NOTEBOOK: Captain Bids Farewell to Long, Trying Career in Crimson and White

The Verve once crooned that life is a bittersweet symphony. Certainly, the Harvard men’s basketball team (8-22, 3-11 Ivy) has reasons to believe Richard Ashcroft was singing about them.

The trio of melodies shining on a dreary night in Cambridge played out like an endless waltz of frustration as the team marched to the tunes of potential and inconsistency.

An 11-point lead with 6:52 to play in the first quickly mutated into a nine-point deficit at halftime. The Crimson’s shooting, which kept the baskets singing in the first half (50 percent from three-point range) calmed to a dull roar in the second (23 percent from downtown).

And just like that, the promising victories of the Crimson’s last homestand quickly evaporated in a disappointing four-game losing streak to close out the season.

As the last seconds of the game ticked off the home scoreboard, the majority of Harvard’s team shifted its attention to next year’s campaign.

However, no such shifting went on in the mind of the team’s captain. The last seconds brought into focus four years of blood and sweat under the bright lights of Lavietes.

As the only senior on a squad bubbling with youth and inexperience, the poignancy of the night was not lost on captain Brad Unger. After four years of admirable service, Unger reached into his repertoire for one last go around with his Crimson comrades.

Fittingly, Unger opened the Crimson’s scoring account by making the team’s first four points.

As he walked off the court to a standing ovation with three minutes to play, he symbolically passed the torch to the youth of the squad. It was an appropriate chain of events: the veteran opened the game; the youth closed it out (freshman T.J. Carey scored the last basket of the night).

Despite Unger’s nondescript performance (six points, five rebounds, one assist), his play oozed grit and determination, motivating his teammates with his work ethic and efficiency (committing only one foul and shooting 4-for-4 from the charity stripe).

Unfortunately, the night played out all too familiarly for someone with Unger’s experience.

Regardless of having never played on a winning team during his career in Cambridge, Unger had remained the epitome of a stoic warrior continuing to battle in spite of inevitable defeat.

“It’s a long four years, it wears on your body, especially when you’re not winning as many games as you’d like,” Unger said. “It’s definitely bittersweet, and I’m sure in a day or two it’ll hit me that I’m not playing anymore.”

Having been hampered by injuries earlier in the season, Unger persevered and fought his way back to a spot in the starting rotation. He played in 22 of the Crimson’s 30 games, averaging eight points and four rebounds, all while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor.

“It was definitely tough being the only senior,” Unger said. “I was lucky to have a lot of the underclassmen help out. That was something I was fortunate to have.”

Although this game marks the end of Unger’s career with the basketball team, he will continue to don a Crimson shirt throughout the spring as he joins Harvard’s baseball team in the bullpen (Unger is a right-handed starting pitcher).

When asked if his competitive basketball days were truly over, Unger responded resolutely.

“Yeah, I’m hanging them up,” he said. “I’m joining the workforce, unfortunately.”

And even though his collegiate career ends on a bittersweet note, Unger has nothing but fond memories on his time spent patrolling the post at Lavietes.

“Through my four years, I had a great experience with my teammates and all the coaches,” Unger said. “I feel very fortunate to have played here all four years. I can’t speak negatively at all about my experience.”

For Unger, life begins anew as he prepares to step off the only road he’s ever been down.

—Staff writer Mauricio A. Cruz can be reached at cruz2@fas.harvard.edu