Recovering from a stress fracture last year, Harvard junior Brian Cusworth watched helplessly as his teammates struggled through a difficult 2003-04 season. He spent much of his free time in the weight room building bulk to match his skills. This year, the 7-foot, 250-pound center stepped back on the court to redeem his ailing team. He has reemerged as a star and, perhaps, the Crimson's most powerful threat.
But it is still unclear whether Cusworth's contributions will be enough to prevent a repeat of Harvard's disastrous 3-11 conference record last year.
The St. Louis native has led the Crimson with 14.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Cusworth stepped off of the sidelines this year to join forces with forward Matt Stehle, the junior from Massachusetts who provided perhaps the sole beacon of hope for the Crimson's 2003-04 campaign.
Stehle earned himself an All-Ivy honorable mention last season and was recently named Ivy League Player of the Week. He trails only Cusworth with 14.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. The forward was expected to repeat his promising sophomore performance and has thus far has actually improved upon his stats from last season.
With its two strongest threats at center and forward, Harvard boasts a solid frontcourt that has been the team's greatest asset thus far.
Stehle and Cusworth's energy on both ends of the court have played key roles in wins over Fairfield, Lehigh and Dartmouth. The duo is surely responsible for the teams current 6-9 record. But they cannot carry the team alone.
Senior guard David Giovacchini has taken charge of the Crimson backcourt, substituting effort and determination for height. After the graduation of four-year starters Tim Hill and Elliott Prasse-Freeman, Harvard coach Frank Sullivan looked to the 6-foot-1-inch Giovacchini to take the reins in the backcourt.
Giovacchini leads the team with 67 assists, but his 51 turnovers negate much of the good he has been able to accomplish. Only Stehle has more turnovers with 57.
The Crimson has managed a total of 287 turnovers, to compare to the 243 total turnovers initiated by their opponents.
What is in store for the Crimson remains a mystery.
As the team enters the bulk of its conference play, it needs some significant changes to save them from the fate of another poor Ivy League finish and a repeat of last year's "cheesesteak game" at the Palestra in which Penn scored 104 points.
First, the players need to maintain possession and eliminate turnovers. This does not only apply to Giovacchini and starting senior guard Kevin Rogus, who together have coughed up almost a quarter of the team's turnovers. Stehle and Cusworth are also responsible for another quarter of these mistakes. The Crimson have to keep possession more consistently all over the court.
Both Stehle and Cusworth are clearly at the heart of the team's strength. They can provide solid defense; even if they do so, however, the results of upcoming Ivy League contests will be decided by Harvard's offensive initiatives.
Opponents have and will continue to look to shut down Cusworth and Stehle, relieving pressure from teammates, such as Rogus and senior forward Jason Norman. So far these other starters have been only mildly successful at capitalizing on their opposing defense's negligence with Rogus, averaging 10.3 ppg, and Giovacchini averaging 8.3.
Rogus and Giovacchini have, respectively, made only 41 and 38 percent of their field goals and shot 38 and 30 percent from beyond the arc. These players must step up to put even more points on the board in order to change their team's current path to a sub-.500 season.
At the midway point in the season, Harvard's play has been only average, if that. Should Cusworth and Stehle continue to lead their team's campaign with solid performances and other starters assume more active roles in the offensive play, the Crimson may climb the ranks of the Ivies to the upper half. But based on what it has shown so far, the team will more likely finish toward the bottom of the league.
