Ivy League 2003-04 Recap
by Owen Bochner
What began as a season with expectations for parity and fierce competition in the Ivy League ended as one characterized by routine and predictability. Sure, things looked bright in the Ancient Eight with surprising non-conference showings by middle-of-the-pack teams such as Yale and Cornell. But by the time the end of February approached, the cream had already risen to the top.
Alas, in 2004, there was no shocker in the Ivy League, as Princeton won its last nine conference games to cruise to its 24th league championship and its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2001.
While the on-court story remained much the same in 2003-04 as in previous years, off the court, there was a bit more drama. After leading the Tigers to the top of the conference standings with a dominant 13-1 record, head coach John Thompson III left Old Nassau, assuming the post at Georgetown, a job held by his father for many years. Joe Scott, another Princeton alum, was quickly named as Thompson’s replacement.
Elsewhere, after Dartmouth announced mid-season that head coach Dave Faucher would not return, the Big Green completed its more than three-month long search for his replacement in May, when it named former Colorado assistant Terry Dunn as its new head coach.
The coaching carousel appears to be in motion once more, as the Associated Press has reported that La Salle offered Pennsylvania head coach Fran Dunphy the head coaching job, vacated when Billy Hahn resigned earlier in the summer. It would be a major move for Dunphy, who has been at Penn for the past 16 seasons, making a name for himself as one of the best coaches in Ivy League history. Dunphy graduated from Big Five rival La Salle in 1970.
NCAA Tournament
Despite Will Venable’s 16 points, Princeton fell to Texas, 66-49, in the first round of the tournament. Princeton was the Ancient Eight’s only NCAA representative, gained entry as the No. 14 seed in the Phoenix regional, played in Denver.
Player of the Year
Jason Forte, Brown
The junior guard proved once again why he is one of the top talents in the league. He became the first player in Ivy League history to lead the league in both scoring and assists, averaging 21.4 and 5.8, respectively in conference play. He also set conference highs with 2.1 steals and 7.8 free throw attempts per game.
Freshman of the Year
Leon Pattman, Dartmouth
The lone bright spot for the Big Green during a very down year, Pattman led all Ivy rookies in scoring with 13.2 points per game, despite missing a lot of time late in the season with a groin injury. He is dangerous shooter who will hope to lead Dartmouth’s resurgence under new head coach Terry Dunn.
First-Team All-Ivy
Jason Forte, Brown
Ka’Ron Barnes, Cornell
Jeff Schiffner, Penn
Judson Wallace, Princeton
Will Venable, Princeton
Second-Team All-Ivy
Pat Powers, Brown
Tim Begley, Penn
Jamie Kilburn, Brown
Matt Preston, Columbia
Edwin Draughan, Yale
All-Ivy Honorable Mention
Adam Chubb, Penn
Matt Stehle, Harvard
Princeton Tigers (20-8, 13-1 Ivy)
At the beginning of the season, several pundits predicted a banner season for the Tigers, assuming everything went right. Everything went right. Judson Wallace emerged as the dominant center in the league, Will Venable and Ed Persia combined to form one of the stronger backcourts in the league. With Persia the lone senior, high expectations will greet new head coach Joe Scott, as he looks to replicate his success at Air Force in his return to his alma mater.
Team MVP: Judson Wallace, Jr., C. (15.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 18 blocks)
Points leader: Wallace
Rebounds leader: Wallace
Assists leader: Will Venable (2.9 apg)
Starters leaving:
G Ed Persia
Starters returning:
G Scott Greenman
G Will Venable
F Andre Logan
C Judson Wallace
Contributors returning:
F Luke Owings
F/C Harrison Schaen
G Max Schafer
C Mike Stevens
Projected Starting Lineup:
G Greenman
G Venable
F Logan
F Schaen
C Wallace
Pennsylvania Quakers (17-10, 10-4)
When it came down to it, Penn’s undoing in 2003-04 was Brown. After going a perfect 14-0 in 2002-03, the Quakers hoped to overcome the losses of Ugonna Onyekwe, Koko Archibong, and Andrew Toole. Penn was almost able to pull off the feat, if not for a pair of losses to the Bears. Otherwise, the Quakers were as good as ever, losing only to league champion Princeton in the final game of the season and a two-point heartbreaker at Yale in late January. Again, Penn will be faced with the prospects of replacing its most productive players in 2004-05, as unanimous All-Ivy first-teamer Jeff Schiffner takes his bow.
Penn will also be faced with the prospect of a massive program restructuring, with long-time head coach Fran Dunphy rumored to be on his way to La Salle.
Team MVP: Jeff Schiffner, Sr., G (14.4 ppg, 3.3 apg, 22 steals)
Points leader: Schiffner
Rebounds leader: Adam Chubb (7.5 rpg)
Assists leader: Tim Begley (4.2 apg)
Starters leaving:
C Adam Chubb
G Charlie Copp
G Jeff Schiffner
Starters returning:
G Tim Begley
F Mark Zoller
Contributors returning:
G Ibby Jaaber
F Jan Fikiel
F Steve Danley
G Eric Osmundsen
Projected starting lineup:
G Begley
G Jaaber
F Zoller
F Danley
F Fikiel
Brown Bears (14-3, 10-4)
Glen Miller’s squad proved in 2003-04 that 2002-03 was no fluke, winning eight of its first nine conference games on the strength of Jason Forte’s monster junior season. Forte became the first player in league history to lead the league in both scoring and assists, more than making up for the loss of Earl Hunt. The good news for Brown? Despite losing three starters, a very strong underclass appears set to fill the void.
