one year ago, the columbia men’s basketball team went 11 – 2 in non-conference play. it seemed jim engles finally had a squad ready to compete in the ivies. the miserable actuality was a 1 – 13 league record and the end of the engles era on the heights. kevin hovde now helms the light blue five and has begun his tenure with a lively november, going 7 – 1 to date. of course, their latest win was against div iii sarah lawrence and their only loss to mighty uconn. they have dominated their other opponents but are we ready to wax enthusiastic? hopeful? tepidly optimistic? let’s take a look at the crew’s early performance and decide what they might achieve.
though the lions are led in the scoring column by 6′ 2″senior guard ken noland (17.2 ppg, 3.1 assists), their early season success has been anchored by the front court. the big men are indeed big, led by 6′ 10″ senior center zine beddri who was averaging 12.8 ppg and 7.4 rebounds nightly before going down with an ankle injury. backing beddri is 6′ 10″ ryan soulis. the richmond transfer cashes 6 ppg while grabbing 4.5 boards. both these centers can score from the three point line. indeed, beddri was the second most efficient three point shooter on the team, before he was injured against longwood, scoring from the deep at a 44.4% clip. but the centers have been most valuable defending the paint and clearing the back boards. they are supported by rising sophomore power forward mason ritter. the 6′ 9″ bowling green, kentucky native has quick hands on defense and has smashed home several dunks off rebounds early this season. spelling messr ritter is 6′ 7″ connor igoe from brooklyn’s poly prep. we have been impressed with the first year’s combativeness and hustle through the november schedule. he seems to play bigger than his listed height. starting at the three spot is senior blair thompson, the 6′ 8″ new yorker is probably the best all round player on the team and is averaging 10.5 ppg while grabbing 6 rebounds. he has been cashing his trey at a team best rate of 53.3% through the first eight games. richard nweke rounds out coach kevin hovde’s front court rotation. the 6’7″ forward was sidelined by injury his first and sophomore years but playing regularly now and contributing three and half points and a similar number of rebounds nightly.
at guard, the lions are getting the most production from the aforementioned ken noland. he is supported by second year gerard o’keefe. the 6’3″ nashville native contributes 9.3 ppg. senior avery brown was the starting point guard until he suffered a facial injury in the loss to uconn. his minutes have gone to first year miles franklin. the 6′ 5″ franklin is scoring nine points and grabbing three and a half rebounds per contest. his length and quickness make him defensively tough – he leads the team in steals, poaching 1.3 balls nightly. hampton saunders, a 6’0″ junior transfer from nyu completes the current back court rotation and provides solid relief at the point.
tonight columbia faces the toughest squad it has met since uconn. the hofstra pride is on a three game winning streak and routed the penn quakers, 77 – 60, this past saturday in philadelphia. they are led by cruz davis, a 6′ 3″ guard out of plano, texas who is averaging 19 ppg. he is also their best three point shooter making 42% of his takes from the arc. supporting him at guard is a 6′ 1″ first year from deer park on long island, preston edmead who contributes 15 points nightly. the visitors will have size to go with this back court fire power. victory onueto leads the pride in rebounding. the 6′ 10″ junior from spain grabs 8.3 boards per contest. he is backed by the wonderfully named silas sunday, a seven footer from ireland who gathers 5.5 rebounds nightly. both those big men shoot at well of 66% from the field. rounding out hofstra’s front court are biggie patterson, a 6’7″ forward who scores 11.1 ppg while pulling down five rebounds, and 6′ 8″ senior joshua decady from queens. their combined length should diminish the lions usual domination on the back boards.
key matchups tonight should be columbia’s miles franklin guarding cruz davis and the mason ritter/connor igoe combination defending the hofstra bigs. columbia is much the better three point shooting team and that should be the edge the lions need to triumph. the december schedule, though less packed than november’s, provides tougher competition. this is as it should be as the light blue prepares to return to ivy league play with a huge chip on its collective shoulders. that march to redemption continues tonight.
peace out and d up,
paulie b
quick note – many thanks to our administrator, joan o’connell agresta for her prompt and effective work in crafting a new appearance for allgame.