6,000 of the Best

TIM COHANE can't be faulted for his recruiting efforts. Cohane succeeded Gary Walters as the varsity basketball coach in April, two weeks before college acceptances were mailed out. "We worked to salvage the recruiting year," explains Cohane, who after arriving immediately went on the road to contact potential Dartmouth freshmen. "I think it was an advantage - we were about the last ones to see them. It was successful because we got some good, big freshmen. A couple will probably make the varsity and help out before the year is over. The most important thing was that we didn't skip a year of recruiting. We didn't get any great players, but we got some good, solid players."

Cohane has also taken a three-pronged approach at improving Dartmouth's basketball fortunes. He has focused his attention on future recruiting, building enthusiasm among players and fans, and setting up voluntary programs for players to work on during the off-season. Cohane says he and his two assistants "infiltrated" every major all-star basketball camp in the country last summer, looking at some 6,000 of the best basketball players in the country while logging some 30,000 miles. "We set the standards high to get the top player," he explains. "We started with this criterion: They had to be good enough to bea| Penn by the time they got here." After the 'best players were found, other things such as grades, finances, and interest were checked out. Then the player was invited to Hanover if he were qualified. "We found eight players out of 6,000 who fit our very narrow parameters and for those eight Dartmouth is one of the two or three schools they will go to. I don't think there was a college in the country that saw more players."

Cohane feels perennial powers Penn and Princeton will be weaker this year and that Dartmouth will have a shot at the Ivy title. "We're very anxious for practices to start. We did our work in the off-season so we wouldn't be distracted when we're supposed to be coaching and playing. Recruiting is under control, there will be a groundswell of support from the students, and now we can start to play and win games. The rest will take care of itself," he says.