Amaker To Juggle Plethora of Talent

Had the 1,785 fans who crowded into Lavietes Pavilion last weekend for Crimson Madness never seen the Harvard basketball team in action, they would not have been surprised by its size.

But for those who followed the Crimson through its second straight NCAA tournament run in 2012-13, a full bench of 20 players in uniform was a whole new world.

Last season, there was little to speculate about as Harvard coach Tommy Amaker set his starting lineup with each game. Now-sophomore point guard Siyani Chambers would pair with top scorer Wes Saunders in the backcourt—joined by co-captains Laurent Rivard and Christian Webster ’13—with some combination of bigs Jonah Travis, Kenyatta Smith, and Steve Moundou-Missi in the post.

When the Crimson and Black took the court for its third annual intra-squad scrimmage, any one of the ten starters could theoretically be called upon to start during the regular season. And with a bench so deep, Amaker’s ability to juggle last year’s breakout stars, this year’s touted freshmen, and familiar faces returning to Harvard after a year could very well make or break this season.

Because if the Crimson—picked unanimously in first place in the Ivy League Media Preseason Poll—fails to live up to its monumental expectations, it won’t be for lack of talent.

After winning the Ivy League crown outright and earning a tournament bid for the second-straight year, Harvard returns its major building blocks to the court in 2013-14. With the exception of Webster—now an assistant coach for the Crimson—Harvard is stacked across the board.

Players like Chambers and Saunders saw significantly more playing time than they would have had last year’s team been complete. Both averaged over 37 minutes per game, an unlikely leap for a freshman and a sophomore who saw 14 minutes per game just a season before.

Last year they played out of necessity. This year they will play as proven veterans, vying for minutes alongside seniors Kyle Casey and co-captain Brandyn Curry, returning after a yearlong absence. Though Chambers and Saunders were an effective 1-2 punch last season, Amaker chose to start Chambers and Casey against Curry and Saunders in the Crimson vs. Black scrimmage.

It will remain to be seen whether the starting lineups at Crimson Madness are indicative of the season to come, but its clear Amaker is still weighing his options. There is no assumption that playing time last season will correlate with playing time this season or that experience and seniority will be a decisive factor.

Amongst the tried and true, new stars shone for Harvard. Freshman forward Zena Edosomwan—Amaker’s first top-100 recruit since joining the Crimson in 2007—started off his inaugural season with a bang. The rookie brought the crowd back to 2000 with a Vince Carter-esque dunk, hanging from the rim by an elbow. On the court, Edosomwan took the lead, netting 16 points with dominant post play that led to a win for the Crimson squad.

Individual performances shone far brighter than team play on either side, which is to be expected from a team playing together in the public eye for the first time. Sloppy turnovers and inconsistent defense punctuated an otherwise impressive evening as new combinations of players found their rhythm with one another.

Last season, lacking a true center and consistency in the frontcourt, Amaker played small-ball because he had to. He relied on the hot perimeter shooting of players like Rivard and Webster and quick ball movement from Chambers, using the team’s athleticism to tire its opponents.

Now the options seem almost endless, affording Harvard a newfound flexibility to adapt to its opponents. The Crimson can go big up front or load the perimeter. It can spell players like Chambers, Saunders, and Rivard, who often played more than 35 minutes two nights in a row. For the first time since losing Casey and Curry at the beginning of last season, the Harvard men’s basketball team has the opportunity to select and to tailor its lineup from a vast number of options and combinations.

Which means Amaker has some difficult decisions to make. Should he start a proven duo that carried the team in Curry and Casey’s absence? A freshman prospect with limitless potential but no intercollegiate experience? And what of the trio of junior bigs whose ups and downs led to split playing time last season?

At Crimson Madness, Harvard basketball displayed a talented group of individuals, pieces in the puzzle that will define the 2013-14 season. There is no doubt that the Crimson has the potential to reach its lofty expectations—if the pieces fit.

—Staff writer Hope Schwartz can be reached at hschwartz@live.com. Follow her on Twitter @HopeSchwartz16.