Basketball Season Begins with Crimson Madness

For a second straight year, Crimson Madness failed to disappoint. Both the event’s theatrics and personalities were out in full force, with a dose of basketball thrown in among the assorted skill contests for good measure. Below are a couple first impressions after the first look at this year’s squad:

1. Zena 2.0 is a lot like Zena 1.0 — Sophomore Zena Edosomwan broke onto the scene last year at Crimson Madness, dominating then-sophomores Evan Cummins and Michael Hall. It looked like the highly touted recruit, trying to crack a crowded frontcourt, would be a force immediately.

Friday was more of the same. Edosomwan dominated with 11 points inside, coming out with full intensity—something most of the team couldn’t claim to have—and barking at himself throughout the scrimmage. A year after he wooed the crowd with a Vince Carter throwback jersey in the dunk contest, the sophomore brought Lavietes to its feet by jumping over the 6’9” Chris Egi and 6’6” Charlie Anastasi en route to the most spectacular dunk of the night.

However, the same problems plagued Edosomwan from last year. He struggled on defense and continued to shoot the ball on nearly every touch (18.2 shots per 40 minutes last year). His offensive game looked more defined, but his defense and passing will be the keys to the growth of his game.

2. Laurent Rivard’s three-point record is safe — After losing one of the most prolific long-range bombers in Ivy League history, Harvard will have significantly more trouble spreading the floor this year. Only junior co-captain Siyani Chambers returns as a dependable shooting threat from behind the arc last year. Sophomore Corbin Miller looked good, nailing 10 of 15 shots in the three-point contest and three treys in the scrimmage, but freshman Andre Chatfield flashed an inconsistent if pretty stroke. The Crimson should easily have the best frontcourt in the Ivy League, but Chatfield and Miller will need to step up for the team to realize its larger goals.

3. Defense will be the calling card — Although it struggled shooting the ball, the Crimson looks as though it will be very hard to score on. With the exception of Miller-Chambers backcourts, the team will have good length at the wing with junior Agunwa Okolie, Chatfield, and returning Ivy League Player of the Year Wesley Saunders. Up front, between Moundou-Missi, Cummins, Egi, Edosomwan, senior Kenyatta Smith, and senior Jonah Travis the Crimson has a diverse and gritty assortment of players to throw at opponents. None of the six will do a particularly good job spacing the floor, but playing two of them up front will wreak havoc defensively.