Yale Emerges As Perennial Contender

For Harvard, it was the beginning of the end. For Yale, it was just the beginning.

Ahead 16 points at the half, the Harvard men’s basketball team utterly collapsed against the Elis at Lavietes Pavilion last February, sleepwalking through a seven-minute scoreless stretch that let Yale back into the game—and, it turned out, contention for an Ivy title. In a foreboding sign for this season, foul trouble banished Harvard stopper Drew Gellert ’02 to the bench and Harvard’s defense went to pieces. So did the offense once Yale switched to a zone defense and even the mighty Pat Harvey was powerless to prevent a jarring 66-57 loss.

The fallout was severe. Lost was the momentum of a spirited win over Brown the night before. Lost was a chance to improve to 5-1 in the Ivy play and lost was a shot—albeit a long one—at the Crimson’s first-ever Ivy title.

And Yale? The Elis were off to the races—the Ivy playoff race, in particular. Yale rattled off four straight wins, including a sweep of Penn and Princeton. By March, Yale was cutting down its net to celebrate its share of the Ivy title.

This year, Penn is still the class of the league and Princeton remains a pest, but Yale isn’t going away anytime soon. Sophomore Alex Gamboa had a superb year in 2001-02, but, compared to teammate Edwin Draughan, he arguably isn’t even the most talented member of that backcourt. Paul Vitelli is fast emerging as one of the league’s most consistent forwards, anchoring a frontcourt that also includes T.J. McHugh and Ime Archibong.

This year, the Elis have welcomed two promising freshmen in Juan Wheat and Dexter Upshaw. And, after luring Princeton transfer Dominic Martin to New Haven, the Elis have added a legitimate center for the future.

As for this season, coach James Jones has lined up a first-class schedule that may not translate into a ton of non-conference wins, but has won the Elis respect. It’s a long way from last year’s tilt at Lavietes, when it took an epic meltdown by Harvard to give the Elis life.

“We definitely felt like that could have been us,” Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan said of Yale’s emergence last season. “I think about three or four teams felt like that could have been them.”

Maybe so. On that February night in Cambridge, Yale was just another Ivy team looking to distinguish itself and the game against Harvard seemed a battle of equals at the time. A year later, however, the game looks more like two ships passing in the night, with Harvard squarely in Yale’s rear-view mirror. The Crimson may have been the league’s third most successful team after Penn and Princeton the last six years, but Yale will have a lot more to say about the next six.

PENNSYLVANIA

Coach Fran Dunphy (231-129, 13 seasons)

Last SEASON 25-7 (11-3, tied-1st, won playoff)

Key additions Friedrich Ebede; Patrick Haddan.

Key losses None.

KEY RETURNEES Ugonna Onyekwe; Koko Archibong; Andrew Toole; Jeff Schiffner; Tim Begley; David Klatsky.

AT A GLANCE

It took a three-way playoff last year to figure out what should have been established during the regular season—Penn was the best the Ivies had to offer. The Quakers dawdled around during the early portion of last year’s league schedule just enough to make things interesting in 2001-02, but they’re the clear favorite this season. Aside from having two legitimate NBA prospects in its all-Ivy frontcourt tandem of Onyekwe and Archibong, Penn boasts Toole, the league’s best point guard and the team’s glue. A deep bench means that freshman Freidrich Ebede, a Rookie of the Year favorite on most other Ivy teams, will have to work just to earn playing time.

YALE

Coach James Jones (38-48, 3 seasons)

LAST SEASON 21-11 (11-3, tied-1st, lost playoff)

Key additions Dexter Upshaw, Juan Wheat.

Key losses None.

KEY RETURNEES Alex Gamboa; Edwin Draughan; Paul Vitelli; T.J. McHugh; Ime Archibong.

AT A GLANCE

The clock continues to tick on Jones’ remaining days at Yale. The more Yale continues to climb the ranks, the more his stock continues to soar. In the meantime, Yale—with all five starters back, plus captain Chris Leanza—figures to contend again for the Ivy title ... Draughan was the most highly touted freshman coming into last season, but it was Gamboa who walked away with the award as the league’s top rookie. Still, Draughan is considered to have the bigger upside and this could be the year he really starts to flourish ... McHugh emerged as a reliable option for Yale at the center position down the stretch last year. Between him, Vitelli and Archibong, the Elis own one of the more balanced frontcourts in the Ivies.

PRINCETON

Coach John Thompson III (32-22, 2 seasons)

Last SEASON 16-12 (11-3, tied-1st, lost playoff)

Key additions Scott Greenman; Michael Kawalak.

Key losses Mike Bechtold; Ahmed El-Nokali; Dominic Martin; Tom McLaughlin.

KEY RETURNEES Kyle Wente; Ray Robins; Konrad Wysocki; Andre Logan; Ed Persia.

AT A GLANCE

Logan’s return is as strong an addition as any recruit brought in by an Ivy team this year. But questions linger about his health after missing the entire Ivy season last year with a torn ACL ... The Spencer Gloger soap opera opens a new chapter this season. After enjoying one of the finest rookie seasons in school history, Gloger left for UCLA. Now he’s back and reportedly looked sharp during the team’s trip to Spain ... Look for Persia to take over the point guard responsibilities for Princeton now that Ahmed El-Nokali has departed ... Princeton will lean on Wysocki at center now that Martin is gone to Yale.

