Harvard Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

Tommy Amaker was brought in with an impressive resume, with his background as an assistant at Duke and head coach at Seton Hall and Michigan. His mission? To turn Harvard into a big-time college basketball team and a perennial power in the Ivy League.

Entering his third season, the Crimson are making progress. The talent level on campus is high, and Amaker has used his recruiting acumen to bring in another solid class.

However, the pressure will be on him and the program to show improvement in 2009-10, especially since recruiting season saw many of the team’s higher-rated targets wind up elsewhere.

Which isn’t to say Amaker doesn’t have a lot to work with. He returns several key components from a team that beat Boston College as well as Cornell and finished with a 6-8 record in the Ivy League a season ago.

It all starts with Jeremy Lin, who filled up the stat sheet a year ago like nobody else in college basketball. He finished in the top 10 in the Ivy league in every statistical category, and at times seemed unstoppable on the court.

Sophomore guard Oliver McNally will join Lin in the backcourt, coming off a strong freshman season. Also looking to take a leap forward in his second season is center Keith Wright.

The rest of the frontcourt will be controlled by Doug Miller, Paul Magranell and Andrew Van Nest, along with highly-touted freshman Kyle Casey. Max Kenyi is the top returning guard off the bench.

When Harvard was at its best a year ago, it could compete with any team on its schedule, but the problem was that it wasn’t at its best very often. Getting a high level of play consistently from his players will be the key as Amaker hopes to take the Crimson to the next level.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Jeremy Lin and Doug Miller will serve as co-captains this season, tying for the honor in player voting. It’s the first time Harvard will have two captains since the 1990-91 season, when Ralph James and Ron Mitchell had the honors.

• Many Harvard grads wind up with overseas jobs, but two members of last year’s graduating class are doing so in overseas basketball leagues. Evan Harris signed with CSSU Craiova in Romania, while Drew Housman is playing for Hapoel Kiryat Tivon in Israel.

• C Keith Wright hopes to continue the strong play he showed at the end of his freshman season, when he finished with five consecutive double-figure scoring efforts. He started 17 of his 24 games, and he might have finished with better numbers had he not been sidelined for four games because of mono.

Last Year:   14-14 overall, 6-8 in the Ivy League.

Head Coach:   Tommy Amaker (career 199-174); third year at Harvard (22-36).

Quote To Note:   “Jeremy (Lin) is a player who can play at any level of college basketball. The youngsters that I’ve had a chance to coach, there is no one I would rank higher than Jeremy Lin.”—Coach Tommy Amaker told Dime Magazine.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   Kyle Casey has gotten the most attention of anyone in the incoming class. The 6-7 forward was Blue Ribbon Magazine’s preseason pick as the conference’s top newcomer, and his offensive skills in particular will be more than welcome. Coach Tommy Amaker hasn’t ever been afraid to play new guys, so Casey could see a lot of playing time right away. Other newcomers to the frontcourt include Jeff Georgatos and Spencer de Mars. Guards include Christian Webester, Peter Edelson, Brandyn Curry and Dee Giger.

Key Early-season Games:   Harvard was the lone Ivy League team to beat a Top 25 opponent a year ago, knocking off Boston College on the road. It gets another chance at the Eagles on Dec. 9, and also travels to Big East opponents Connecticut and Georgetown.

Program Direction:   For Tommy Amaker’s sake, it had better be going up. Not that the coach is in any danger of being fired for his on-court performance, but Amaker’s aggressive recruiting has put the program under greater scrutiny than in previous years, and also increased fan expectations to a new level. Most are hoping for a top-three finish in the Ivy League, and being a strong contender to front-runner Cornell for the Ivy League title.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Jeremy Lin, SG Oliver McNally, SF Kyle Casey, PF Doug Miller, C Keith Wright.

Roster Report:  

• G Jeremy Lin finished in the top 10 in every statistical category in the Ivy League in 2008-09. He was first in steals, free throws attempted, free throws made, second in assists, third in scoring, sixth in field goal percentage, seventh in three-point percentage, eighth in free throw percentage, ninth in rebounding and 10th in blocked shots,

• There was little doubt that guard Christian Webster was going to play Division I college basketball somewhere. His father, Darryl, played for George Washington, and uncle Bobby Winston played for John Thompson at Georgetown.

• F Kyle Casey drew accolades even before setting foot on campus. He’s Blue Ribbon Magazine’s preseason pick to be the Ivy League Newcomer of the Year.