The Professor

[Wayne23]

May 1, 1968: I am Professor Leland Hart, 25, Harvard University. I have decided to keep this journal in order to document my progress regarding this fascinating experiment which I have taken on. I completed my Ph. D. in statistical analysis, here at Harvard, in December. I was able to design my own program which included research into game theory, sports statistics, and any number of other areas, all with the intention of determining which factors have the most relevance when it comes to success in competitive athletics at the Division I collegiate level.

After a good deal of study of the various sports involved I settled upon basketball for any number of reasons: (1) There are only five players in the game at any given time. (2) A team can be successful with as few as six players in the rotation, and rarely is it necessary to have more than eight, or at most nine. (3) The schedule is relatively short, usually 27-33 games in a given season. (4) While baseball provides the opportunity for the greatest depth and breathe of statistical information, I determined that basketball provides the most relevant data. (5) I was able to participate as a graduate assistant coach of the basketball team here at Harvard during each of the last three seasons, thus gaining practical experience in the field. (6) Upon the retirement of my basketball mentor, Head Coach Granville Martin, I applied for and was given the position of head basketball coach.

While considering this enterprise an experiment in statistical analysis, and while keeping as much relevant data as possible, I am indeed the head coach and will function as same. I have kept the title of professor, but I intend to coach for an indefinite time, and indeed, should the opportunity to move up to a better school, regarding basketball, as there is no better school academically than this one, I shall do so. My “dream job” is Stanford University since it so successfully combines absolute top notch academics with high level athletic programs.

My theories will be explained as the season progresses.

[Wayne23]

May 1 (Continued): I began by engaging three assistant coaches. I decided that it was worthwhile to spend a bit of money on my first assistant, my recruiter, and was able to hire Nick Krimmel, who has a recruiting rating of 63. Hopefully this will bear fruit. He was the #2 assistant at the University of Massachusetts. His challenge, of course, will be finding quality athletes who are able to meet Harvard’s rigorous entrance requirements.

My second assistant is Jermaine (Jed) Howard. He will scout for us, a job he held with Boston University.

My #3 is Val Sheinfeld, who will serve as bench/practice coach. Duties will of course overlap somewhat. I had hoped to secure Nick’s services for more than a single season but was unable to do so, with him or with any of the others.

My first season will undoubtedly prove challenging. We have only ten athletes on the team, only one of them a scholarship senior. We have two senior walk ons. The rest of the team is comprised of 3 juniors, 1 sophomore, 3 freshmen, all on scholarship. I will keep no walk ons after this first season.

There are no superstars, and indeed, no stars. We will aim for a collaborative effort, which I consider to be paramount toward success in group endeavors, but it would be nice to have what is referred to in the vernacular as a “go to guy.” I feel we do have a modicum of talent, at the very least, probably more so among the guards than among the inside players.

A bit about my own strengths and weaknesses. I am, of course, analytical by nature. I was constantly told by Coach Martin that I am a very good game coach, in that I am able to see the court and what is happening, and am further able to very quickly pick up on changes in a given situation, and upon what is working and not working at a given moment.

Further, Coach Martin said I made good decisions regarding making necessary adjustments in adverse situations, as well as when to “ride out the storm” so to speak. Another of my strengths is evaluating talent. In this regard data analysis, and isolation of key variables are both key. Coach Martin praised my ability to teach the particulars to my players both in individual and group situations. He said that I expressed myself clearly and communicated necessary information, even when complex, in a very efficient manner. He particularly liked the way that I both encouraged and responded to questions, as well as the fact that I adopt a “learn by doing” approach as opposed to what some students have called “death by lecture.” As a graduate assistant I quickly learned that students learn little by lecture. I address a teaching point and have my students- er players, immediately practice same.

I know my weaknesses. I am scholarly, aloof, and not possessed of what are known as “people skills.” I can appear standoffish although I do not mean to. I simply do not normally understand emotional outbursts and the need for petty disagreements. Knowing this about myself I have encouraged my assistants to form close relationships with the players. This way, when difficulties arise as they no doubt shall, each player will feel that he has an ally on the staff. We will let this process happen naturally rather than assigning a coach to given players. If a player does not bond with any of the coaches this will be addressed and a resolution will be forthcoming.

Finally, yes, I am seen as cold, and lacking in a sense of humor. My students, not realizing I was aware of it, called me both “Professor Hartless,” (A rather clever play upon my last name) and “Mr. Spock”, the latter apparently being the name of a robot-like emotionless alien in a television series popular with the age group. I have never seen the program. I am what I am, but I shall attempt levity from time to time.

[Wayne23]

I will feature a balanced attack, focusing upon the Princeton (about 55%) and Triangle (about 45%) offensive formations against the zone, as well as our man to man offense, and will utilize man to man and 2-3 zone defense about equally. We will rarely press but when we do it will be about 50-50 between 1-2-1-1 and man. We will run offensive sets about 70% of the time. I will favor inside, but not heavily.

