Men's Basketball Optimistic Outlook

The eyes of the basketball world are on the College on the Hill. After the 1986-87 season, which saw the Green go 15-11 for their first winning hoops season in a decade, several national publications, including The Sporting News and College Basketball Preview, are tapping Dartmouth for the Ivy title. With a new gym, renewed enthusiasm, and the loss of only one starter from the '86-'87 team, basketball fever may grip Hanover this winter.

Coach Paul Cormier, now in his fourth year at Dartmouth, likes the attention, but he's not so sure that this team is all some pundits are claiming it is.

"If things come around the way that we anticipate they will, we feel that we should be right in the thick of it all year long, and with a little bit of luck at the end, we expect that we have a very good shot at winning the title . . . But, to come out and say that we're a clear-cut favorite because we have the best team, well, I'm not ready to say that at all," Cormier said.

Call it cautious optimism. Cautious because of the untested nature of the Green frontcourt and optimistic because of the deadly skills of the Green backcourt players.

"If you look at our team as an opposing coach would, you'd say we're very strong on the perimeter and unproven, not bad, but unproven, in the forward and center slots," Cormier said. "Those are the voids we have to fill."

On the side of optimism, guards and cocaptains Bryan Randall '88 and Len Bazelak 'BB provide a one-two punch in the backcourt. Randall, the Ivy Rookie of the Year as a freshman, brings a 16.6 points-pergame average from last year, along with 6.2 assists per game. "He has got to be one of the premiere, if not the premiere guard in the league," said Cormier.

"I think the attention is good for us," Randall said. "It'll add a little pressure and a little incentive to live up to the billing. It also makes us really shoot for it, which we haven't in a little while."

While Randall has been a star from the beginning in Hanover, Bazelak is another story. "I kind of had to show 'em what I could do," said Bazelak, a former JV player who scratched and clawed his way to a permanent spot in the starting lineup last year. He showed opponents both determined defense and offense, finishing with a 14.7 ppg average last season, and he has the respect of the coaches. "He's what the program is all about," Cormier said. "He's been a fine example for younger kids. "

The front line boasts some size, some speed, and some "real questions," according to Cormier. Kwaku Miller '86's graduation leaves the center spot open, and 7'0" Walter Palmer '90 is a strong candidate to take the position after recovering from an injury last season.

The forward position has one great anchor in the form of 6'4" Jim Barton '89, who alternates between small forward and shooting gujrd. Barton, another former Rookie of the Year, led the team in scoring last year with 21.4 ppg, and has been an NCAA leader in free throw percentage since coming to Dartmouth. "He's a winner. He has a real uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time with scoring opportunities," Cormier said.

Past Barton, who, again, isn't always playing as a pure forward, there is Darin Maccoux '89, a 6'7" power forward. Maccoux is "the only one who has somewhat proven he can help us," Cormier says when referring to his frontcourt.

With these questions, is there room for title talk? Looking around the Ivies, Cormier sees several teams as potential title winners. "Cornell will be the toughest team for us to match up to," he said. "They had, I feel, the best frontcourt in the league last year, and now everybody's returning with one more year's experience. If I had to pick a favorite, I'd pick Cornell."

Perennial Ivy cage powers Penn and Princeton, while strong as usual, may be more unseatable this year, Cormier feels. "I think the rest of the league is catching them talent-wise," he said. "I firmly believe that we're every bit as good as Penn and Princeton, and this is the first time since I've been here that I feel I can say that."

The excitement of a championship-caliber team is doubled this year by the opening of the Leede Arena in the Berry Sports Center. The Crimson will be guests for the formal dedication on January 9, and Green players and coaches alike are excited about the move to their new home court.

"After playing in there this fall, I'm looking forward to getting a game in there," Randall said. "With some people packed in, and the new floor and all, it'll be exciting."

The new floor will be somewhat of an adjustment. It is solid compared to the one in Alumni Gym which had plenty of dead spots. Some campus quipsters called the old floor the team's "sixth man." "We are excited about the floor," Bazelak said. "The dead spots helped us against some teams, but they hurt us, too."

"The reason we were pretty successful in Alumni Gym last year was not because of the floor and not because of the old gym," said Cormier. "The reason we were successful was because the kids played hard and because of the student support and community support that we got. Their willingness to get in back of this team was phenomenal. That was our sixth man," Cormier said.

With the anticipation building in the student body, there should be a sixth man in the new arena. But assistant coach Dave Faucher wisely warns the overzealous: "It's not where you're picked. It's where you finish."

Former Ivy Rookie of the Year, now co-captain, guard Bryan Randall '88 gets pastVermont's defenders.