Ivy League 2005-05 Preview
Let’s just make it easy: Penn might well win the Ivy League title this season. After 23 overall titles and five of the last seven championships, this bold prediction will not make any huge waves throughout the Ivy League community. Nonetheless, the Quakers are in excellent position to repeat as Ivy League champs after bringing back four of five starters from last year’s dominant squad that clinched the league title with three games remaining. With reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Tim Begley departed, however, there is a small window of opportunity this season for the other Ivies.
One of the teams poised to rise to the top is a team that is the polar opposite of the Quakers – the Harvard Crimson. The Cambridge crew has never won an Ivy League title in the league’s 49 years of basketball, and yet this season the team returns the best frontcourt duo in the league in Matt Stehle and Brian Cusworth. Those two players alone will give the Crimson a good shot at finishing near the top of the Ivy League standings, if not at the top.
Another interesting storyline is that of the Princeton Tigers, a team that won the 2003-2004 Ivy League title and was picked as the preseason favorite last season. However, the team finished the league season with a 6-8 record – the first time in 50 years that the Tigers finished under .500 in Ivy play. In his second season behind the Tiger bench, head coach Joe Scott will surely look to bring Princeton back to its usual perch near the top of the Ivy League.
Two teams that exceeded expectations last season will likely find dissimilar fates this season. The Cornell Big Red, the only team besides Penn to post a winning league record last season, bring back three starters from last year’s surprising team and looks to keep itself near the top of the standings. The Dartmouth Big Green, however, might not keep up despite posting the second biggest single-season turnaround in Ivy League history last season. With only two starters back from last year, some new players will have to step up in order to keep the Big Green from returning to the lower half of the league.
With the season just getting underway, however, it is any team’s game. As evidenced by Princeton’s season last year, the preseason rankings mean nothing when the teams finally step onto the floor and begin the all-important league schedule. Beginning on January 7, teams will be able to prove all the doubters wrong.
Preseason Awards
First-Team All-Ivy League:
Lenny Collins, Cornell
Brian Cusworth, Harvard
Ibrahim Jaaber, Penn
Matt Stehle, Harvard
Mark Zoller, Penn
League MVP: Matt Stehle, Harvard
Coach of the Year: Frank Sullivan, Harvard
Team-by-Team Previews (In order of expected finish)
Pennsylvania Quakers (20-9 overall, 13-1 Ivy League, 1st place)
Projected Starting Five:
Ibrahim Jaaber, Guard
Eric Osmundson, Guard
Friedrich Ebede, Forward
Mark Zoller, Forward
Steve Danley, Forward
Schedule Highlights:
December 3 vs. Temple
December 7 at Duke
December 13 vs. Villanova
The Quakers return four of five starters from last year’s first place team, but will have to deal with the graduation of Ivy League Player of the Year Tim Begley, who led the league in assists (4.8 apg), led the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) and placed second on the team in rebounds (5.4 rpg). The good news, however, is that the rest of the team comes back for another season. The backcourt will be the territory of Ibrahim Jabber, the junior guard who started every game last season at Begley’s side. Jaaber set an Ivy League single-season record last year with 85 steals, while also finding the time to score 11.5 points and grab 4.6 rebounds per game. In the frontcourt, the Quakers look set with the return of Mark Zoller and Steve Danley, who combined to average 18.7 ppg and 11.4 rpg last season for Penn. With so many important pieces returning, expect the Quakers to barely miss a beat without Begley as they head towards another Ivy League title.
