So, after watching both games this weekend, Jordo and I have decided to debate which part of the game is more important to the future success of the Dartmouth Big Green: offense or defense?
Make no mistake, both are important, but, in Dartmouth's case, it all starts with the offense -- and on offense it all starts with forward Alex Barnett '09. Barnett may be the best offensive player in the Ivy League, averaging just under 20 points per game and shooting 42 percent from behind the arc. Barnett imposed his will on Brown Friday night, netting 28 points. Barnett is a pure scorer, and has been crushing Ivy League opponents all year.
Obviously, however, one player does not make a team. On Saturday night, Yale made every attempt to take Barnett out of the offense, by double-teaming him and forcing tough shots. Barnett shot only 5-18 from the field, and it was clear that the Big Green needed another player to step up. Guards David Rufful '12 and Robby Pride '10 showed that they were each comfortable filling the scoring role and helped put Yale away with clutch shooting.
Furthermore, when Dunn's players are firing on all cylinders offensively, they play more aggressively on defense. The sports cliche is that "the best offensive is a good defense," but in Dartmouth's case, this is reversed. Over the weekend, I saw our boys in green play their best defense after someone made a big shot. Dartmouth's offensive prowess seems to dictate its defensive intensity. In order for Dartmouth to stay competitive in big games, the players need to be making shots. This may sounds obvious, but it is especially true when a team's offense directly influences its defensive aggression.
In basketball, offense is always more variable than defense. A team is capable of playing good defense in any gym in the country, be it Leede Arena or Madison Square Garden. Offensively, however, teams can vary wildly from night to night. Sometimes teams cannot seem to miss, while on other nights, it seems as if they can't throw the ball in the ocean. This is exactly what makes offense so important for the Big Green. If Dunn and his players can run their offense consistently, a huge amount of that variability will be decreased.
In terms of the rest of the season, Dartmouth's offense is of paramount importance. Terry Dunn and company do not mathematically need to win the rest of their games to get to the Big Dance, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. Princeton is undefeated in league play, and the Tigers' forte is certainly defense. Princeton has allowed over 70 points in only one Ivy League match, and held defending champion Cornell to just 41 points on Friday. Needless to say, if the Big Green wants to be competitive with the Tigers, it is essential that guards Ronnie Dixon '11, Jabari Trotter '12, Pride and the rest keep turnovers to a minimum, take care of the basketball and find good shots for themselves and their teammates.
I would like to take this last space to say that after watching the basketball team this weekend, I can safely say that is the best I've seen of them play in the past four years.
On Friday night, the gym was rocking, and the game was thrilling. On Saturday, Dartmouth avoided the emotional let-down and beat Yale. The exciting part about this recent winning steak is that Dartmouth basketball has a bright future as well. Rufful led the team in scoring on Saturday night, while fellow first-year players Trotter (who had a team-high three assists) and Josh Riddle '12 (who made a huge block on a Yale three-point attempt) saw significant minutes.
As the team embarks on a make-or-break four-game road trip over the next two weeks, I can only hope it plays with the same intensity, clutch shooting and excellent decision making it showed over the weekend.
