The Dartmouth men's basketball team has had a rollercoaster season marked by tremendous highs and disappointing lows.
Coming off an abysmal 2003-2004 season, expectations were decidedly low, even with the addition of new head coach Terry Dunn.
Leading what was just recently named the 66th greatest basketball program in the nation, mainly as a result of the Green's Ivy League and national dominance in the 1930s and '40s, Dunn had a daunting task ahead of him as he strived to return Dartmouth basketball to its glory days.
Steve Callahan '05 commented on his expectations for the 2004-2005 season along with the coaching change, saying, "We expected to have a strong season. We had a lot of experience coming back, so we thought we would be competitive each night out. We weren't sure what to expect with the new coaching staff, but everything has turned out well in that department."
Experimenting with the team chemistry Dunn made use of the talented upperclassmen that fill the roster. Led by Callahan, Michael McLaren '05 and Mike Lang '06, Dartmouth exploded to a 66-61 home victory over Quinnipiac in the season opener. The Big Green used its greater experience to beat a team that had downed Dartmouth twice last season and create hope for an underappreciated basketball squad.
Stressing a strong, aggressive defense of both opponents and home court, Dunn sparked a revived vigor in a team that was considered lower tier last year. In fact, throughout the season, Dartmouth's home record has been 4-2, giving fans a reason to make the trek to Leede Arena for home games.
However, lacking consistent game play, Dartmouth has yet to win on the road, due in large part to its daunting road schedule. The Big Green have competed on both coasts and taken on, among others, Stanford and the ever-dangerous Vermont Catamounts whose roster contains the nation's highest scoring duo -- Taylor Coppenrath and T.J. Sorrentine. To Dartmouth's credit, the team has always kept it close, just falling short at the end of almost every road game. This inability to close out under pressure culminated in a Dec. 20, double overtime loss to UC-Davis, 98-87.
Coming off a six game losing streak, Dartmouth managed to rebound and defeat Harvard on its first home stand of 2005. In what proved to be a thrilling back and forth match up, Dartmouth stunned the Crimson with aggressive defense and adept ball movement as they came away with the 49-46 victory in a tough, grinding match-up. Coming of this motivational victory, Dartmouth headed to Burlington, Vt., to face the now 13-3 Catamounts. Taking the game down to the wire, the Big Green nearly stunned a program that -- according the nationally respected Ratings Percentage Index -- is ranked 17th in the country.
Espousing Dunn's defensive mantra and utilizing its tough, experienced roster, Dartmouth hopes to make some waves during the 12 remaining Ivy League games of the season. This weekend, Dartmouth travels to New York to face a surprisingly tough Columbia team followed by a grueling Cornell Big Red squad.
Callahan, however, is optimistic about the road ahead.
"I expect us to compete every single night in the league," the Big Green captain said. "We need to get off to a great start this weekend by winning a couple on the road in New York, and, after that, we will see what happens. We've had a good couple weeks of practice, and I like the way the team is progressing right now."
Showing flashes of tremendous defensive potential along with occasional hot shooting, Dartmouth is prepared to take on a set of tough Ancient Eight opponents. If the Big Green manages to stay aggressive on defense and work the ball in the low post, they stand a great chance at knocking off any opponent and causing havoc in a highly competitive Ivy League.
The future for Dartmouth men's basketball looks bright as this once great team tries to restore the College to national prominence.
