Dartmouth is on the cusp of being relevant again

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It’s been a while since Dartmouth was really relevant in the Ivy League. While a recent Player of the Year was a member of the Big Green, Alex Barnett did so on a team that tied for fourth place and had an overall 9-19 record, which doesn’t happen often in an eight-team league. Although Dartmouth is off to an 0-3 start in Ivy League play, there is reason to believe that they will be relevant again before long.

Dartmouth gave Harvard a battle for much of the game last month when they visited Cambridge for the league opener. For years while they have struggled, they have been known for giving even the best teams a run for their money in Hanover. Thus far, they are 0-3 in the early going after dropping a 66-59 decision at Brown on Friday night, and it’s a game they could have had. The bottom line isn’t going to show it, but the future is looking bright for this team.

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Quick Hitters – January 20, 2010

Quick hitters as we reach the middle of the week:

• As speculation on candidates for the Dartmouth head coaching job gets going, one thing to keep in mind is that Robert Ceplikas is an acting athletic director.  The school will probably need to have someone in that role before they can realistically hire a new head coach.  Director of Varsity Athletics Communications Rick Bender said he’s not sure if Ceplikas is a candidate for the job on a permanent basis.

• In the prep ranks, last week showed the potential for the Rivers School in the future as Andrew Mirken tries to build the program.  They picked up a 63-62 win at Class B stalwart Brimmer & May and also knocked off the Middlesex School at the end of the week.  Along the way, one could see what some of the young talent on the team will be capable of: athletic guard Taariq Allen running the floor and scoring, young point guard Carlin Haymon running the show, and wing Kyle Reardon being the consummate glue guy, among other things.  (Included was Reardon sealing the Middlesex game with four free throws in the final minute.)  One could also see how this team will lose games right now, but the young talent is getting better right now.

• Albany has talent, but the Great Danes didn’t seem to run any offense in their 79-58 loss at Boston University on Tuesday night.  The offense seemed to have no rhyme or reason, especially in the first half when they dug themselves a hole they could never get out of.  Shooting just over 39 percent from the field in the second half didn’t help.”We’re not a team that offensively can trade baskets with a team like Boston University when they’re clicking,” said head coach Will Brown, who characterized his team as “selfish offensively in the first half”.

• Sacred Heart is thought to be a contender in the Northeast Conference, and they certainly have a veteran bunch that’s good enough to be in the mix.  But if the Pioneers are going to win, they’ll have to play a lot better on defense than they did last weekend.  They couldn’t shut down a Bryant team that has struggled to score and didn’t have their best player in Cecil Gresham, who is done for the season, and two days later they gave up 88 points in a blowout loss to a Central Connecticut State team that doesn’t have its best player, Ken Horton, due to injury.

• Although his team is getting a lot of attention for it, Kansas State head coach Frank Martin is keeping a level head about the win.  The win is sure to mean only as much as their future performance allows, even though it will get them in the national spotlight for a short time and also had the benefit of helping to sell all remaining tickets to their home games.”To me, it means that we won a game on January 18,” Martin said.  ”I do not mean to be silly about it, but we do not get parades this time of year.”

Quick Hitters – January 13, 2010

Quick hitters as we reach the middle of the week:

• Not surprisingly, Dartmouth wasn’t saying much regarding the sudden resignation of Terry Dunn a day before they opened Ivy League play at Harvard.  About all that was offered up was senior guard Robbie Pride saying, asked about a report of a player revolt, “That part is completely untrue.”  The Big Green traveled down the day of the game, so the resignation didn’t come just before they were slated to head on the road.  Mark Graupe was the most active of the three remaining coaches, so at first glance he appears the likely interim head coach when the school makes an announcement later in the week.The simple truth is that this team is not good – talent and experience are both lacking.  There isn’t a scorer now that Alex Barnett is gone, and none of the shooters has been able to consistently hit shots on the season.  We won’t even get to the frontcourt.

• If anyone wondered if Providence players got the message that they needed to rebound better, Saturday night’s game answered that.  Head coach Keno Davis hinted after the Louisville game that the lineup may change, but the starting lineup was no different.”We had two of our best practices of the year,” Davis said.  “After the Louisville game, I told them I would not start the same group, that the rotations would change, and whoever practiced up to that level would be our starters and would deserve the minutes.  The starters that we had, had their best efforts for those two days.  Even though I had threatened that, I had to reward the hard work that we had.”