Team MVP: Jason Forte (16.8 ppg, 4.9 apg, 48 steals)
Points leader: Forte
Rebounds leader: Jaime Kilburn (6.6 rpg)
Assists leader: Forte
Starters leaving:
F Jaime Kilburn
G Mike Martin
F Patrick Powers
Starters returning:
G Jason Forte
F Luke Ruscoe
Contributors returning:
G Marcus Becker
F Sam Mahanga
F Andrew Salter
Projected starting lineup:
G Forte
G Becker
F Mahanga
F Salter
F Ruscoe
Yale Bulldogs (12-15, 7-7)
Following a less-than impressive Ivy League season, Yale found itself dealing with a much more serious situation in late May, when word that senior Josh Hill had died in a car accident near his home in Delaware. Hill, who had missed most of the 2002-03 season and all of 2003-04 with an injury, was preparing to return for a fifth year of eligibility in 2004-05. The Bulldogs will dedicate the season to his memory.
Team MVP: Edwin Draughan (11.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.2 apg)
Points leader: Draughan
Rebounds leader: Paul Vitelli (5.4 rpg)
Assists leader: Alex Gamboa (3.8 apg)
Starters leaving:
G Matt Minoff
F Paul Vitelli
Starters returning:
G Edwin Draughan
G Alex Gamboa
C Dominick Martin
Contributors returning:
F Sam Kaplan
G/F Casey Hughes
F Mark Lovett
Projected starting lineup:
G Draughan
G Gamboa
G Hughes
F Kaplan
C Martin
Cornell Big Red (11-16, 6-8)
Cornell started the 2003-04 season fast, winning its first five conference games of the season. It was the longest such streak for the Red since the 1964-65 season, when Cornell opened the conference season at 11-0. However, the team’s momentum deflated quickly after that. The Red lost its next three games, including being swept at home by Penn and Princeton, effectively ending its championship aspirations. By the end of the season, the team had developed too great a reliance on star guard Ka’Ron Barnes, who was no longer able to carry the weight. The Red won only one of its last six games to finish under .500 in conference play for the seventh consecutive year.
Team MVP: Ka’Ron Barnes (20.1 ppg, 4.6 apg, 51 steals)
Points leader: Barnes
Rebounds leader: Eric Taylor (7.5 rpg)
Assists leader: Barnes
Starters leaving:
G Ka’Ron Barnes
F Gabe Stephenson
Starters returning:
G Cody Toppert
F Lenny Collins
C Eric Taylor
Contributors returning:
G Graham Dow
G/F David Lisle
F Stevan Marcetic
F Andrew Naeve
Projected starting lineup:
G Dow
G Lisle
F Toppert
F Collins
C Taylor
Columbia Lions (10-17, 6-8)
Replicating the feat pulled off by Columbia’s football team, the Lions enjoyed a tremendous turnaround under first-year head coach Joe Jones. After winning only two games in 2002-03, Columbia showed why there is no such thing as a sure thing in the Ancient Eight, surprising just about everyone with a six-victory season. Matt Preston was a particularly pleasant surprise, upping his scoring average from a dismal 2.0 points per game in 2002-03 to a team-leading 15.3 in 2003-04.
Team MVP: Matt Preston (15.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 10 blocks)
Points leader: Preston
Rebounds leader: Preston
Assists leader: Maurice Murphy (4.6 apg)
Starters leaving:
G Maurice Murphy
Starters returning:
G Jeremiah Boswell
F Dragutin Kravic
F Matt Preston
C Dodson Worthington
Contributors returning:
G Tito Hill
G Dalen Cuff
C Matt Land
Projected starting lineup:
G Jeremiah Boswell
G Tito Hill
F Dragutin Kravic
F Matt Preston
C Dodson Worthington
Harvard Crimson (4-23, 3-11)
Very little went right for the Crimson this past season as it hunkered down for the slow steps at the beginning of a youth movement. While there was little to cheer about for Harvard fans, there were some very promising things for the team to point to. One was the Crimson’s 78-71 upset victory over Yale on February 14. Another was the performance of forward Matt Stehle. The local product proved that he can hold his own against whatever the rest of the Ivy League has to offer, and as he enters his junior season, seems primed to move into the ranks of the league’s elite players.
Team MVP: Matt Stehle (13.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 43 blocks)
Points leader: Kevin Rogus (14.7 ppg)
Rebounds leader: Stehle
Assists leader: Michael Beal (3.1 apg)
Starters leaving:
None
Starters returning:
G Kevin Rogus
G Michael Beal
F Matt Stehle
F Jason Norman
C Graham Beatty
Contributors returning:
G David Giovacchini
G Jim Goffredo
F Luke McCrone
Projected starting lineup:
G Rogus
G Beal
F Stehle
F Norman
C Beatty
Dartmouth Big Green (3-25, 1-13)
Things went from bad to worse for Dartmouth. After a disappointing 4-10 Ivy finish in 2002-03, much of the roster returned for the Green in 2003-04, and promptly had an even worse finish. The lone conference victory came in the team’s first league game of the season, as the Green barely snuck past Harvard, 56-54, on January 3. The team failed to win another game, and it ultimately cost head coach Dave Faucher his job. He finished his 13-year Dartmouth career with a less-than-impressive 137-208 record.
Team MVP: Leon Pattman (13.2 ppg, 26 steals, .886 FT pct.)
Points leader: Pattman
Rebounds leader: Calvin Arnold (4.5 rpg)
Assists leader: Steve Callahan (2.1 apg)
Starters leaving:
None
Starters returning:
G Leon Pattman
G Steve Callahan
G Mike McLaren
F Calvin Arnold
C David Gardner
Contributors returning:
G Mike Lang
Projected starting lineup:
G Pattman
G Callahan
G McLaren
F Arnold
C Gardner
