War Refugee Headlines Stellar W. Hoops Class

Webber, Rose, King, and Howard? Try Lee, Dunham, Peljto and Tubridy.

Now that's a "Fab Four."

Four new recruits will represent the Class of 2004 on the Harvard women's basketball team this year. Guards Jen Lee and Dirkje Dunham and forwards Hana Peljto and Patricia Tubridy should all make contributions to this season's squad, which has a legitimate chance to compete for a title in a wide-open Ivy League.

"What a class!" said Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. "They're learning quickly. They fit in perfectly. We're very excited about our new additions."

All four freshmen should see playing time this year, as Delaney-Smith hopes to use a 10-player rotation, analogous to Billy Donovan's successful system in the men's program at the University of Florida.

The most intriguing recruit may be Peljto, who hails from Minnesota but is originally from Bosnia. Averaging 27.2 points and 13.0 rebounds a game during her senior season at Osseo High School while leading her team to a State Championship, Peljto was named the Associated Press and Gatorade State Player of the Year.

Peljto and her family emigrated from Bosnia to the United States in 1995. It was a long trek for Peljto as she and her family escaped war in Bosnia, moving to nearby Slovenia. It was there that Peljto picked up basketball.

"My gym teacher showed me a basketball when I was 11 years old," Peltjo said. "He thought it would be beneficial for me to learn how to play because I was tall."

At 6'2, Peljto will play the power forward position, but could see some time as a swingman, according to Delaney-Smith.

Already this preseason, she has dominated in practices and intra-squad scrimmages. Of course, practice and game-time performance are distinct entities. Nonetheless, Peljto will get her share of playing time this season. With added experience in pressure situations, Peljto may have the skills to become--dare it be said--the next Allison Feaster '98.

"As soon as the offenses become instinctive to Hana, we'll run all the same isolations we did with Hana as we did with Allison," Delaney-Smith said.

It is not just Peljto's basketball skills that impress her coach.

"She is wonderfully coachable," Delaney-Smith said. "She's first in every wind sprint drill. She has fun. She works so hard it's not even real. In practice, she scores at will. No one can stop her. And, when you ask her, 'How do you feel?' she answers, modestly but truthfully, 'Well, I didn't think it would be this easy.'"

Tubridy joins Peljto as the other newcomer in the frontcourt. Tubridy, at 6', is a rebounding force who should begin the season as a defensive spark off the bench.

From Christ the King High School in New York, Tubridy may have the most impressive high school background on the team. Christ the King has won 17 division championships in a row and 11 consecutive New York Class A state titles. Tubridy scored over 1,000 career points and captained the school's championship squads in her junior and senior years.

Harvard even staged a minor coup in recruiting her away from Columbia, where her older sister, Catherine, was a star. But Tubridy seems right at home in Crimson.

"We have a really deep team," Tubridy said. "I am so impressed with the level of competition. It is definitely much more intense than high school, but I'm excited, and I want to play."

Tubridy will likely start off the season at power forward, though Delaney-Smith said she would like to try her out at small forward as the season progresses.

"Trisha brings every intangible to the game a coach is looking for--energy, enthusiasm, speed, smarts, and strength," Delaney-Smith said. "She might be one of the best rebounders I've ever had here. She's a great court leader and has a nose for the ball. That's why I want her at the 'three' position, though she'll play power forward to begin the season."

Lee will likely play both the point and the two-guard during her collegiate career. She is blessed with a pure jump shot, "something we don't usually get here," Delaney-Smith said. Her smooth ball-handling and lightning quickness should make her transition from high school to college easy.

In high school, Lee was an All-State guard from Immaculate Heart Academy in New York. She grew up playing basketball against her brother and male neighbors. Lee believes these recreational games have helped her make the transition to Division I basketball.

"The girls on this level are strong, big and fast," Lee said. "There is nothing separating them from the style the boys play."

Dunham rounds out the group and is a point guard from California with tremendous athleticism. Delaney-Smith is excited by her presence in the team's planned pressure defense.

"I think she's going to be very intimidating defensively, especially playing the ball man-to-man," Delaney-Smith said.

Dunham enjoys running up and down the court, and is looking forward to contributing in her first season.

"I want to be someone who can be counted on to play good defense and to run the point as a leader," Dunham said. "My goal is to both improve myself and my teammates through practice and play. We have such a talented team, I can't wait to begin the season."

The most exciting short-term benefit of this year's class is that it will provide immediate improvement to the team, which has already been bitten by the injury bug. Co-captain Melissa Johnson is still on the mend from a torn MCL last year, junior Laura Barnard is out with a stress fracture and sophomore Sarah Johnson injured her knee in practice.

All four freshmen, however, are healthy and ready to step in if necessary.

Unlike Webber, Rose and Howard, though, these freshmen plan to stick with the college game for a full four years.

Delaney-Smith realizes that this year's class has the potential to be, well, fabulous.

"All four freshman will dominate in their careers, that's my prediction," she said.