forward, will backup either Gellert or Prasse-Freeman. Merchant saw a healthy amount of playing time last year, and even started his first two games before enduring a high ankle sprain.

Other returning players who will add experience in the backcourt are senior Brian Parker, junior Alex Lowder, and sophomore Pat Harvey.

One new face who may have an immediate impact is sophomore shooting guard Mike Causey. The 6'2 transfer from Texas Christian University sat out last year for NCAA transfer eligibility reasons, but is expected to contribute from the start of this season. In particular, Causey's skillful perimeter shooting would nicely fill the gap left by Long, a very successful three-point shooter.

The Crimson Frontcourt

Undoubtedly, the centerpiece of the frontcourt will be the literal and emotional leader of the team--captain Dan Clemente.

"He'll continue a legacy that has been really important to us, which is leadership from the captain position," Sullivan said. "I'm really counting on Dan for major leadership this year."

Clemente, who garnered First Team All-Ivy honors last season, returns as the team's leading scorer, rebounder and three-point shooter. His 18.6 points per game would have given Clemente the scoring title in the Ivy League, but he did not play in enough games to qualify for that distinction.

Clemente's skill and ability are unquestioned, but a large unknown this season will be the health and durability of the 6'7 forward. Last year, Clemente missed 11 games with a detached retina. The year before that, he required foot surgery after playing through pain to earn Ivy Honorable Mention. Finally, in his freshman year, Clemente missed four games with a severely sprained ankle.

"Hopefully, with the work I put in this summer and a little good luck, I should have a surgery-free year for the first time in a while," Clemente said.

If he does stay healthy, Clemente will be called upon again to bear the brunt of Harvard's rebounding and scoring.

With the departure of Coleman and center Ethan Altaratz, the remainder of the Crimson frontcourt will be comprised of the next generation in Harvard big men. Filling in at center will be 6'9 sophomore Onnie Mayshak. Mayshak, the first Canadian to play for the Crimson in its 100-year history, who gained some valuable experience last year by starting seven games and averaging 3.6 points per outing.

Mayshak will be crashing the boards with classmate Sam Winter. The 6'7 forward was tapped to fill in for the injured Clemente last season and performed well. Winter ended the season averaging 5.8 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game and should be a crucial element to Harvard's plans for improved rebounding.

Rounding out the cadre of frontcourt players is the only freshman on the team. Kam Walton, the nephew of former NBA center and UCLA standout Bill Walton, may receive some substantial minutes in his inaugural year with Harvard.

The Schedule

Harvard's schedule this year closely resembles last year's slate of games. The Crimson opens the season at home Nov. 21 against Holy Cross and then hosts Lehigh four days later.

Although Harvard fared well last season, posting two wins against these opponents to start the season, the team is only focused on the opening games and is not looking past its immediate adversaries.

"Honestly, the only game I've circled on the calendar right now is Holy Cross," Clemente said. "That's the only thing I'm looking at."

Other non-conference games of interest will take place over the Crimson's Thanksgiving road trip. Harvard will travel south to play Georgia Tech on Nov. 28 and then face Mercer two days later.

But the true crux of the schedule will begin on Dec. 16 when Harvard plays its first Ivy League contest at home against Dartmouth. Over the ensuing two months, the Crimson will face every Ivy team twice in the race for the League title.

The Crimson will end the season at home with games against Columbia and Cornell in early March.

Season Outlook

So what will this year's more experienced and cohesive Crimson squad accomplish? Well, the answer to that question depends on whom you ask.

"We want to go dancing, plain and simple," Prasse-Freeman said, in reference to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. "We really think we have the components, the dedication and the coaching to make some things happen."

Although earning a shot in the Tournament would require beating Princeton and Penn to win the Ivy Title, the Crimson may be able to pull an upset or two with improved rebounding and field goal percentage defense.

"I want people to say that this is team that has played the hardest and been the closest in years," Clemente said. "If we do that, then we'll be able to make some noise this year."

In short, this team has come a long way from last season's predicted "rebuilding year." If the Crimson can find ways to rebound and hold their opponents to low-percentage shots, there is no telling how far the Crimson can go.

One question remains. Are you ready for some noise?