Penndemonium
PhD Student
Posts: 1932
Reg: 11-29-04
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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...
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mobrien
Masters Student
Posts: 409
Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
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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.
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Silver Maple
Postdoc
Posts: 3790
Loc: Westfield, New Jersey
Reg: 11-23-04
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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.
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Naismith
Sophomore
Posts: 150
Loc: RI
Reg: 11-11-18
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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.
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sparman
PhD Student
Posts: 1360
Reg: 12-08-04
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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)
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palestra38
Professor
Posts: 33696
Reg: 11-21-04
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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?
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sparman
PhD Student
Posts: 1360
Reg: 12-08-04
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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.
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Silver Maple
Postdoc
Posts: 3790
Loc: Westfield, New Jersey
Reg: 11-23-04
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02-28-23 04:52 PM - Post#352743
In response to palestra38
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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