NOTEBOOK: Crimson Employs Deep Bench Against Crusaders

After finishing last season with only a handful of healthy players sitting on his bench, Harvard coach Tommy Amaker made up for lost time on Friday night in the Crimson’s 87-77 win against Holy Cross, going to his reserves early and often.

Just six minutes into the first half, 11 Crimson players had seen the court, and by the end of the frame, 10 players had put points on the board.

“I thought one of the biggest reasons for our victory was having fresh bodies and everybody contributing,” Amaker said. “We talked about that coming into this game—that we wanted to utilize a lot of bodies and rotate players in and keep people fresh.”

When it was all said and done, the Harvard bench combined for 36 points compared to the 19 points put up by the Crusader bench.

“I think that they were able a little bit more, especially in the first half, to keep fresh bodies coming at us,” said Holy Cross coach Sean Kearney.

Less than three minutes into the game, freshmen Kyle Casey and Christian Webster and sophomore Andrew Van Nest made their first appearances in Harvard uniforms.

By the 13:46 mark, freshmen Brandyn Curry and Dee Giger and senior Pat Magnarelli had checked in. Giger, along with Casey, led the way for the Harvard bench—the pair finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

“Come off the bench, start the game, it really doesn’t matter to me,” Casey said. “The biggest thing is that after the game we got the win.”

SENDING A MESSAGE

Crimson fans no longer have to rely on YouTube slam-dunk contest videos as proof of forward Kyle Casey’s athleticism. The Harvard freshman has finally stepped onto the hardwood—and appears to be as advertised.

The 6’7 forward with a 38-inch vertical entered Friday’s game with 17:03 remaining in the first half and immediately made his presence felt.

On his first offensive possession, Casey set a hard screen for co-captain Jeremy Lin on the wing. Lin fed Casey the ball as he rolled to the basket, and the freshman exploded to the hoop, scoring and drawing a foul.

On the defensive end, Casey demonstrated his vertical leap, swatting away a ball that floated above the rim.

“He jumps out the gym,” Lin said.

Unfortunately for Casey, the ball was on its descent and he was whistled for goaltending.

“I mean it’s good to send the message, ‘It’s going be a grind it out game, nothing easy, nothing easy around the rim especially,’” Casey said.

In addition to his two cleanly blocked shots, Casey finished with 12 points and five rebounds.

“Kyle is going to have, we think, a very good career here and, I think you saw some of the reasons why we feel that way,” Amaker said. “He’s active, he’s athletic, and he’s aggressive.”

With that said, Casey fell victim to a number of rookie mistakes. On top of his goaltend, Casey was responsible for a three-second violation and found himself in foul trouble.

“I was disappointed with a couple of the silly fouls he made, but that’s typical of a freshman,” Amaker said.

FASHIONABLY LATE

Despite finishing with typically impressive offensive numbers of 24 points and seven assists, it took some time for Jeremy Lin to get things going.

Facing double teams on the perimeter throughout the fist half, Lin’s first shot attempt did not come until 12 minutes had ticked away—Harvard star connected on his first basket with 2:40 remaining in the first period.

For most teams, it’s a bad sign when the leading scorer struggles to get shots. But the Crimson kept the score tight throughout the period and took the lead heading into the break following a five-point surge by Lin to close out the half.

A large part of Harvard’s first-half success was conditional upon Lin’s ability to distract opposing defenses and facilitate his team’s offense.

“He’s going to be a magnet [for defenses], and we’ve talked to him a lot about making the play, not necessarily trying to make the shot,” Amaker said. “He’s a playmaker for us.”