Earlier this month, the annual NCAA men's basketball tournament concluded with the crowning of the North Carolina Tar Heels, after the Michigan State Spartans failed to show up for the game, presumably because they were caught in the traffic produced by Detroit's bustling auto industry... or something. In any case, for the 50th consecutive year, Dartmouth failed to even qualify for the tournament because another school won the Ivy League title.
That is, upon reflection, an absolutely staggering run of futility. There are only eight Ivy League schools, so one would figure we could find some way to luck into a league title at least once in five decades. For perspective, the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton have each won or tied for 25 league titles during that same period.
Not surprisingly, Leede Arena is usually a veritable ghost town for men's home games. All of that losing has contributed to a culture of no interest and low expectations that has enveloped our team and depressed our fan base. Why on earth would one spend a Friday night watching the men's basketball team, when one could watch one of the College's far more successful and exciting hockey teams playing across the street? Most years, thereis no answer to that question, and early on, it looked like this season would bring more of the same. Dartmouth struggled to a hideous 2-10 start, highlighted by blowout losses to such noted heavyweights as Lehigh and Providence. The team was basically unwatchable, playing poorly in every aspect of the game. It looked as if the Ivy League coaches had actually overrated Dartmouth in picking them to finish second to last in their preseason poll.
Then something peculiar happened. A raucous crowd showed up for the Big Green's Ivy League opener last January against Harvard, and Dartmouth nearly upset the Crimson before bowing out on a last-second layup. To say the game was utterly shocking would be an understatement. Harvard had just defeated Boston College, a ranked opponent, and came into the game flush with confidence. They left shaken, staggering to a disappointing season.
The near miss ignited the Big Green, however. Dartmouth came back and stunned Harvard on the road in overtime and followed the upset by sweeping Penn and Princeton on the road for the first time in College history, notching a respectable 7-7 record in league play, and becoming competitive enough to gain a chance to play for the league title late in the season.
The turnaround was astonishing. The Big Green began rotating far more crisply on dribble penetration, challenging numerous shots at the rim and generally playing respectable defense. They began to get out on the fast break, taking the team out of its putrid, stagnant and turnover-prone half-court offense, and masking its shooting deficiencies. Senior forward Alex Barnett '09 exploded, shooting over smaller players with impunity and ultimately winning the Ivy League scoring title. What on earth begot this maelstrom of -- gasp -- solid play?
Simply put, people started showing up. As the crowds got louder, the Big Green played with far more confidence and was able to carry that confidence with it on the road. I hate to break it to you, folks, but we're all every bit as responsible for Dartmouth's men's basketball failures over the years as the players. When Leede is a morgue, the guys just don't play well. When we give them our support and our love and our passion, they respond in-kind and are thankful for our time. After the Brown win, the crowd was so electric that the players, in a gracious gesture, stayed around after to high five the student section.
In all honesty, the team will probably take a step back next year, which is less an indictment of its potential and more a lucid realization that it will be nearly impossible to replace Barnett, the Ivy League Player of the Year and Honorable Mention All-American. However, the team could potentially be an exciting group. No team in the league boasts more size or usable depth than Dartmouth, and the continued improvement of erratic but talented point guard Jabari Trotter '12 should make the team's offense more fluid.
So, for the love of God, come on out and support the team next year! One of these days, we're going to get this monkey off of our collective back and win the league, and you'll be forever kicking yourself if you miss it.