I am at 10 in Player Rotation and Def. Crash Boards, 8 in Off. Crash Boards, 6 in Off. Pace, 5 in all other categories.

My “numbers”: Off.- 15, Def.- 20, Recruit- 55, Scout- 90 (Since this rating never changes I start artificially high and balance in other categories), Recruit- 55, Player Development- 25. This places me in the “Amateur” category, all in all. I am Very High in Ambition, Academics and Integrity, Average in Discipline and Temper. Reputation is 37.

Among the many academicians with whom I consulted when coming up with the above plans was one Jerry Tarkanian, Ph. D., at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

With $115,000 in the budget after hiring my assistants I have decided to buy the Gold East Report, the basic National, and basic International reports. Since academic qualifications are of the utmost importance I felt that we would need to scour the world. I do realize that the information we will receive will be minimal outside of my local area, but I am comfortable with my decision. We will be left with $60,500 for recruiting and that seems more than adequate.

[Wayne23]

June 25, 1968: A great deal has occurred since my last entry. Indeed I had not planned to be remiss in writing but the demands upon my time have exceeded expectations, which I thought were rather high. Coaching staff has met almost daily during these initial weeks. I have found the input of all three coaches valuable but Coach Krimmel is especially insightful. His experience, as well as his excellent communication skills lead me to seek his advice regularly. I am quite comfortable making the final decision but I do wish his input before doing so.

Coaches Howard and Sheinfeld have also made significant contributions. We have worked through all of the basics and many of the variations to our offensive and defensive sets. We do not want needlessly complex formations but are mindful of the need to be ready for any surprises, complications…

Coach Howard has been looking at film of our conference opponents and has compiled folders of information for each team. Teams do make changes from season to season but if the coach remains in place these adjustments are usually relatively minor. Again, data is our friend, and Coach Howard is supplying it in both quality and quantity.

Coach Sheinfeld and I have discussed the manner in which we will work together. A major portion of his work load will be devoted to translating my basic plan for each practice into a working outline, measuring carefully both the time each given activity will take, who will lead said activity, how we will transition in and out of activities, and how we will evaluate the success of a given activity. Once again, accurate and complete record keeping will produce a great deal of invaluable information.

During games Coach Sheinfeld will sit beside me and we will consult regularly throughout the game. We will spend the first fifteen seconds or so of each time out deciding what information to communicate to our players.
I have visited each of our players at his home, being certain to time this visit so that I would be able to meet with the entire family. We want family support and the best way to achieve that is to make families understand that we have the best interests of their son at heart and that we welcome and value the family’s presence in our endeavors.

Of course many other details have required my attention. The facilities here at Harvard are adequate but little more than that. At some point in the near future some work should be done to modernize both practice facilities and the locker rooms.

Neither of these is a crying need but I have made Athletic Director Arthur P. Maranville, IV, aware of the situation. Dr. Maranville has been most cooperative and helpful in all regards.

We chose not to attend any summer camps.

Recruiting officially begins tomorrow. Coach Krimmel has had a list of recruits drawn up for some time and we add to it on a daily basis. Given the constraints mentioned above regarding admission requirements we shall be prepared to look closely at every player who we feel can meet said requirements.

[ticktock]

I'm so glad you started another dynasty Wayne! As a personal preference thing I find it hard to read stories that are deliberately written in accents, so I haven't been able to follow along on your last couple.

But this one seems like it will be awesome! Looking forward to it.

[Wayne23]

But... but... he has a Hahvahd accent! I'm just not writing it that way.

[ticktock]

As I said, just a personal preference thing. I know others enjoy reading in accents.

If I choose to give him an accent while reading, I know exactly how you want him to sound though!

[Wayne23]

There ya go! Doing my work for me. Leland's accent will be left to the reader.

[Wayne23]

June 26: We found 20 recruits on our initial list who we feel can meet our entrance requirements- actually, 5 are junior college so it is not relevant in those cases. Others will be added over time. We have 7 PGs, 2 SGs, 2 SFs, 5 PFs, 4 Cs.

Aug. 17: We offer to 2 PGs, an SG, 2 PFs, a C.

Sept. 11: Time for home visits.

Sept 18: 4 of our potential recruits seem quite interested. We have a schedule. I seek victories this year so I asked Athletic Director Maranville not to schedule very many difficult opponents. We will visit preseason #22 North Carolina State, as well as traditional rival Boston College. The schedule is well balanced as to home versus vis-à-vis road games.

Sept. 25: Two recruits commit. One goes elsewhere. Max Lee, PG, currently #108, commits, as does Tony Mast, PG, currently #68. Both are very serious students, with GPA of 4.0, which is the reason we were able to convince them to come here. We lost #62 SG Dan Cook.

