Get schooled.
With 11 players returning and a pair of Division I transfers becoming eligible, Steve Donahue brought in only two frontcourt high school recruits and a junior college transfer this fall. Given what Cornell brings back this season, playing time will be at a premium. However, two of the transfers figure to see minutes off the bench and the third could be in the mix as well.
With no seniors on the roster last season, Joe Jones brought in just two freshmen this fall. Four of his five recruits the previous year were guards, so Jones went with a pair of frontcourt players in Zack Crimmins of Bishop O’Connell High School in Virginia and Asenso Ampim of The Groton School in Massachusetts. Both freshmen have very impressive physical stats, with Crimmins a true seven-footer and Ampim built like a linebacker at 240 pounds, but only time will tell whether their basketball ability is similarly impressive.
Craig Robinson’s first recruiting class at Brown is a large one. Numbering eight recruits in total, it has a distinctly Midwestern flavor, particularly from Robinson’s native Chicago area. Four of the recruits boast outstanding pedigrees in terms of family bloodlines or legendary high school programs. The class received a fair amount deal of attention, though none of the recruits individually jumps out as a blue chipper by Ivy League standards. However, there are players with intriguing potential in the group, and ultimately the class’s strength may lie in its size.
If the Harvard opening is anything like recent Ivy vacancies, Crimson athletic director Bob Scalise has quite a few CVs to wade through in his search for Frank Sullivan’s successor. From conversations with sources close to the Harvard program, around the league, and close to potential candidates, an early list has emerged. Bear in mind that the interest probably is one-way with some these names, and inevitably there will be some surprise candidates unknown to anyone outside the Harvard administration.
Overall record: 11-18
Ivy record: 6-8 (5th)
RPI rank: 230th
Sagarin rank: 233rd
Pomeroy rank: 233rd