Harvard Crimson (12-15 overall, 7-7 Ivy League, T-3rd place)
Projected Starting Five:
Drew Housman, Guard
Jim Goffredo, Guard
Michael Beal, Guard
Matt Stehle, Forward
Brian Cusworth, Center
Schedule Highlights:
November 19 vs. Vermont
November 22 at Holy Cross
December 6 at Boston University
December 22 at Boston College
The Harvard Crimson have high expectations this season, and the bulk of the pressure will fall to the team’s backcourt. With Kevin Rogus, David Giovacchini and Jason Norman all leaving, Jim Goffredo is the only guard with any real experience and will be counted on to improve on his 6.1 ppg average from a year ago. With few other backcourt options, the Crimson point will likely be run by a freshman, with Drew Housman being an early candidate to grab the spot. The team has few worries in the frontcourt, however, as the team returns the league’s best 1-2 combination, Matt Stehle and Brian Cusworth. Stehle, an early candidate for Ivy League Player of the Year, led the league in rebounding (8.9 rpg) last season and placed fifth in scoring (13.7 ppg). Cusworth led all Ivy players in blocked shots last season, placed second in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and averaged over 13 ppg, ranking him sixth overall. With Stehle and Cusworth up front, the success of the Crimson will largely depend on how the backcourt can respond to handling the pressure – and if the guards play well, look out for Harvard this season.
Princeton Tigers (15-13 overall, 6-8 Ivy League, 6th place)
Projected Starting Five:
Scott Greenman, Guard
Geoff Kestler, Guard
Luke Owings, Forward
Noah Savage, Forward
Harrison Schaen, Center
Schedule Highlights:
November 14 vs. Drexel (Preseason NIT)
December 6 vs. Temple
December 17 at Wake Forest
December 21 at Stanford
With the losses of three-time all-Ivy League selections Will Venable and Judson Wallace and three other seniors, the Princeton Tigers will have some big shoes to fill and not a ton of experience to fill them with. The team brings back three starters from last season, Scott Greenman, Luke Owings and Noah Savage, as well as sophomore Harrison Schaen, who showed potential in the 2003-2004 season before taking a leave of absence from the school last season. Greenman, the team’s leading returning scorer (8.6 ppg), is also the team’s sole senior this season and has started every game in the last two seasons. Schaen will be a big factor in Princeton’s success this season” if the sophomore can step in and play well, then the Tigers have a good chance of breaking the .500 mark this year. Last season was the first time in 49 years that Princeton’s league mark was below .500, and the team does not want that to happen again this season.
Cornell Big Red (13-14 overall, 8-6 Ivy League, 2nd place)
Projected Starting Five:
Graham Dow, Guard
David Lisle, Guard
Ryan Rourke, Forward
Lenny Collins, Forward
Andrew Naeve, Forward
Schedule Highlights:
November 8 vs. St. Francis (Coaches vs. Cancer Classic)
November 19 at Penn State
January 2 at Washington
After exceeding all expectations last season, the Cornell Big Red look to keep that momentum going despite losing 1,000-point scorers Cody Toppert and Eric Taylor. With the graduation of Taylor, returning seniors Lenny Collins (13.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Ryan Rourke (9.8 ppg) will assume much of the scoring and rebounding burdens, while the team will also have to find a new center for the first time in four seasons. Andrew Naeve is expected to fill that role to begin the season. In the backcourt, David Lisle will step up from a spot starter to a full-time starter, while Graham Dow will look to shake off the effects of an injury that caused him to miss the final five games of last season and lead the Big Red from the point. Sophomore Khaliq Gant will also see a lot of playing time off the bench, as Cornell trades a powerful backcourt for a deep and versatile one.
Yale Bulldogs (11-16 overall, 7-7 Ivy League, T-3rd place)
Projected Starting Five:
Eric Flato, Guard
Caleb Holmes, Guard
Casey Hughes, Forward
Sam Kaplan, Forward
Dominick Martin, Center (ineligible for the first semester)
Schedule Highlights:
December 22 at Providence
January 4 at Kansas
With the graduation of Edwin Draughan and Alex Gamboa, the Yale Bulldogs will need to do something they haven’t done in four seasons: find some new starting guards. The team will attempt to fill that void with a pair of sophomores, Eric Flato and Caleb Holmes, each of whom made solid impacts in their freshman campaign. Holmes was the team’s top freshman last season after starting the team’s final 10 games, although he only averaged 4.4 ppg for the entire season. The frontcourt looks to be in good shape, with Casey Hughes (7.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and Sam Kaplan (8.2 ppg) returning for the entire season and Dominick Martin using his one remaining semester of eligibility for the team’s league schedule. When on the floor, Martin will be huge for the Bulldogs – he placed second in the league in field goal percentage (.533), and third in rebounding (7.8 rpg) and blocks (1.1 bpg). The Bulldogs might be young this season, but expect them to be very competitive as the younger players continue to blossom.