PRINCETON

Coach John Thompson III (32-22, 2 seasons)

Last SEASON 16-12 (11-3, tied-1st, lost playoff)

Key additions Scott Greenman; Michael Kawalak.

Key losses Mike Bechtold; Ahmed El-Nokali; Dominic Martin; Tom McLaughlin.

KEY RETURNEES Kyle Wente; Ray Robins; Konrad Wysocki; Andre Logan; Ed Persia.

AT A GLANCE

Logan’s return is as strong an addition as any recruit brought in by an Ivy team this year. But questions linger about his health after missing the entire Ivy season last year with a torn ACL ... The Spencer Gloger soap opera opens a new chapter this season. After enjoying one of the finest rookie seasons in school history, Gloger left for UCLA. Now he’s back and reportedly looked sharp during the team’s trip to Spain ... Look for Persia to take over the point guard responsibilities for Princeton now that Ahmed El-Nokali has departed ... Princeton will lean on Wysocki at center now that Martin is gone to Yale.

BROWN

Coach Glen Miller (135-98, 9 seasons)

Last SEASON 17-10 (8-6, 4th place)

Key additions Luke Ruscoe; Ben Logan; Andrew Salter; Saul McDonald.

Key losses Shaun Etheridge; Omari Ware.

KEY RETURNEES Jason Forte; Earl Hunt; Alai Nuualiitia; Jamie Kilburn; Patrick Powers.

AT A GLANCE

A year ago at this time, it was Brown, not Yale, that was expected to contend with Penn and Princeton for the Ivy title. Last year the media projected the Bears to finish second and, despite having the most prolific scorer in the league in Hunt, they barely managed to come in fourth. The reason? Defense, or lack thereof. Brown’s was the second-worst unit in the league ... Forte’s quick progression at point guard was a pleasant surprise for Brown a year ago. In some games, he was a steadier scoring option than even Hunt. He averaged 11.3 ppg on the season. ... Nuualiitia is one of the finer inside players in the league and, at 6.0 rpg, one of the best at crashing the boards.

CORNELL

Coach Steve Donahue (12-42, 2 seasons)

Last SEASON 5-22 (2-12, 7th place)

Key additions Lenny Collins, Casey Gibbons.

Key losses Wallace Prather.

KEY RETURNEES Ka’Ron Barnes; Cody Toppert; Chris Vandenberg; Steve Cobb; Eric Taylor; Jacquez Vigneault.

AT A GLANCE

The Big Red ranked near the bottom of every major statistical category in the Ivy League last year, but still managed to pull off an upset of Harvard in Ithaca in one of the year’s ugliest affairs ... Cornell’s 2001-02 season was over almost as soon as it started, as Vandenberg sustained a season-ending knee injury three games into the schedule. The 6’10 center is back now and between his size and his athleticism, he will be a force for the Big Red in the middle ... With Prather departed, Toppert is Cornell’s leading returning scorer. He pitched in 10.3 ppg last season as a freshman ... Cobb and A.J. Castro battled over point guard duties last season and will likely continue to both see action this season.

COLUMBIA

Coach Armond Hill (70-116, 7 seasons)

Last SEASON 10-16 (4-10, 6th place)

Key additions Chris Owens; Arnel Scott; Dodson Worthington; Dalen Cuff; Dragutin Kravic.

Key losses Joe Case; Craig Austin; Treg Duerksen; Derrick Mayo.

KEY RETURNEES Chris Wiedemann.

AT A GLANCE

Columbia lost almost everybody. From a sixth-place team, no less. Ouch ... Chief among the losses is Craig Austin, the 2001 Ivy Player of the Year and leading scorer last season (15.8 ppg) .... Freshmen should have an immediate impact on this squad and Columbia has some promising ones in Arnel Scott at guard and Dodson Worthington at forward. Both are potential Rookie of the Year contenders ... Chris Wiedemann is Columbia’s veteran leader. At 6’10, he takes up a lot of space and is considered a ferocious shot-blocking presence.

DARTMOUTH

Coach Dick Faucher (125-164, 12 seasons)

Last SEASON 9-18 (2-12, tied-7th)

Key additions Calvin Arnold, Patrick Cuttica, Michael Lang.

Key losses Flinder Boyd; Vedad Osmanovic.

KEY RETURNEES Mike McLaren; Charles Harris; Scott Klingbeil; Greg Friel; Steve Callahan.

AT A GLANCE

Flinder Boyd was Dartmouth’s Mr. Everything one season ago, enjoying the best all-around year and just missing out on All-Ivy recognition as the Big Green’s point guard and top scorer. In his stead, Callahan will serve as Faucher’s floor general. He’ll have huge shoes to fill ... McLaren emerged last season as one of the league’s top sharp-shooters in his rookie season. Expect more of the same in 2002-03 ... Harris is the Big Green’s leading returning scorer. He averaged 10.8 ppg a season ago.