Oct. 2: Two more commitments and no losses. #70, C Bay Sand, GPA 3.8, and #441 PF Josh Ayle, a Junior College player shoes stock slipped from
182. He may rise again.

Today was the first day of practice. I believe we shall be competitive in the Ivy League this season despite the fact that the so called experts are projecting that we shall finish last in conference. Interestingly enough our goals include winning the Conference Tournament- yes there is one.) It appears that I will very likely have eight players in my regular rotation. However it is early. We shall see what develops.

Oct. 23: Cris Zinn, #67, PG, committed. One left to fill. We now have 3 PGs, a PF and a C, and we’ve offered to another PG. Our desire would have been for another inside player but that may not happen.

Nov. 6: We play our exhibition games and adjust accordingly. We shall probably continue to adjust as the season proceeds, especially at SG. There is some doubt on the part of staff that we have resolved the issue of who should get minutes. We’ll see what transpires.

We withdrew the offer to the guard. Our sixth scholarship is now being offered to a PF.

[Wayne23]

The first scheduled team is Fairbanx, here in Cambridge. There is very little information available at this time but they seem strong in the backcourt.

Nov. 14: 62-44. A wonderful beginning, surely! No one individual distinguished himself above all others, but Dom Wing, installed at PF only subsequent to our exhibition games, led the way with 16 points, 7 rebounds. Eric Call at SF had 11 and 5, and Center Nate Hamm had 6, 8. SG Jed Jack and PG Greg Walk performed well.. Dave Barr had 5, 8, 2 as the first “big” from the bench, and reserve guard Kyle Mink did well. We had 20 turnovers which is an area for improvement. +13 in rebounding was quite favorable. We remained in control of our bodies on defense, committing only 16 fouls whilst the other team had 25.

All in all a satisfactory result.

Charleston, 1-0, is here next. They seem quite talented at PG and SF and their bench may be superior to ours. We hope to counteract all of this with strong inside play.

Nov. 17: 64-68. I am less than pleased with the outcome. We led by as many as 11 and then, in large measure due to foul difficulties for both of our starting guards, we completely lost our poise, as well as the game. Eric Call managed 23 points at SF, and Greg Walk played very well despite the foul difficulties, 9, 5, 5. But Jed jack played only 22 minutes before his disqualification, and our first guard from the bench, Dave Barr, also had 4 fouls. Our inside game was not very effective, either regarding scoring or rebounding, and we had 19 turnovers. A most unsatisfactory endeavor. We have much work to do.

Nov. 20: All recruits who committed signed today except for the Junior College player and he will, I feel confident, sign eventually. We are still pursuing an inside player. We are looking at two.

We travel across the country to Cal. ST Fullerton, 1-1 against poor competition but the road can be difficult.

Nov. 21: 72-73. A MOST difficult loss to bear. The game was heavily contested throughout and we had our opportunities. Alas, once again our guards remained in difficulty due to fouls for the entire way and indeed, both fouled out, playing but 22 minutes each. Sub Dave Barr did yeoman service scoring 23. He hit a three point shot with 4.8 left which, at the time, appeared to assure victory but, more’s the pity, their SF hit what must be considered a "fluke," a 38 foot shot as time expired. Our 15 turnovers was our best total to date. It was still excessive, but a step in the proper direction. We did not rebound well, nor did our opponents. The foul differential was our undoing, 24-15.

I am well aware that success takes time and effort. I must bear that in mind.

We next travel to 1-0 Wofford. We feel we are the better team. Hopefully we will play accordingly.

Nov. 24: 50-45. A strange game indeed. We trailed throughout the first half, by as many as 11, and we never actually led until 2:24 remained. I admire the tenacity we demonstrated, and it is gratifying to note that it led to our victory. Center Nate Hamm had 14 and 13 to lead us. Greg Walk scored 17. I was delighted with the fact that we committed only 12 turnovers, and that we were +10 in rebounding. Jed Jack, yet again, found himself in foul trouble throughout.

On the plane going home the staff discussed the issue of the SG position. It was decided that Dave Barr will start at SG beginning immediately. Jack has simply failed to do what we had hoped he would do.

In my role as an Associate Professor of Statistics here at Harvard, I work with both Masters and Ph.D. students. Those assigned to me do a great deal of in depth statistical analysis regarding the team and the individual players. I find all this work invaluable and place a great deal of emphasis upon it in making decisions as to playing time, offensive and defensive strategies, player combinations in certain key situations, selection of who will take shots at crucial times, etcetera.

My assistants have not always come to see the value in this. Since all were engaged for but a single season I now feel that I shall replace all three in the spring. Having the luxury of taking my time, I will, at that point, endeavor to engage assistants who see the merit in statistical analysis. Data is very powerful, and I must have a staff that embraces that concept.

In due time I shall have a great deal more to say regarding the role that my graduate students play in gathering data, and I shall introduce several of them to my readers.