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By
Jon Teitel
jonteitel@hotmail.com
October, 2004
2004-05
Dartmouth Basketball Preview
The Veterans: The Big
Green have one of the most experienced teams in the Ivy League, with
four seniors (three of whom are in the starting lineup) and five
juniors.
The Youngsters: Two
of the five freshmen will be welcomed to Hanover by some very familiar
faces. Johnathan Ball was a high school teammate of sophomore Leon
Pattman, and Michael Giovacchini’s brother David currently plays for
Harvard (a third brother, Tony, continues the family’s student-athlete
tradition by playing at Stanford).
The Departed: The Big
Green only lost one senior from last year (Scott Klingbeil), so the
nucleus of the team is completely intact. The loss of coach Dave
Faucher might have a negative impact on the team, but after last year’s
horrible 18-game losing streak, change might not be a bad thing.
The Strengths and
weaknesses: Dartmouth has good size with three players over 6’8” (David
Gardner, Calvin Arnold, and Paul Bode). The offense last year was
non-existent, as the team’s 56.9 PPG not only ranked last in the Ivy
League, but #322 out of the nation’s 326 Division 1 basketball programs.
The Star: Pattman
established himself last year as the Ivy Rookie of the Year and the best
player on the Big Green, and it will not surprise anyone if he becomes
one of the best players in the Ivy League as a sophomore. Pattman
exploded for back-to-back games of at least 29 points (the first
Dartmouth freshman ever to do so), and finished the year ranked 10th
in the nation in free throw shooting (88.6 FT%).
The Schedule: Coming
off of a 3-25 record (one of the worst seasons ever by an Ivy League
team), the schedule makers were not kind to Dartmouth, who will play
four road games against Tournament teams from last year (Princeton,
Lehigh, Vermont, and Stanford). The Big Green will ease into the season
with five of its first seven games at home, but then have eight of its
next ten games on the road through the end of January.
The Imports: 11
different states are represented on the Big Green’s roster (including
four players from Illinois and three from Tennessee), but there is not a
single player from outside the United States.
The Coach: Terry Dunn
replaces Dave Faucher as head coach, after a stint as an assistant coach
for the University of Colorado, and will be lucky to win half of his
games this season.
The Prediction: The
good news is that there is nowhere to go for Dartmouth but up. The bad
news is that its best player is a sophomore, its brand new coach is
unproven, and its talent level simply does not compare to that of other
Ivy League schools.
Learn
more about the author Jon Teitel and how to contact him here
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