After hot start, Bulldogs fold down the stretch

On Fri. Mar. 2, a capacity crowd of 3,100 fans—many of them students delaying their spring break departures—painted their faces blue, donned Yale basketball shirts, and packed into the John J. Lee Amphitheater, hoping to witness a victory against the powerful Princeton Tigers. A win would not have secured an Ivy League title for Yale, but would have given the team the first of three victories needed to get to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four decades. Whether it was the difference in big game experience or the Tigers' motion offense, the Bulldogs struggled to find the offensive precision that had given them the unexpected opportunity to play such a big game in March. For the entire game, Yale seemed to be running up a down escalator. The Elis allowed Princeton to take double-digit leads twice, exerting only enough energy to fight back to single-point deficits. Thirty-one minutes into the game, the Elis had failed to reach the top of the escalator, where they would have been able to finally face the Tigers on even ground.

REBECCA ROSENTHAL/YH

However, with 10:40 remaining, the Bulldogs finally appeared to have gotten back into the tempo of the game. Trailing 41-36, Neil Yanke, MC '01, took an inbounds pass from Matt Minoff, BR '04, and angled the ball in off the glass while being hacked by Tigers' center Nate Walton '01. Yanke pumped his fist in the air and the arena fed off the captain's enthusiasm with loud cheers for the Elis and louder taunts for the Princeton band. After Yanke hit the free throw, the Bulldogs set up their press, which had helped to shave eight points off the halftime deficit. But the Tigers broke the press to score a basket, cutting Yale's momentum short. On the next five possessions the Bulldogs self-destructed, turning the ball over four times and misfiring on two shots, allowing the Tigers to open a 50-39 lead. For the remaining six minutes, the Elis stubbornly tried to stay in the game, but the experienced Tigers held on for a 60-49 victory.

REBECCA ROSENTHAL/YH

"Any time you come back (as many times as we did) and get close, every possession really counts," Coach James Jones said. "We had to take care of the ball better than we did." While Yale did turn the ball over four more times than Princeton, the Tigers really won the game from behind the three-point arc, connecting on seven of 17 threes while holding the normally accurate Elis to a dismal two-of-11 effort. Guards Chris Leanza, SY '03, and Ime Archibong, TD '03, missed six of seven trifectas, combining to hit a lackluster four of 15 shots overall. Yanke's 16 points and 10 rebounds could not compensate for the deficiencies from long range. Although the Elis denied that they were particularly nervous about the contest, some admitted that the Tigers' big game experience might have contributed to their success. "Experience is always a factor, especially in big games," Archibong explained. "They had some leadership on the floor who had the big game experience. Nate Walton has more than 40 Ivy League victories, which is right up there with anyone in history."

The following night Yale played its worst game of the year against Penn, falling behind 35-13 at the half after the Quakers pieced together a 28-6 run to end the period. The Elis trailed by as many as 32 en route to a 65-38 drubbing. Leanza was held without a field goal for the first time all season. Tom Kritzer, PC '01, led the team in scoring but amassed only seven points. Three days later in Providence the Bulldogs fell behind 12-0 to Brown and never led, finally losing 90-80. Despite their gutsy comeback—the Elis brought the game to within three points—the Elis allowed Brown to convert 52.3 percent of their attempts from the field. As the buzzer sounded in Pizzitola Center, the Elis' season ended as it had begun—with a loss.

Yet in between those losses was a special season, one that made the truly faithful Bulldogs believe that the basketball program had the potential not only to challenge for third behind powerhouses Penn and Princeton, but also to capture the Ancient Eight title. "The last three games did not in any way ruin the season," Paul Vitelli, MC '04, said. "We were picked to finish last (by the coaches) and I think that we did more than anybody expected us to do. We really made a name for ourselves, and people will be looking out for us next year."

