Life of Brian: M. Hoops May Have Surprises In Store

Dan who?

Five games into the post-Clemente era, the Harvard men’s basketball team is 4-1 and has won three in a row. Minus one of the greatest players in Harvard history, the Crimson is marching on, but the winning streak itself is not even the most impressive part, compared to how Harvard is doing it.

Last week, Sullivan identified three keys to the upcoming season—playing better defense, doing a better job rebounding and winning on the road. So far, the Crimson is doing the job on both of the first two counts.

Saturday was just the latest example. Led by the combined efforts of Drew Gellert and Brady Merchant, Harvard shut down Stony Brook’s lone scoring threat, point guard D.J. Munir, holding him to 7-of-21 shooting. If not for some uncharacteristic free-throw troubles late in the second half, Harvard might have put Stony Brook away much earlier in the game.

Harvard has gone about its business quietly, while other Ivy League teams have compiled more impressive wins against more recognizable Division I teams. But the Browns and Columbias of the world—and Penn and Princeton, as well—would be ill-advised to discount these wins, based on the Crimson’s strength of schedule. In a year when not much is expected and all the pressure is off, Harvard is doing the things necessary to compete with bigger, more talented teams.

With Clemente gone, this year’s team no longer has any superstars. Sullivan is the first to admit that his team doesn’t have any Player of the Year candidates.

But what Harvard does have is a group of hard workers, a gang of 9-to-5 lunchpailers who will never be outhustled. In that sense, Drew Gellert is the perfect captain for the bunch. He doesn’t light up the scoreboard all that much, and he talks even less. But he does all the little things, and be it by coincidence or by necessity, the rest of the team is finally following suit.

We’ve seen this before. Think the Mariners after A-Rod or the Patriots after Bledsoe. ESPN Page 2 columnist Bill Simmons has even given a name to the phenomenon—the Ewing Theory, after the former New York Knicks center.

How ever you account for it, Harvard’s play through its first five games has been inspired and, most importantly, well-rounded. In the team’s comeback win against Lehigh last week, literally everyone made a contribution in the game’s final minute. With Harvard trailing by seven with 1:52 left, Harvey, Coleman and Winter all made key buckets, enabling Elliott Prasse-Freeman to drain the go-ahead jumper when Gellert made a steal to set it up.

“I told the guys after the game that was the first game I’ve ever been a part of where every guy on the floor made a big play in the last two minutes,” Sullivan said.

That offensive balance has gone a long way towards compensating for some poor shooting games by Harvey. Against Stony Brook, Harvey hit just 3-of-10 from the field and finished with just 13 points, well below his average. But Harvard won anyway, thanks to three other scorers in double figures. Last year, Harvard was pretty much doomed when its leading scorer was struggling.

This year, that’s not the case.

On Saturday, the hero was Winter. For the better part of two years, the 6’8 Winter has worked to become more than just a body. Against Stony Brook Saturday, he was a legitimate force, posting a double-double that included a career-high 10 rebounds.

“That’s been a thing we’ve always talked to Sam about—the importance of contributing on the rebounding angle,” Sullivan said. “Sometimes it’s easier for him on offense than defense because of his athletic ability, but he was big [Saturday].”

One play was particularly clutch. With two minutes and change left in the game, Winter tangled with a defender while boxing out for a rebound off a Coleman miss. Winter fell to the floor, but that didn’t stop him from corralling the ball and calling a timeout to preserve Harvard’s possession.

It’s been a while since Winter made as positive a contribution as he did this weekend, but maybe Saturday is a sign of things to come. If Harvard is to be successful this year, it better be.

Harvard has just four guys in its froncourt rotation and one of them, junior center Brian Sigafoos, continues to struggle to avoid foul trouble. Sigafoos’ size makes him an important cog for Harvard on both of the ends of the floor, but on Saturday, he had just two points—and four fouls—in 11 minutes.

“He labored a little bit getting into his rhythm. That’s a cause for concern because we’ve got to get more from Brian,” Sullivan said.

Even without Sigafoos, Harvard again won the battle of the boards, pulling down 48 boards to the Sea Wolves’ 38. Just under half of those came off the offensive glass, which helped mitigate Harvard’s poor field-goal shooting (37 percent).

More importantly, the Crimson continued its trend of dominating the defensive glass.

That is a big improvement over last year, when even on the nights when Harvard played good defense, it gave its opponents too many second opportunities.

The true test for this team will come when it starts playing more games against bigger teams and on the road. One thing Harvard has not done well in recent years is win away from Lavietes.

That test begins tomorrow, when Harvard will face Boston University at Case Gymnasium.

On Saturday, the Terriers beat Holy Cross in Worcester, something the Crimson couldn’t do two weeks ago. Two of B.U.’s three leading scores are froncourt players, and one of them—6’8 forward Billy Collins—is pulling down eight boards a game.

If, after tomorrow, it can still be said that Harvard is outrebounding its opponents and defending well down low, then there will be genuine cause for excitement. And maybe—just maybe—the Crimson will surprise some people this year.