Anyone who went to Leede Arena on Monday night knew who was in control of the basketball game between Dartmouth and Harvard. It wasn't the referee or the two head coaches. From the opening tip, the tenor of the game was dictated by a single player.
P. J. Halas '98 is the Big Green's co-captain, starting point guard and very heart and soul. He is an extension of Head Coach Dave Faucher on the court and commands respect from his teammates and opponents alike.
"He is so confident," newcomer Greg Buth '01 said, "he leads by example in practice which translates to good play for the team in our games."
He feels that he and Asa must control the practice because the team is so young and inexperienced.
By his own admission, Halas started the year off slowly. He didn't play as well as he would have liked on either end of the floor.
"I started off the year very tense and eager to win. I had to relax and be myself and talk to the crowd to feel more comfortable. It has been the difference for me," he said.
Not that his "clowning around," as he termed it, has prevented quality practice; he was sure to let his teammates and coaches know that he still means business.
As he began to relax and "find himself" over break, the team began to play a much better brand of basketball. They played increasingly better defense against Notre Dame, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Tennessee State. But it all came together at Harvard.
"Coach [Faucher] told us coming in that if we went out there and gave it our all, it would be something we'd never forget. He was right," Halas said.
If Halas merits praise then Faucher obviously does as well; as Faucher and Halas seem to be long-lost relatives as their intensity and passion can be read right across their faces. Faucher has pulled the strings on this team, and, despite their overall record, they seem to be gaining enormous amounts of confidence in time for the Ivy schedule.
Had they lost the Harvard game, their confidence would have been virtually shot and they would have been 0-2 in the Ivy League. It was basically a "must" win.
Halas came out and shot the lights out knocking down all three of his three-point attempts and shutting down who he termed as the best point guard in the Ivy League, Tim Hill.
Dartmouth made a run in the first half and didn't look back. Halas voiced his incredulity at being able to do what no Dartmouth squad has been able to accomplish in the recent past, defeat Harvard at home.
Halas spent the evening diving for loose balls, playing inpenetrable defense and knocking down treys, all the while maintaining a continuous conversation with the referee, the crowd, his teammates and Faucher. He was the biggest presence in the arena that night and even his opponents recognized that he can single-handedly monopolize the flow of a game.
He knew exactly where he wanted to be and where he wanted everyone else to be and he made sure it happened that way. He played as though he had complete control of the game at all times, and he wouldn't want it any other way.
When Faucher finally took him out of the game for the first time with three seconds to go, they both had huge grins on their faces, screaming in jubilation at one another. That was the first time all night that Halas had let down his guard. He had been on a mission that was completed when the buzzer sounded marking a 57-53 victory for the Big Green.
"It was unbelievable. This was a complete team effort. Everyone on the bench, on their court and in the stands -- they were all a part of that win," Halas said.
Halas was candid and honest about Dartmouth's chances the rest of the year. He would love to win the four games on the road to return to Hanover with a 4-1 Ivy record going into the Princeton-Penn weekend.
"All of the games are winnable. We may not get the ring this year, but the program will be on the right path ... in March, I see us with the potential of competing with the other top teams in the league if we maintain our confidence," Halas said.
You can tell by the look in Halas's eyes that there is nothing more he would want in the world than to bring home an Ivy crown. That may be one of the few things Halas cannot control. He realizes that with this young a team and Princeton playing as well as they are this season, he may just have to deal with an average season and help the Big Green prepare now for a title run in two or three years.
With a combined three seniors and juniors on the team, it seems likely that the Big Green might have to wait a couple of years for that title.
Don't think that that will stop him from diving for loose balls, because if there is one thing you can be sure about P. J. Halas, it's that he wants control of that basketball. Amongst other things.