The fourth place finish at 7-7 obscures the fact that Yale inhabited first place as late as nine games into its league schedule. In his second season as coach, Jones vindicated Athletic Director Tom Beckett's decision to hire him. Always firm and positive, Jones kept the team's focus early in the season when skeptics questioned how they could manage without leading scorer Onaje Woodbine, BK '02, who quit the team last spring. The team showed great resilience, bouncing back from a tough non-conference schedule to come from behind on the road with wins at Harvard and Dartmouth to start the league season. The Elis impressed many followers when they won at Cornell after a six-hour bus ride following a disappointing defeat at Columbia.

Individually, there were many great stories as well. Yanke fought assorted injuries and a slow start to earn second-team All Ivy honors, finishing with 12.5 points per game (ppg), 6.7 rebounds per game, and 0.9 blocks per game. Leanza carried the team when Yanke struggled and led the Elis with 13.3 ppg on 40.5 percent three-point shooting, earning All-Ivy honorable mention. Three freshmen—Vitelli, Minoff, and Scott Gaffield, JE '04—provided the team with energy and a core of shooters that it had previously lacked. Perhaps most impressive was Archibong who, after scoring only 21 points his entire freshman year, developed into the team's third option. A devastating slasher with incredible leaping ability, Archibong worked on his shot and averaged an impressive 9.1 ppg. "Ime Archibong was probably the most improved player in the league," Jones said. "He did a great job in working hard this summer to come back and be a very good player."

Still, as the team looks toward next year, it leaves behind three departing seniors—Yanke, Kritzer, and Isaiah Cavaco, JE '01,—who meant a lot to the players and the coaching staff.

Jones believes that the three seniors created something that will not depart when the trio leaves New Haven. "I told them that they have left behind a legacy," he said. "We are going to win a championship here and they are going to be a part of it, not because they will have scored any baskets for us, but because they helped the young guys understand what it takes to get to this point and now the returning players have to take it to the next level."

For Cavaco, the success of this season, especially after his knee injuries, may be a sufficient memory by itself. "The fact that we had a chance to win a championship going into the last weekend was very rewarding," he said. "Considering that I almost quit the team on several occasions because I didn't think that I could play anymore, being a part of something this good was so meaningful. Hopefully the guys will win a championship for us."

To do that, the Bulldogs will first have to replace the twin towers of Yanke and Kritzer inside. T.J. McHugh, MC '03, and Josh Hill, TC '04, are smaller than the two seniors but showed flashes of offensive effectiveness this season. Bill Parkhurst, CC '03, provides the squad with added girth. Still, Jones understands that the essence of the team will change next year. "We will not be as overwhelming in the middle as we have been," he said. "We will play a little differently and be a quicker team next year."

The speed of next year's team could definitely be enhanced by Yale's landing prized recruit Edwin Draughan, a 6'5" guard from Mayfair High School in California. Ranked 97th in the nation in CNNSI's preseason poll, Draughan was recruited by Pac-10 and Big Ten programs and reportedly offered scholarships by Big East schools Providence and Rutgers. Because he has not officially been admitted to the University, Jones cannot comment on him, but recruiting experts describe him as a great passer with superb athletic skills. Yale's principal offensive weakness this season was the inability of its players, aside from Archibong, to create their own shots. Although teams often had one swingman who could guard Archibong one-on-one, not many squads will have the athletes to match both Draughan and Archibong, therefore creating open shot opportunities for the quartet of marksmen—Leanza, Minoff, Vitelli, and Gaffield. The best part for Jones is that this core of seven players will be together for the next two years.

This year's success, while it will not automatically result in victories next year, does show the Bulldogs that they should expect nothing less than competing for the Ivy crown each year. "We see that we have the potential to be special and win a championship," Jones explained. "But that will take effort in every off-season drill to make ourselves better. Getting a sniff of a championship is going to help us down the road." If the freshmen take Archibong's example to improve their games and Draughan proves to be as good as advertised, then that road to the championship could be traveled as early as next season.

Pictures of Ime Archibong, TD '03, and Chris Leanza, SY '03, by Rebecca Rosenthal.

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