Taking it to the hoop in Kuchen's Kitchen

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Charlie Petit, DC '99, was forced to sit out the season's first two contests because of stress fractures.

By Steven J. Rosenthal

What do you get when you pit a Big East basketball team against Yale? A good old-fashioned drubbing reminiscent of the 88-57 blowout Connecticut handed the Bulldogs on opening day last year, right? Wrong.

On Sun., Nov. 15, the Yale men's basketball team traveled to South Bend, Ind. to take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Instead of a laugher, the contest was nearly the biggest upset of the young college season. In a heartbreaking loss, the Bulldogs fell 64-62 after leading by four with two minutes remaining.

Clearly, Notre Dame is no Connecticut. In fact, many have predicted the Irish to finish dead last in the Big East. CNN/SI may have put it best in its basketball preview when it described the team with one simple word: "Ughhh." Big East basketball, however, is still a different world from the Ivy League, and while Yale head coach Dick Kuchen admitted that Notre Dame is not a national powerhouse, "it still has a solid program."

So what does this all mean for the Bulldogs' campaign to improve on their third-place finish in the Ivy League a year ago? The answer is unclear. But one thing is for sure: Kuchen's troops now know that they can compete.

The Bulldogs still have some huge holes to fill. Kuchen lost two of the league's best players to graduation. Last year's captain and first team All-Ivy selection Emerson Whitley, SY '98, was a force at the power forward position. His 16.1 points per game (2nd in the league) and 6.9 rebounds per game will be sorely missed. Matt Ricketts, TD '98, an honorable mention All-Ivy selection at guard, ranked 15th in the nation in free-throw percentage (.889), and was a threat from the outside. Gabe Hunterton, JE '98, the 1994-95 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, is also gone from a team hoping to better its 12-14 (7-7 Ivy) record of a year ago.

Leading the squad will be captain Charlie Petit, DC '99, and David Tompkins, SY '99. Petit, a starter for the last 18 games last season, is a bomber from the outside. He enters this season fifth in school history with 110 three-pointers. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Petit was forced to sit out the first two games of the season against Holy Cross and Notre Dame due to stress fractures. When he will return is still unknown.

With Petit out, even more of the load will fall on the broad shoulders of 6'6" power forward Tompkins. Last year's league surprise, Tompkins led the Bulldogs in rebounds (7.3 per game) and set an Ivy League record for field goal percentage in league games (.724). While Tompkins' rebounding prowess is widely recognized (he was named the Ivy League's best rebounder by The Sporting News), he will have to up his scoring from the 9.9 points per game he averaged last year for this team to be successful. All indications from the first two games point to Tompkins as an offensive star. He poured in 18 and 14 points against Holy Cross and Notre Dame, respectively.

Beyond Tompkins and Petit, Kuchen hopes that a pair of 6'10" big men, Tom Kritzer, PC '01, and Neil Yanke,
MC '01, will fill the void in the middle. While Kritzer sat
out much of his freshman season with back problems, Yanke saw action in 25 games and took part in the prestigious Pete Newell's Big Man Camp in Hawaii this summer. Increased production from these two will be key to Yale's success. "If we can get big numbers out of the center spot, we will be able to play bigger than most teams," Kuchen said. Other players expected to help the team up front include Ted Smith, CC '00, John Kirkowski, MC '00, and eventually Ken Marschner, SY '99, once the football season ends. All three are experienced players who saw significant minutes last year and will be counted on to help fill the hole left by Whitley.

With the graduation of Ricketts and Hunterton, the backcourt could be the biggest question mark of the season. The most experienced of the guards is Marlon Simpkins, MC '99. Simpkins started in 18 games for the Bulldogs last year and will certainly see a bulk of the backcourt minutes this season. After being second on the team and 10th in the league in steals with 1.4 swipes per game, Simpkins will be this year's "defensive stopper," according to Kuchen. Also competing for a spot in the starting five is last year's recipient of the team's top freshman award, Isaiah Cavaco, JE '01. At this point in the young season, it seems Cavaco will be seeing most of the action at point guard. Despite sitting out the Holy Cross game, he did play against Notre Dame and scored nine points while dishing out two assists. Onaje Woodbine, BK '02, also played well against Notre Dame (seven points, five assists) and should see action in the backcourt.

The Bulldogs are deep, which could be the team's greatest strength. Kuchen knows, however, that "depth doesn't necessarily mean success." He added, "It may take some time for the team to gel, but if everybody understands their role on the team, there's no reason we can't have a winning season." In a league dominated by Pennsylvania and Princeton, cracking the top two will be difficult. But as last weekend's game with Notre Dame proves, these 'Dogs can play with some big time schools.

Back to Sports...