Basketball Schedule Released!

The 2011-2012 Harvard men's basketball schedule has been released after much speculation.


11/11 vs. MIT, LAVIETES PAVILION
Harvard opens with rematch with the Engineers of Division III. The Crimson won last years matchup 84-58.

11/15 @ Holy Cross, Worcester, MA.
The Crimson stay in-state for their first road game.

11/19 @ Loyola Marymount, Los Angeles, CA.
Traveling West will bring Harvard into fertile recruiting grounds and will be a return to the Golden state for senior Oliver McNally (San Francisco) and sophomore Jamie Moore (Rocklin, CA.)

11/24 TBA, Battle 4 Atlantis, Bahamas.
The field will include Florida State, Connecticut, Central Florida, Utah, College of Charleston, UMass, and UNC-Asheville. Harvard will be guaranteed 3 games in the Bahamas.


11/25 TBA, Battle 4 Atlantis, Bahamas.

11/26 TBA, Battle 4 Atlantis, Bahamas.


12/1 @ Vermont, Burlington, VT
The Catamounts were a 20+ game winner last year, losing in the semifinals of the American East championship and earning an NIT bid.

12/4 vs. Seattle, LAVIETES PAVILION
The Redhawks travel cross-country for this early December matchup.

12/7 @ Connecticut, Storrs, CT.
This will be the third year in a row that the Crimson travel to UConn, with the Huskies winning the last two meetings. Connecticut is the defending national champion. This could be the second matchup between the two teams in the season (providing they also meet in the Bahamas.)

12/10 @ Boston University, Boston, MA.
Harvard won last year's matchup with BU convincingly.

12/22 vs. Florida Atlantic, LAVIETES PAVILION
No, not the team Isaiah Thomas coaches (Florida International).

12/29 @ Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA.
Harvard will be looking for its 4th straight victory in Chestnut Hill over the Eagles of the ACC. BC lost star guard Reggie Jackson to the NBA Draft. Kudos to Boston College for keeping Harvard on the Schedule.

12/31 vs. St. Joseph's, LAVIETES PAVILION
The days of Jameer Nelson may be gone in Philadelphia, but coach Phil Martelli still has the Hawks competing in the A-10. 

Continue on for the 2012 portion.

Crimson Clicks, August 2nd

News, notes, and mentions of Harvard sports in the past week

The strengths and weaknesses of former Harvard quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick are discussed in USA Today's review of the NFL's Buffalo Bills, the team for which Fitzpatrick starts. From the paper:

"Head coach Chan Gailey sees upside to the former Harvard passer but can only view him as a long-term answer if he significantly reduces his mistakes and begins to show he possesses a winning touch. Buffalo gave the six-year veteran a vote of confidence by not investing its top draft choice (No. 3 overall) in a young arm. Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, did everything possible to assert his leadership during the lockout, including hosting teammates at his Arizona home to facilitate April workouts."

Incoming Harvard basketball recruit Corbin Miller has great things to say about the Crimson in his hometown Salt Lake Tribune:

“I feel Harvard is the best fit for me,” said Miller, who led Class 5A last season in 3-pointers per game. “I felt very comfortable there and my style of play fits with what they do.”...While basketball is the catalyst for Miller attending America’s oldest university, it is the school’s academic profile that really sealed his decision.
“I’ve always known that basketball would be a means to an end, and it’s just a tremendous opportunity and blessing to be able to get one of the best educational opportunities in the world,” said Miller. “It’s been very humbling.”

Football has hired Scott Lukas as Football Operations Coordinator, according to GoCrimson.com. Lukas comes to Cambridge from Bryant University, where he was Director of Athletic Operations.

Until next time, Go Crimson!

Guest Post: A Look at Men Hockey's Newest Assistant

Editor's note- After Harvard announced that Albie O'Connell, an assistant coach at Northeastern for three years, had been named the new assistant coach for the Crimson, we contacted WRBB, Northeastern student radio, for a little inside scoop about Harvard's newest hire. The following was written by Ben Horner, men's hockey broadcaster and the sports director over at WRBB.

It's hard to quantify what Albie O'Connell brings to a college hockey program.  While you might be hard-pressed to find someone who would sing the praises of his coaching ability from a purely "X's and O's" standpoint, you certainly won't have to search hard to find a player to "pump his tires", to quote a certain NHL. goaltender. 

O'Connell's biggest strength is his ability to connect with players on their level, speaking to them instead of at them, etc..  In short, O'Connell is at his best when he is recruiting players, selling the virtues of a program and university as a whole.  During his time with the Huskies, it was not uncommon to hear stories of Albie being the one to do the majority of the recruiting, with players only meeting former head coach Greg Cronin at the very end of the process.  One need look no further than the quick, impulse reactions of some of Northeastern's recruiting class following his departure to understand what a valuable asset Albie O'Connell is to a program.

-Ben Horner. WRBB

Crimson Clicks, July 20th

News, notes, and mentions of Harvard sports in the past week...

Harvard featured prominently in the New York Times article about changes in Ivy League practice rules to curb the rate of concussions. From the Times:

"“I’m not sure there will be any dramatic changes, because the changes over the last few years for dealing with head hits have changed dramatically,” said Tim Murphy, the football coach at Harvard. “If we want young people to continue to fall in love with this great sport, we have to protect the athletes.”
Murphy said that reducing the amount of contact during the week will not only reduce the chance of head trauma, but also keep his players fresher on game days. Too much contact in practice can lead to diminishing returns, he said. Murphy added that he did not think that the stricter rules will have any impact on recruiting. "

Men's Hockey hires new assistant (USCHO) Albie O'Connell hired to coach defensemen and special teams after three years at Northeastern.

An incoming linebacker recruit gets glowing praise from a local paper (The Statesman). He's got high expectations. From the Statesman:

"Sheehan has already set a series of goals for his stay on the Cambridge, Mass., campus. He hopes to win 40 games with the Crimson, and he wants to find a way to change an ivy League rule that does not allow the league's football teams to participate in postseason games".

The ACC Sports Journal mentions Tommy Amaker in a conversation about replacements for Mike Krzyzweski at Duke. Here is the exerpt:

Tommy Amaker may have put himself back in the running with the masterful job he’s done at Harvard, which helps erase the memory of his failure at Michigan.
Amaker understands the daunting task that faces Krzyzewski’s successor.
“I don’t think anyone wants to replace Coach K,” he said recently, in an interview with GoDuke magazine. “Speaking for myself … every step of the way, I enjoy the process of building. Every place I’ve been, I think I’ve played a small role in leaving a mark. But every mark has been touched at Duke. He’s a legend, an icon.”

Drew Cannon of Basketball Prospectus has Keith Wright as an "honorable mention" when discussing the top 100 players in Division I.

Bonus Clicks:

Abby Wambach's sister talks about her sister playing for Harvard (Yahoo! Sports)

Manchester United comes by campus, visiting one of the least sports-savvy campuses in the least soccer-crazy nation in the world.

Until next time, Go Crimson!