by Wayne23 » Mon Mar 28, 2016 11:22 am
3/1: Quarter finals:
#1 Columbia 72- #8 Brown 50
#2 Harvard 85- #7 Dartmouth 58. Will had 26 and 12. +14 RBs, +9 TOs.
#3Cornell 82- #6 Penn63
#4 Princeton 93- #5 Yale 83
3/2: Semifinals:
#1 Columbia 70- #4 Princeton 73. UPSET!
#2 Harvard 77- #3 Cornell 70. 25, 14 for Will, 19 for Loyd, 16 for Fred, 14 for Scot. +7 RBs, +5 TOs.
3/3: Finals:
#2 Harvard 71- #4 Princeton 55. We scored the first 9 and never looked back. 27, 5 for Will, 10, 12 for Scot, 8, 8 for Post. +16 RBs.
3/12: Selection day. We are at 21-9, 9-5, RPI #43.
(Author’s Note: Since the Ivy tourney is played as a series of exhibitions the game does not recognize it. We finished in a 3 way tie for 1st, but were the #2 seed. Therefore, we did not get the automatic bid.)
NIT, #2 East. We play #7 seed Siena, 19-9 from the Metro Atlantic.
3/13: 68-54. 20, 12 for Lane, 20, 2, 5 for Fred. We played well.
Next is 21-11 Troy, from the Sun Belt. On paper we are the superior team.
3/15: 75-65. 38-21 at the half. 18, 12 for Will, 22 for Fred, 11, 3, 6, 5, 3 for Loyd. +8 RBs, +5 TOs. Roy Cord sprained a toe and is out for about two weeks. He’s #9 on the depth chart.
We play #5 seed Kent ST, 21-10, Mid-American, in the round of 8. On paper we are very evenly matched.
3/20: 68-56. 30-28 at the half. +6 RBs, -2 TOs. Big 2nd half run got it to 21. +7 RBs. 17, 5, 5 for Fred, 16, 7 for Will, 14, 4, 3, 3, 4 for Loyd, 10, 10 for Scot.
We’re in the NIT Final Four. Rather exciting!
#4 4 seed from the Midwest Alcorn ST, 25-8, from the Southwestern AC is next. This looks very much like a toss up.
3/28: 75-60. 44-40 at the half. +6 RBs. They were scoring outside, we were scoring inside. We scored the first 9 in the 2nd half, built the lead to as many as 18. 20, 8, 3, 5 for Will, 12 each for
Scot- with 10 RBs, Fred, and Palm. +14 RBs.
#4 seed from the West, Weber ST, 25-10, Big Sky, for the title. The match up seems quite favorable.
3/30: 46-40 at the half. +6 RBs. Will is dominating inside. Fred has 3 fouls but two of their starters also have 3- their starting big men.
Champions! 83-70. We quickly built a double figure lead. They never brought it to less than 6 in the 2nd half. 25 and 9 for tournament MOP Lane Will, 13, 10 for Scot, 11, 10 for Palm, 13, 5, 3 for Fred. +17 RBs.
26-9 for the season. Going to the NIT was the finest thing that could have happened to us though it did not seem so at the time. We should not have gotten past the 2nd round, at best, in the NCAA.
4/4: A. D. Clausen P. Gherkin sent me to the NCAA Final Four. It was a delight!
#1 KY defeated #2 UConn by 7 for the title.
Awards: Junior Lane Will was named Ivy POY, Defensive POY, and 1st team. Guard Jay Fred was named freshman OY and 2nd team. I received the coaching award. I am honored.
4/23: We ask for a budget increase again this year. We hope for a better result this time. Granted $8,250. Marvy!
We end the season at 26-9, champions of the NIT, RPI #43. +5.3 PPG, +3.5 RBs, +2.9 TOs, -0.7 assists.
Our two finest players, Lane Will and Jay Fred are back, as are starting guard Ad Loyd, #3 guard John Snee, and one or two others. We have a transfer from FL ST, and 5 others joining us. The future appears to be luminous!
Cissy and I are preparing to embark for our home in the Highlands. Tata.
The question arises as to how on earth I became an aficionado of this wonderful sport. It seems, at first glance, to be rather unlikely, given my social status and such. I shall endeavor to be brief.
The Smythe men tend to be rather tall and thin. Brother Baba is 6’11”, and is exceedingly slight of build. Father is 6’8”, and also slender, as are his brother and nephews. I, myself, grew to be 6’10”, but I am just a wee more solid of frame than are any of the other men of our family.
Mama engaged a sort of “playground mentor” for her children. Being the athlete that she was and yet remains, she felt that fitness was imperative for her children. Said mentor, noting that we were all of the right physical type, emphasized basketball, beginning when I was approximately eight years of age, in my case. Note that this was not done to the exclusion of all other physical activities; mama insisted upon exposure to a wide variety of same, but my natural propensity for the sport assured that it would take up a leading place in my every day physical activity.
The mentor, Charles “Chaz” Bancroft, had played here at Harvard, so he certainly knew the sport. While I had a natural propensity regarding all aspects of this wonderful sport, Chaz taught me proper shooting technique, proper ball handling, how to play defense with my feet, as we say, how to position myself properly in rebounding, how to set up to block shots and how to decide when to attempt same, and so on.
I loved the game from the very beginning, and my growing talent increased that romance, as it were.
To “cut to the chase” I started for my preparatory school team for all four years, and was named Most Outstanding Player in a rather fast prep school league in each of my final two seasons. We won the state championship tournament in my senior year.
Harvard was more than happy to welcome me to the team. I did not need, and refused to accept a basketball scholarship so I played as a “walk on.” I was the first big man off the bench during my freshman season, and started during my final three seasons. We won the Ivy in both of the last two, and in my senior year we “shocked the world” by reaching the NCAA tournament round of sixteen. Oh, I was POY of the Ivy in my senior season, and I still hold the Harvard career records for rebounds and blocked shots.
Just as an aside several schools other than Harvard showed great interest in recruiting me, but there was never the slightest doubt as to where I would attend college.
Similarly, upon my graduation from this august institute, several NBA teams invited me to try out. Professional team sports are far too crass for me to even consider such an endeavor.
During all of this time I was becoming more and more a student of the game, as it were. I was fortunate both in secondary school, and here at Harvard, to have coaches willing to spend time answering my many queries, recommending source material on the finer points, and leading me in directions of knowledge pursuit which had not occurred to me.
I majored in European History as an undergrad, and when I decided to pursue a Master’s in same, the head coach here took me on as a graduate assistant. After that season ended he engaged me as his #3 assistant. I worked my way up, as it were, serving as scout, then recruiter, and finally as bench/practice assistant, and Associate Head Coach. Upon the coach’s retirement I became, at 35, the head coach here at my alma mater.
Would I ever consider moving up, so to speak? If an offer came from a distinguished academic institution at the very upper echelon of basketball prowess, say Berkeley, Stanford, Duke… I would be placed upon the horns of a dilemma. My Boston roots go back to the mid-17th century. It would not be facile to leave the area. And I am uncertain as to whether Cissy would ever possibly agree to such a move. Needless to say it would be unthinkable to move if not accompanied by my dear spouse. However, we both love the California Bay area so that is not beyond question.