mrjames
Professor
Posts: 6062
Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
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04-19-19 11:33 AM - Post#283811
In response to OnlyCrimsonBlood
Simple answer is that it's not really a liability from a basketball perspective (though some of the wonky rules that govern certain schools and the league writ large are a liability).
The big issue for Harvard is here were the top win share guys between the Siyani class of 2012 and the Top 10 class of 2016:
Zena 6.8 WS
Corey 6.6 WS
Weisner 1.3 WS
Chatfield 0.9 WS
Egi 0.9 WS
TMac 0.8 WS
With the other folks in those classes, it sums up to just shy of 18 *career* WS over three entire classes. In comparison, Wesley Saunders himself was worth roughly the same number of win shares and the 2016 class, which still has a senior year to go, is at roughly double the win shares.
The reason why Harvard had such a long run of sustained success from 2011 to 2015 including a couple Top 50 KP finishes is because it stacked the Keith Wright/McNally class with the Kyle/Curry/Webster class with the Saunders/Travis/Kenyatta/ Steve class. Even the down year included one strong contributor (Rivard in 2010).
Unless you're recruiting one-and-done NBA talent, it's really hard to rely on one class to propel the program forward with (for the last two years) no help from upperclassmen. Add in injuries, and it's pretty remarkable that this class has won two Ivy titles in a row.
For me, the biggest reason why Harvard hasn't made the NCAA Tournament is playing road Ivy tournament games instead of neutral-site playoffs.
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