On the Charles, Cusworth Shows What Might Have Been
by Jay Pearlman
He’s in his fifth year, and there are few of those in the Ivy League, fewer still at Harvard. There is no redshirting in this old conference, not even for medical reasons. You play your first 8 semesters “in residence,” then you’re done. And with exams after Christmas break putting 18 games into first semester, that’s the semester in residence for Brian Cusworth. 6-4 through ten games, with just eight to go.
Injuries have slowed Brian’s progress over the years; and somehow reading period and exams after Christmas seem to hurt this program more than Princeton’s. So for the three years I’ve been there, and two before, there was Brian Cusworth, the poster-child for potential, all seven feet of him, running well, jumping reasonably well, and a soft touch from the outside – potential never quite realized. Not the best player in the conference, not even the best player on his team, unlimited potential, never quite influencing the outcome of games – until now.
Brian’s not the best Harvard big man I’ve ever seen. He certainly hasn’t had the career of gentle giant Tony Jenkins, who by the time I “coached” him was in the joint program at NYU Law and Princeton’s School of Public Administration. He’s no Joe Beaulieu, who just a few of us remember played Freshman ball Satch’s last year, before transferring over to BC. And as I’ve said a time or two on the radio, he’s no Brian Banks, the enigmatic center of the late 70’s, as often confused as academically ineligible, who was Harvard’s best basketball athlete ever, may have been the conference’s best, and should have spent 15 years in the NBA.
Banks was 6-11, could run and jump, was smooth as silk, a terrific mid-range shooter, with good hands and a quicker jump than Orlando Woolridge. In a Christmas tourney in 1977, Banks waited until Detroit’s Terry Tyler left the ground, than caught him in mid-air and blocked a bunch of his shots. Dick Vitale was AD but no longer coach, yet his fear of Brian Banks filled the arena. Another “what might have been” story.
Back to our Brian, last name Cusworth. This is another time, perhaps the Ivy League more like “I-AA” basketball than it was then. But this giant of a man has now overcome injuries each of the last two years, four years of post-Christmas exams, and the shadow of Matt Stehle, and for nine games and nine more, for the first time he is determining the outcome of games. He’s averaging 16.6 points (third in the conference behind Mark Zoller of Penn and teammate Jim Goffredo), shooting 57 percent (behind only Zoller and Ibrahim Jabber), 8.2 boards (league-leading) and 2.5 blocks (also leads the league, and it would be more if they paid attention at the table at Colgate).
But more than that, Brian is now dominating games. Recently, after scoring over 20 for three straight games, LIU’s Coach Jim Ferry set his entire game plan to frustrate Brian, playing one man behind, one in front, and attacking with guards after post-entry. Well, in addition to a hard-earned 11 points and eight rebounds, by his very presence Brian caused the perimeter to be open, resulting in great looks for Goffredo (27), Drew Housman (15) and Brad Unger (15). Again, Brian determining the outcome of a game.
It’s all bittersweet, as Cusworth won’t be around to battle for a league title. It’s most bittersweet for Frank Sullivan’s coaching staff, who haven’t had Brian for a healthy season in forever, to now lose him after four Ivy League games and never bemoan the irony. And simply put, be it injuries, late exams, Stehle’s shadow or just his own pace of development, during last winter’s conference schedule Brian could not yet win games. Now he can, and puff, he’ll be gone. Oh, what might have been.
