Harvard 2010 College Insider Tournament Preview

Harvard Crimson - Ivy League (21-7, 10-4)

Big Wins: 11/15 William & Mary (87-85), 12/9 at Boston College (74-67), 12/30 George Washington (66-53)

Bad Losses: 11/23 at Army (53-56), 2/5 Princeton (53-56), 3/6 at Princeton (51-54)

Coach: Tommy Amaker

Probable Harvard Starters:

• Brandyn Curry, Freshman, Guard, 7.2 ppg, 3.2 apg

• Max Kenyi, Sophomore, Guard, 3.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg

• Jeremy Lin, Senior, Guard, 16.6 ppg, 4.4 apg, 4.3 rpg, 2.5 spg

• Kyle Casey, Freshman, Forward, 10.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg

• Doug Miller, Senior, Forward, 3.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg

Key Harvard Roleplayers:

• Dee Giger, Freshman, Guard, 4.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg

• Pat Magnarelli, Senior, Forward, 6.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg

• Oliver McNally, Sophomore, Guard, 7.2 ppg, 3.0 apg

• Christian Webster, Freshman, Guard, 8.3 ppg, 1.7 apg

• Keith Wright, Sophmore, Forward, 9.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg

Why The Crimson Can Surprise:
Coach Tommy Amaker has turned the corner in his third year with Harvard and most of that success is due to Jeremy Lin. The 6-3 senior leads the team in points, assists and steals. He is even a surprisingly good rebounder and shotblocker for a guard. While his shooting numbers have been down this year, Lin has done a great job bringing the younger players around and getting them involved in the offense.

While Lin may not be shooting as well from long range, he is a very efficient scorer otherwise. Forwards Kyle Casey, Keith Wright and Doug Miller are also efficient scorers and that is why the Crimson shoot an impressive 48.1 percent from the floor. Casey, a 6-7 freshman, has turned into a great multi-faceted scorer. He will score in the paint and step outside and hit the long ball. Keith Wright is battling with Achilles tendonitis and Harvard needs his explosiveness if they hope to make a post season run. Miller is not much of a scorer, but he is a big body who works hard on the glass.

Why The Crimson Can Disappoint:
The outside shooting numbers are not very good. Lin connected on 40 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc last season. This year that number has dropped to 35.3 percent.The only other options to shoot from outside are Christian Webster and Oliver McNally. Webster has had an inconsistent freshman campaign, but when his shot is falling, he can score 15 points in a game without much trouble. McNally takes most of his shots from outside and has really turned into the only player Coach Amaker can rely on to hit from long range on a consistent basis. If it was not for his 39.5 percent shooting from long range, Harvard would be a horrible shooting team outside the arc and a great shooting team inside the arc. McNally is a quality ballhandler too and he is one of the few players who has a decent assist-to-turnover ratio. Harvard cannot afford to turn the ball over as much as they usually do and miss a bunch of long balls in March.

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Who To Watch for Harvard:
Max Kenyi and Brandyn Curry are a couple more underclassmen who are coming into their own. Both have made forays in the starting lineup and proven to be capable players when given the opportunity. Curry rarely scores in double figures, but he is a good slasher who can score in a variety of ways. Kenyi is finally getting back into the swing of things after missing a dozen games in the middle of the season. At 6-4, Kenyi brings more size to the perimeter and can further help a team that is already pretty good on the glass.

Harvard By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 74.1 (73rd in nation, 2nd in conference)

Scoring Defense: 65.5 (99, 5)

Field-Goal Percentage: 48.1 (15, 1)

Field-Goal Defense: 41.3 (80, 2)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.2 (166, 5)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.7 (96, 3)

Free-Throw Percentage: 76.6 (5, 1)

Rebound Margin: 2.8 (89, 2)

Assists Per Game: 15.4 (35, 2)

Turnovers Per Game: 15.5 (283, 8)