One on One

Vedad Osmanovic '02 came to Hanover in the fall of 1998, freshly hyped in a major Sports Illustrated profile titled "American Dream." The shooting forward had been targeted by several bigtime college programs. Everyone agreed that the Bosnia native knew how to put the ball through the hoop. Coach David Faucher liked Osmanovic's size (6 feet 5 inches, 190 pounds), quickness and uncommon desire. But during workouts Faucher noticed that team chemistry dissolved whenever Osmanovic took the floor. He always wanted the ball. "We can't play if one player is running around looking for the ball," Faucher says. The playground style that made Osmanovic a star at the Dwight School in New York City wasn't going to work in Faucher's disciplined, team approach. Faucher wasn't about to change his system. Instead the coach introduced the young forward to a place he'd never been—the bench, where Osmanovic spent most of last season.

I felt bitter," the.20-year-old says with a slight accent. "Many times I say to myself, 'I don't want to play anymore.'" But he didn't quit. At the end of his lost season, Osmanovic asked Faucher to work with him. For months they met three times a week as Faucher taught Osmanovic the language of Big Green basketball: shuffle-cut, flair screen, down screen, throw-back, overplay option. "Every time we did a drill, I asked him to explain its purpose," Faucher says. "And Vedad would tell me. That was exactly what he needed." His student agrees. "I'd never accepted what I needed to do," Osmanovic says. "I'd say 'I'm so strong nobody will stop me. What do I need a system for?' And then I started to see." In November, when the horn signaled the start of Dartmouth's 1999-2000 season opener against Colgate, Osmanovic was on the floor. The spring training had turned the ball hog into a team player, and a starter at that. He scored 16 points, including two free throws that sealed the win, Faucher's 100th at Dartmouth. A breakout season was under way.

WHEN A HIGHLY-TOUTEDRECRUIT CAME TOCAMPUS AND WOUND UPRIDING THE BENCH, COACHDAVID FAUCHER FACED A

TALL URDER. THE FALLEN STAR DIDN'T UNDERSTANDTEAMWORK UNTIL COACHAND PLAYER WENT