Despite dropping two more Ivy League games over the weekend, several Dartmouth men's basketball players showed improvement that could bode well for the remainder of the season.
Ian McGinnis '01, the team co-captain and starting center who led the nation in rebounding at over 12 per game in 1998, pulled down 10 rebounds Friday night against Brown and 15 on Saturday versus Yale. His 12.5 rebound per game average over the weekend nearly doubled his season average.
Often inconsistent in the post, McGinnis also turned into a force down low over the weekend, scoring 32 tough inside points over the two games, including a 20-point outburst on Friday.
"Ian's playing very well on both ends of the court," said Dartmouth head coach Dave Faucher after the Yale game.
McGinnis also had three blocks on the weekend.
Scoring threat
While Dartmouth's offense often struggled to get high-percentage shots, small forward Vedad Osmanovic '02 created his own scoring chances with his trademark energy and acrobatics.
Against Yale, Osmanovic hit for 16 points -- 12 in the first half -- on 7-for-12 shooting. He nailed several three-pointers with men in his face and added a turnaround jumper and a pretty floating runner over a taller Bulldogs defender.
On Friday, Osmanovic scored 12 points, pulled down three rebounds, had two assists, two blocks and three steals.
"Vedad got in a groove and then [Mark] Kiss[ling '02] got in a groove, and it was really good because that takes some pressure off [shooting guard] Greg [Buth '01]," Faucher said on Saturday.
New starting lineup
Osmanovic's hot hand has earned him a spot in the starting five, replacing the struggling Charles Harris '02.
Tagged as one of the best players in the Ivy League before the season, Harris has yet to regain the form of his stellar 1998 freshman campaign. Harris did not play last season for personal reasons.
After picking up three quick fouls in the first half against Brown, Harris saw only 17 minutes of action and scored two points. He played 14 minutes against Yale and again scored two points.
Osmanovic logged 57 minutes in the two contests.
"I thought Vedad was playing very well and we went with Vedad quite a bit," Faucher said.
Kissling sweeter than wine
Power forward Mark Kissling continued his tour de force through Ivy competition last weekend, setting another personal best in scoring with 24 points on Saturday night. Kissling had previously set career highs in scoring over winter break against Minnesota with 18, then against Harvard last weekend with 19.
Against Yale, Kiss knocked down eight of 16 shots from the floor, and six of 10 from three-point range.
Only freshmen
New additions to the Big Green Jordan Naihe '04, Scott Klingbeil '04 and Tyler Davis '04 all saw action last weekend.
Naihe, who is learning to play the point, struggled at times running the offense when Flinder Boyd '02 took a rest. Klingbeil and Davis did not factor in the offense, but played solid defense in a combined 13 minutes over the weekend.
Starting guards
Greg Buth, Dartmouth's leading scorer, continued to struggle on offense last weekend. After 1-for-13 shooting two weekends ago when the Big Green hosted Harvard, Buth went 4-for-9 and 4-for-12 against Brown. He scored 12 points both nights.
Flinder Boyd made eight steals in two games over the weekend.
