Jeremy Lin Becomes The Next Harvard Great

With Matt Stehle and Brian Cusworth now just mere entries in the history books for the Harvard basketball team, Jeremy Lin and the guards have taken over the Crimson. Lin and company have already made their mark.
While the twin towers of Cusworth and Stehle dominated the minds of Ivy coaches in much the same manner as Columbia’s Nwachukwu and Baumann do now, it is Lin and fellow guard Drew Housman that have become the keys to the Harvard game plan. The two backcourt mates are the dynamic duo that drives the Crimson offense, with over half of the team’s assists coming from the duo. Lin, Housman, and three-point specialist Dan McGeary also combine for more than two-thirds of the team’s baskets from beyond the arc.
Yet among all the guards on Harvard’s roster, Lin is the one that could be most considered a jack of all trades. He rebounds well for his size—Lin’s 4.8 boards per game is good for third on the team. Combine that with the fact that Lin is also the leader in points and assists, and it seems that the sophomore is establishing a role for himself similar to the one he had in Palo Alto in high school, when he led his squad to a Division II state championship.
The new structure of the Crimson has produced interesting matchups and results for both Harvard and its opponents. The Crimson had been mired in a five-game Ivy losing streak earlier in the season, losing to all its opponents by a wide margin during that stretch. However, against undefeated but similarly guard-oriented Cornell, Harvard was able to match the Big Red basket for basket until the end in a nail-biting 72-71 loss.
On paper, the Lions match up favorably against the Crimson. Baumann and Nwachukwu have historically been able to impose their game on the Crimson frontcourt—the Columbia pair contributed a combined 36 points in Cambridge earlier this year. Baumann’s and Nwachukwu’s ability to operate freely in the frontcourt also gives Columbia the space to shoot from the outside: the team had 19 attempts from beyond the line against the Crimson last time.
But Columbia’s chances of taking the victory also hinge upon the ability of the guards to defend against Lin and his backcourt mates. The Light Blue had success against Lin in the last meeting between the two teams, limiting the sophomore to just 6 points. However, guard Drew Housman torched the Lions for 25. Lin also comes into the game fresh off an Ivy Player of the Week win, after scoring 41 points combined last weekend against Princeton and Penn.