• In the win over Rutgers, Jamine Peterson had 29 points and 20 rebounds, nearly becoming just the fourth player in school history to score at least 30 points and grab at least 20 rebounds.  That came after he didn’t get a single rebound in the second half against Louisville on Wednesday night.”I just think Greedy understands what can make him a great player,” said Davis.  “Although knocking down the three-point shots and some of the moves he has are great highlight material, the rebounding can affect the game.  When he’s rebounding at his best, he can play anywhere.”

• In UMass’ 80-74 loss to La Salle in Springfield, Freddie Riley was the biggest bright spot.  The freshman shooter, who missed time with knee surgery during non-conference play, came alive to lead a second-half comeback and finished with 22 points on 6-14 shooting from long range.”Freddy did tonight what I envisioned him doing while he’s a UMass Minuteman,” head coach Derek Kellogg said.

• Boston University continues to ride their big three of Corey Lowe, John Holland and Jake O’Brien.  They also seem to have the M.O. of starting slowly, but then being solid the remainder of the game, as Tuesday night’s win over UMBC was not an isolated case.  The Retrievers scored the first seven points of the game and still had the lead a few minutes later, but in the second half they never got within a possession of the Terriers.In particular, Lowe’s improvement to become a more well-rounded player is notable.  He’s no longer a gunner like he was earlier in his career; instead, he’s leading the team and also playing off the other two stars, and he’s become a tough, clutch player.  It’s been a steady development that hasn’t happened all at once.”You know what Corey’s done a good job of?  Letting me get after him, and not backing down,” said head coach Pat Chambers.  “I wanted him to be a pit bull.  He’s not relying on his three as much – now he’s getting in the paint, now he’s pulling up.”

Army Rides Defense, Small Lineup to Victory

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The defensive effort was there, which is no surprise in talking about a Jim Crews-coached Army team. The offense looked pretty good also. All things considered, it added up to a thorough 63-48 victory over Dartmouth on Saturday afternoon.

The opener for both teams at Christl Arena began as a relatively competitive affair. In the latter part of the first half, Army knocked down two three-pointers, then converted off a turnover to push the lead to double digits. After that brief run Army was never seriously challenged. The Black Knights enjoyed a comfortable double-figure lead the remainder of the afternoon.

“It was a good win and a lot of guys produced,” Crews said. “We are still searching for ways to put guys in the right combination, but that’s on me to figure out.”

Army was paced in scoring by Nathan Hedgecock with 15 points. A sophomore guard, Hedgecock has a smooth touch from the perimeter. He shot 6-of-11 from the floor and was 3-of-5 from three point land. Hedgecock knocked down a few in transition and looks more comfortable in that role rather than trying to create his own shot. Richard Cleveland, a 6-3 swingman, added 11 points.

“We lost a guy Jarell Brown (graduation) who could get us 15-20 points every night out,” Crews said. “While we don’t have anyone like Jarell, we have a few guys who on the given night can come up with that type of scoring.”

In their favor the Black Knights have a veteran cast with four players back who started at least 15 games last season. They also have that workman-like effort on the defensive end. Alex Barnett, Dartmouth’s 15 ppg scorer from a year ago, paced all scorers with 18 points. Barnett worked for his points and for the most part seemed frustrated as he shot 5 of 13 from the floor. On the afternoon, Dartmouth was 16 of 43 for 37 percent and committed 21 turnovers. Army did a good job in man to man coverage especially in weak-side defense.

“We were active on defense,” Crews said, adding, “we anticipated and took charges. These are things we should be doing because we do a lot of drilling on defense.” Not surprising for a coach who played under Bobby Knight at Indiana.

Army also showed flexibility by using point guard Marcus Nelson and Cleveland to bring the ball up the floor. Both finished with 3 assists, but having two capable floor leaders affords Crews the luxury of flexibility and the option of resting or putting one of them at the two-guard spot.

The one area that does need addressing is inside play. Chris Walker, a 6-9 junior, had two points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of action. Army struggled to finish inside and that is a concern to Crews. He adjusted and got a great deal of mileage out of a smaller lineup that got out and pushed the ball on occasion. Overall, it was an encouraging and fruitful start for an Army club that was 14-16 a year ago and made its second consecutive trip to the Patriot League semifinals.