Brown Bears (12-16 overall, 5-9 Ivy League, 7th place)
Projected Starting Five:
Marcus Becker, Guard
Damon Huffman, Guard
P.J Flaherty, Forward
Mark MacDonald, Forward
Luke Ruscoe, Forward
Schedule Highlights:
November 18 vs. Northeastern (Central Connecticut Classic)
December 7 at Holy Cross
Coming off a season in which the Bears fielded a team with only one senior and one junior, the team returns four starters, including the team’s only senior, Luke Ruscoe. Ruscoe placed second on the team in scoring with 10.3 ppg last season, and led the team with 5.6 rpg and 1.9 spg, and will be counted on for even more this season. P.J. Flaherty will also return to the Bears’ starting frontcourt as well. In the backcourt, the team will have to make up for the loss of All-Ivy League guard Jason Forte. The team returns Marcus Becker and reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year Damon Huffman, both of whom will be needed to score points: Huffman averaged 8.4 ppg and Becker added 4.8 ppg last season with Forte in the backcourt. However, players such as Flaherty and MacDonald, who didn’t play more than 15 minutes a game last season, will be very important if this team is to rise up the Ivy League standings.
Dartmouth Big Green (10-17 overall, 7-7 Ivy League, T-3rd place)
Projected Starting Five:
Mike Lang, Guard
Chuck Flynn, Guard
Johnathan Ball, Forward
Paul Bode, Forward
Calvin Arnold, Center
Schedule Highlights:
November 18 at Boston College
December 21 vs. Vermont
Last season, the Dartmouth Big Green defied the odds and turned a 1-13 league mark into a 7-7 record against the Ivies. The team, however, must find a way to replace starters David Gardner, Steve Callahan and Mike McLaren. In the backcourt, that job begins with senior Mike Lang, who averaged a team-high 11.8 ppg, primarily off the bench. As a starter, he will need to work well with sophomores Johnathan Ball and Chuck Flynn, who combined to average 9.5 ppg in 2004-2005. The Big Green has a slightly bigger problem in up front, where Gardner took with him 10.6 ppg and 5.0 rpg. Calvin Arnold, who averaged 6.0 ppg, and Paul Bode (1.8 ppg) give the Big Green two big bodies up front, but it remains to be seen if either of them can match Gardner’s input down low. Without a constant low-post presence, Dartmouth may find itself sinking back towards the bottom of the Ivy League standings after a one-year resurgence.
Columbia Lions (12-15 overall, 3-11 Ivy League, 8th place)
Projected Starting Five:
Dalen Cuff, Guard
Brett Loscalzo, Guard
Mack Montgomery, Guard
Dragutin Kravic, Forward
John Baumann, Center
Schedule Highlights:
November 22 at Long Island
December 23 at Notre Dame
December 27 at St. John’s (Panasonic Holiday Festival)
With a team comprising 11 underclassmen and three seniors, the Columbia Lions will rely very heavily on a lot of younger players to step up and contribute. Seniors Dalen Cuff and Dragutin Kravic will provide some leadership to go along with 11.8 ppg, but they alone will be unable to make up for the loss of Matt Preston and Jeremiah Boswell, who as the team’s top two scorers last season combined to average 23.3 ppg and 9.8 rpg. The success of the Lions this season will ultimately depend on its sophomore class – Brett Loscalzo, Mack Montgomery and John Baumann lead a group of six second-year players who will likely see a lot of time this year. Loscalzo and Montgomery led the sophomores in scoring with 5.8 ppg from the guard position and will need more production this season. Not a lot is expected from this year’s Columbia team, but another year of experience will make this team that much better come next season.
