Court jesters no longer: Elis grab two wins

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Onaje Woodbine, BK '02

But when five minutes were left in the team's next game, against Liberty on Sat., Jan. 8, the teams were not dead even—Liberty had put the game out of reach with an 11-point second-half run. Jones saw that while the innovative drill, which he had never used with his previous teams, was leading to improvement in practice, the team needed an extra spark to start games well and thus be in a position to win by finishing well.

After consultation with his assistants, Jones decided to make a major change. When the Elis arrived at practice on Mon., Jan. 10, they saw that Captain John Kirkowski, MC '00, and Ted Smith, CC '00, had been removed from the scrimmage squad that usually included the starting five, and that Jason Williams, PC '00, and Bill Parkhurst, CC '03, had replaced them. Jones said making such a switch sends a message to his players. "It keeps guys on their toes, lets them know that even if they come to practice and play hard, if they're not pulling their weight, doing what's necessary, they may not start," he said.

Jones seems to have hit upon the right combination. With the athleticism and energy of the new starters and great play down the stretch, Yale swept its first Ivy League games of the season last weekend, defeating Harvard 69-61 on Fri., Jan. 14 and Dartmouth 71-69 in double overtime the next day. Williams' play, in particular, was a major reason that Yale was able to open a comfortable lead against Harvard (7-9, 2-2 Ivy) in the first half. In the first five minutes, he got his own offensive rebound, broke up a pass, and scored twice in transition. He finished the game with 14 points, five rebounds, and four steals. Despite showing flashes of brilliance off the bench throughout his career, Williams had never before started for Yale against a Division I opponent.

Kirkowski and Smith still played almost as many minutes as they had been averaging as starters. "We can give some leadership to the team, especially since we have so many young guys on the court at the end of the game," Smith said. While the new starting lineup and the five-minute drill contributed to the victories, Yale could not have won without its starting guards, Onaje Woodbine, BK '02, and Chris Leanza, SY '03. The two directed an attack that turned the ball over only 13 times in each game—well below the team's season average of 18. While Woodbine and Leanza looked to get the ball to center Neil Yanke, MC '01, in the post, he had trouble shaking double teams and hit only four field goals in the two games. As a result, the two guards took 56 percent of Yale's shots over the weekend. "When those two guards are shooting well, a lot of stuff will fall in place for [Yale]," Dartmouth shooting guard Greg Buth said.

Woodbine established himself as one of the top guards in the league with his performance over the weekend—in two games he collected 54 points, hit eight of 17 three-pointers, grabbed 13 rebounds, dished out seven assists, and committed only three turnovers. Woodbine seemed able to get a good shot at will. "He took us one on one," Dartmouth Coach Dave Faucher said. "He did it right from the beginning and right through the game." Woodbine was virtually unshakeable in the clutch. After a Harvard run cut Yale's lead to 58-55 with three minutes left, Woodbine hit four free throws and grabbed two rebounds to fend off the comeback. Against Dartmouth (4-10, 0-4 Ivy), he hit a short jumper with 0.7 seconds left in the first overtime to tie the game and keep the Bulldogs alive. "I counted the time on the shot clock, took my man to the right, took him to the left, and took a little jump shot," Woodbine said of the play.

It's not unBearable

Yale's next opponent, Brown (5-8, 2-0 Ivy), with its pressure defense and deep bench, may make it more difficult for Yale's backcourt to get good looks. "Brown has a two-headed monster [at three positions]," Quinnipiac Coach Joe DeSantis said. "They shuffle in 10 or 11 guys." According to DeSantis, whose team defeated Yale, Brown, and Dartmouth this season, "We're pretty athletic. But Brown was running by us. Yale's two guards will have to step up."

While the Bears' style—pressure defense and transition offense—differs from the Bulldogs', which is primarily a half-court set, much about these two teams is similar. Both won only two Ivy games last year, and both are now led by rookie coaches. Jones has brought organization to Yale, while introducing inventive drills and imparting to his players the importance of "teamism." Brown Coach Glen Miller has developed a dangerous, athletic squad from a team that graduated its leading scorer, Kamal Rountree '99, and has only two upperclassmen.

Both teams also start two freshmen. Bears small forward Earl Hunt and center Alaivaa Nuualiitia are both among the top 10 scorers in the league. "Hunt is strong; he has a nice midrange game," Faucher said. "He really has the ability to get into the 15-foot range and score." Hunt burned Harvard for 39 points in Brown's victory on Sat., Jan. 15. Nuualiitia, a teammate of Kobe Bryant at Lower Merion High School, plays in the post, despite being 6'6". Buth called him "real tough," but Jones, who has watched tapes of Brown, described Nuualiitia as a "big guy who doesn't have too many moves." This could pose a problem for Brown, as Nuualiitia will need good moves to score on the 6'11" Yanke.

Yanke's size advantage should also help the Bulldogs control the glass. "A real key to the game will be offensive rebounding," Fletcher said. DeSantis thinks Yale needs to rebound well to prevent Brown from scoring too many fast-break baskets. Quinnipiac defeated Yale largely because the Braves were able to get Yanke into foul trouble and, with him off the court, outrebounded the Bulldogs, 46 to 26. "Yale will help itself if they are able to get offensive rebounds," DeSantis said. "Missed first shots sometimes lead to quick baskets on the other end." Missed three-pointers are especially costly, as they often lead to long rebounds. While Woodbine has shot the ball well, Yale is last in the league in three-point shooting, at 26 percent.

Down the stretch

One advantage the Bulldogs have is their recent strong execution at the finish. Yale won both games last weekend with clutch play, while Brown has blown second-half leads numerous times this year. DeSantis said that his Braves were outplayed, but they came back on Brown twice, in regulation and overtime. In Brown's most recent game, a 69-56 loss at Stony Brook on Tues., Jan. 18, the Bears squandered a five-point second-half lead, allowing the Seawolves to go on a 15-2 run.

If the Bulldogs fall behind on Friday and are forced to mount a comeback, they can expect to be bolstered by a large, boisterous home crowd. Attendance at last weekend's games averaged more than 1,500. "With the screaming and yelling, it's another level of energy with the fans out there," Woodbine said. Yale is 4-2 at home and 0-8 on the road. This could bode ill for the Bulldogs later on, but for now, they are feeding off the home crowd to finish well.

It seemed that when Yale and Dartmouth separated after Saturday's games, the two teams were headed in different directions in more than one sense. "Last year at this time we were 4-0; now we're 0-4," Buth said. "Last year it seemed like all the close games, we pulled it out. This year, we haven't really won one of those games where it's been down to the wire." His frustration surfaced when he fouled Woodbine hard in the second overtime, and then put his arm around Woodbine before he was to take the game's final two free throws. "I just told him they were pretty big free throws," Buth said.While Woodbine did miss the free throws, he and his teammates showed all weekend that they realized how important such shots were. And now they are a confident, dangerous team—like Brown. "Our whole mood is different," Jones said. "Our guys are pretty excited and happy about what they did in the past week. When you haven't had success in the past, it feels good."

Photo of Onaje Woodbine, BK '02, by Julia Tiernan.

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