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Username Post: Harvard        (Topic#27079)
Penndemonium 
PhD Student
Posts: 1878

Reg: 11-29-04
02-28-23 12:46 AM - Post#352715    

Just wondering what happened to Harvard this year? I don't follow other Ivy teams very closely, and never imagined them as likely to miss the ILT. Injuries? Ivy transfers? bad luck / streaks? Amaker game coaching? I'm not trying to be a troll - I just don't follow other Ivy schools and I fully expected Harvard to be there at the end. Perhaps that is just projecting from past years rather than knowledge of the actual roster and state of the team...

 
mobrien 
Senior
Posts: 390

Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
02-28-23 10:59 AM - Post#352725    
    In response to Penndemonium

Bad roster construction, bad injury luck, and some bad in-game coaching.

We didn't have a ton of shooting to begin with, and then two of the guys we were counting on to be our better shooters—Louis Lesmond and Bennett Pitcher (who, coincidentally, were both top 100 recruits)—missed either the vast majority or the entirety of the season. It's an open question whether Pitcher will ever play for us at this point...

For whatever reason, this team also tended to sleepwalk through the first half of games, would mount furious comebacks, and ... just always come up short. We almost never made the one big shot we needed at the end of games, over and over again.

At the end of the day, we were a very solid defensive team that was one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country. Lost a bunch of games because we just couldn't make open shots. Pretty brutal way to lose.

 
Silver Maple 
Postdoc
Posts: 3765

Loc: Westfield, New Jersey
Reg: 11-23-04
02-28-23 12:45 PM - Post#352730    
    In response to mobrien

I've said it before and been shouted down, but I think Harvard's recruiting approach may be ill-advised. When a player who is rated at a level well above what the Ivies typically are able even to approach, let alone land, opts actually to attend an Ivy, you have to wonder. While it's certainly possible that that player is doing it for all the right reasons, it's also possible that there's something more going on. I don't think it's a coincidence that so many of Harvard's most highly rated recruits have gone down with serious injuries.

 
Naismith 
Sophomore
Posts: 149

Loc: RI
Reg: 11-11-18
Harvard
02-28-23 02:50 PM - Post#352731    
    In response to mobrien


mobrian

Excellent season assessment: Snake Bit!

Edited by Naismith on 02-28-23 02:51 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

 
sparman 
PhD Student
Posts: 1339
sparman
Reg: 12-08-04
02-28-23 03:29 PM - Post#352735    
    In response to Naismith

FWIW, it's being speculated in the Post today that when Ewing is fired from Georgetown, Amaker would be a very logical candaidate given his DC-local roots, which I had forgotten about:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/02/28/b...

(It's about the 5th item mentioned)



 
palestra38 
Professor
Posts: 32685

Reg: 11-21-04
02-28-23 03:34 PM - Post#352736    
    In response to sparman

He'd be nuts to take the job. Not only is the Big East heading for total irrelevancy in the era of NILs and the transfer portal (which is why Jay Wright got out this year while still being a relatively young man), Georgetown has no modern culture of winning nor an on-campus arena. I'm sure the money offer would be good, but Amaker gets an unbelievable deal from Harvard (including his wife's deal and a house) and I'm not sure Georgetown could really improve on that. Moreover, would Georgetown really want him after 2 years out of the Ivy playoffs?

 
sparman 
PhD Student
Posts: 1339
sparman
Reg: 12-08-04
Harvard
02-28-23 03:58 PM - Post#352739    
    In response to palestra38

All valid points. As we all know, sportswriters frequently seem unaware of background we fans are more acutely familiar with, and this writer (while usually well-intentioned) has never seemed to me to be especially clued in. But don't be suprised if the national media picks up the theme.

I think GU alums (of whom I know a few) still regard their program as being nationally prominent and will expect a "national" figure as new coach. Not intended as a critique, but Amaker will never get his Duke gig. Would the two feel this is a match? Maybe.

 
Silver Maple 
Postdoc
Posts: 3765

Loc: Westfield, New Jersey
Reg: 11-23-04
02-28-23 04:52 PM - Post#352743    
    In response to palestra38

  • palestra38 Said:
Not only is the Big East heading for total irrelevancy in the era of NILs and the transfer portal (which is why Jay Wright got out this year while still being a relatively young man),



Also, if the NBA lowers the draft age to 18 (which I gather is pretty much a done deal), that will only make things even more difficult.

 
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