HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2691
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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12-05-15 05:51 PM - Post#196712
Harvard trailing by 2 at Kansas with 7:41 remaining. ESPN2
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2691
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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12-05-15 06:17 PM - Post#196714
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
Amazing effort in Lawrence. Losing by 6 (75-69) to what will be the #2 team in the country come Monday. Younger players developing nicely - trial by fire. 15 TO's in first half became 4 in second half. Amaker must be pleased with the effort, fearlessness, and progress.
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jadwin
Sophomore
Posts: 191
Age: 74
Reg: 01-14-15
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12-05-15 10:47 PM - Post#196766
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
Very impressive performance by the Crimson. They displayed a lot of heart with an excellent coaching job.
It will be nice to see one of the Ivy League teams knock off a Top 25 team this year. Yale and Harvard have come so close. The Ivy League teams always seem to come so close yet most often "no cigar".
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H78
PhD Student
Posts: 1458
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
Reg: 01-06-11
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12-06-15 04:15 AM - Post#196771
In response to jadwin
It'll happen, SRP.
To quote MRJ and JFK...."Rising Tide"....
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digamma
Masters Student
Posts: 468
Loc: Minneapolis
Reg: 11-27-11
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12-06-15 10:52 AM - Post#196776
In response to H78
If we can play like the second half yesterday, this is going to be a fun ride.
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mrjames
Professor
Posts: 6062
Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
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12-06-15 11:29 AM - Post#196779
In response to digamma
It'll continue to be up and down with a general trend upwards, I'd wager. Some of the things killing Harvard right now are correctable with the personnel that the team has (as opposed to situations where a team just doesn't have the personnel to correct a glaring error and will have to ride a season out).
Lots of the turnovers are kids trying to do too much, and those should subside as players settle into roles. That will improve the offense a bit, but there will still be enough bad, live-ball TOs to put a cap on how much ground the offense can gain.
Harvard really needs Chris Egi to make free throws. The ability to throw out Zena, Cummins and Egi along with Okolie, Steeves and Perez at the 4-5 or 3-4-5, will create an advantage for the Crimson in Ivy play, as not a lot of other teams can match that size. Add Corey Johnson at essentially the 2, and Harvard could roll out there with four guys at 6'5 to 6'9.
It'll be a very fun season. It is extremely unlikely to end in an Ivy title, but with 5 of the first 8 at home (and two coin-flip road games), Harvard could hop out 5-3 or 6-2 before fading in the face of a five-game stretch that includes four road games and hosting Princeton.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2691
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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Kansas 12-06-15 11:34 AM - Post#196780
In response to digamma
Under Amaker, Harvard has developed a habit of amazing second half runs where they either tie or take a 1 or 2 point lead against a top ranked team before falling off:
Memphis
Michigan St.
North Carolina
Kansas
Those runs were amazing, but the momentum died (and the opponent bounced back) once Harvard caught up.
Thankfully, they do hold on sometimes:
Florida State
New Mexico
Cincinnati
Who's next? Hawaii in December?
By the way, a friend who is a Kansas grad texted me during the second half from the game: "Omg!!! Ahhhh this is so close Eeeek" and "Yall have a bright future.. lots of freshmen and sophomores on the team."
Love it when those runs stun the opposing fans.
Edited by HARVARDDADGRAD on 12-06-15 11:35 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2691
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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Re: Kansas 12-06-15 11:50 AM - Post#196782
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
Recap video is fun:
http://www.gocrimson.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/v ideo...
Like past years, no other Ivy league team can do this. Note that for all the dunks and drives, Zena doesn't appear in any of them except for a neat pass to Cummins! Kansas double teamed him all game, but he still got his double-double.
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jadwin
Sophomore
Posts: 191
Age: 74
Reg: 01-14-15
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12-06-15 12:34 PM - Post#196790
In response to mrjames
Harvard may well be in the mix for the Ivy League crown even with its offensive deficiencies based on their athleticism and defense. Their FT and outside shooting is certainly questionable but every team has weaknesses.
Based on what I have seen so far, Yale appears to clearly be the strongest team --- defensive intensity, Sears and especially Mason with Sherrod and Montague. They lack depth but they may be destined especially when one considers that they were so close last year and gave up the title at the buzzer to Dartmouth.
Princeton will be in the mix along with Harvard and Columbia but all of these teams are still unknowns to some degree. It should be exciting season and may come down to the last weekend but Yale may could lock it by the final weekend unless injuries get them.
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Kjack
Pre-Frosh
Posts: 1
Age: 56
Reg: 12-05-15
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12-06-15 07:23 PM - Post#196814
In response to jadwin
I was at the game yesterday and it was intense. Harvard was very strong and had everybody on the edge of their seats. It's tough to beat Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, their record there since 2007 is 140-3, but Harvard came darn close to making it happen!
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H78
PhD Student
Posts: 1458
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
Reg: 01-06-11
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Kansas 12-07-15 06:39 PM - Post#196873
In response to Kjack
I was at the game yesterday and it was intense. Harvard was very strong and had everybody on the edge of their seats. It's tough to beat Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, their record there since 2007 is 140-3, but Harvard came darn close to making it happen!
Thanks for that note, Kjack. I gather you're a "Rock Chalk Jayhawk" guy, so your kudos carry weight here. With Kansas, now ranked #2, at home, at Allen Fieldhouse, where Naismith's "Original Rules of Basketball" reside (saw that heartful ESPN 30 for 30 special), it appears Harvard put forth a good showing.
The key, for us, seems to be getting behind early, which wasn't so much the problem the past 5 years. And clearly, the team misses Siyani Chambers, with whom the team's record could easily be the opposite of what it is now.
Question: I'd be interested in your point of view (if you were there or saw the game) of the Cornell-Kansas game in January 2010 ? There, Kansas was #1 Ranked, and Cornell actually led at the half, whereas Kansas, which "put together the kind of (late) run No. 1 teams make" to win, shot 37% for the game, 47% from 3. Cornell, normally a good 3 pt. team, was only 35% from 3. The Morris twins were pretty much shut down, as were most Kansas players other than Cole Aldrich (4-8) and Sherron Collins 9-16, 13-14 FT, who really shined.
In fact, anyone who saw that game, any comparisons? That Cornell team made it to the Sweet 16 and was ranked for a few weeks that season.
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dtannenwald
Freshman
Posts: 14
Age: 38
Reg: 11-24-15
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Re: Kansas 12-10-15 06:54 PM - Post#197146
In response to H78
For those interested in the comparison to the 2010 Cornell game at Kansas, my latest in Harvard Magazine draws on an interview with Jon Jaques, a starter on that team and now a Big Red assistant.
http://harvardmagazine.com/2015/12/after-nearly- to...
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