Column: CU Basketball Should Realize Full Potential

As the 2000-2001 Columbia men's basketball team ended its
season last year with a win on the road against Dartmouth, many
turned to thinking about what might have been. If not for one or two
games where Columbia was nosed-out at the end, some were
thinking about March Madness.

Not just watching it at Columbia, but actually watching Columbia
play in it.

I was a little disappointed myself. After watching the squad
out-hustle, out-gun, and simply out-play the rest of the Ivy League, I
was spoiled as a fan.

I wore my Levien Loonies shirt proudly during Penn/Princeton
Weekend. I charged the floor when the out-of-kilter P's finally
breathed their last breath. I was banking on an Ivy League
Championship out of our hoopsters.

But alas, it was not to be, though I can't say the ride wasn't fun. The
surge toward a championship was a little unexpected, though with
the talent the Lions had on the floor, it shouldn't have been. It was
just fun.

The 2001-2002 season for Columbia men's basketball is a little
different. This year, Columbia should be one of the favorites to win
the NCAA bid awarded to the Ivy champion. While Columbia sports
in general usually temper their enthusiasm, this could be one
case in which we, as a community, have a reason to be
optimistic.

Senior swingman Craig Austin, an AP honorable mention
All-American and Ivy League Player of the Year, leads the "School
Ties" of supporting casts. Each player could blossom into a star of
his own. It's not enough that Austin, who dropped 20.4 points a
game, returns to do more damage this year.

All but one of the contributing players return from last year's squad
(Michael Merley graduated), including six former starters. Forwards
Joe Case and Mike McBrien, guards Victor MuÒoz and Derrick
Mayo, and center Chris Wiedemann all came back. Plus, senior
three-point addict Treg Duerksen makes his long-awaited
comeback to the Levien Hardwood.

Things certainly look rosy for the Lions. But with all these
expectations for the Light Blue Cagers, it begs the question: Now
what do they do?

Other Columbia teams in the past have been faced with such
expectations. My first year, the hoopsters of 1998-1999 entered the
season with similar potential. They boasted four seniors and
buckets full of expectation. But by the time the crux of the Ivy
season rolled around, experience hadn't walked the walk.
Columbia finished sixth in the league and set into rebuilding for
this upcoming season.

This 2001 Lion football team similarly commenced its season with
loaded expectations, at least of making it into the Ivy's top tier. They
had a hoss of a running back, perhaps CU's best ever in
Johnathan Reese, a three-year starter at quarterback, and a deep
and energized defensive front. Yet it took those Lions four games
to finally begin playing up to their potential. As it turns out, the team
can pull out a third place finish in the Ivy League with a win this
week against Brown and still attain one of its best seasons in
years. But could they have stood up toe-to-toe with Penn the way
they are playing now? I would've liked to find out.

The 2001-2002 basketball team needs to tackle the problem of
wasted talent of which De Niro so eloquently speaks before it
attacks them. How does Armond Hill coax all the talent out of his
supremely talented squad?

On some teams, like the LA Lakers of recent years, the problem of
stars grabbing at the ball with hopes of scoring the bulk of the
points have held them back. With this team, that appears not to be
the problem. Each of the players seems comfortable in his role,
though this view only manifested itself from a distance. Hill will
divvy out playing time like a Vegas croupier, and he'll keep his
starters fresh for the February sprint as he always does.

The only thing that can derail this crew, as I see it, is getting
discouraged with some early season letdowns. The rest of the
league is stronger than last year.

Princeton returns four starters, with two All-Ivy selections and the
Ivy Rookie of the Year. Brown returns all of its starters, including an
All-Ivy first-teamer and second-teamer. Penn, as usual, figures to
be strong and is actually seeded higher than Columbia in the
Coaches Poll.

But this is meaningless to Columbia, as Light Blue teams should
be used to being underestimated. They should follow the example
of this year's football team by fighting through a tough early
season, biding their time until they achieve their potential. Football
will fall short of an Ivy title due to two great teams in Harvard and
Penn. But the basketball league has more depth, so a few early
season losses won't kill title chances.

Columbia men's basketball should keep its spirits high in the face
of some roadblocks along the way. This way, when the chance to
snag an Ivy title away from Princeton or Brown comes, they can
step on Columbia's tradition along the way.