Monday, November 9, 2015

First Look at the 2015-16 Harvard Crimson

No Wesley Saunders. No Kenyatta Smith.  No Siyani Chambers.  It sounds like a nightmare come true, but heads remain high as the Harvard Crimson enter the 2015-16 college basketball season.  Although they have lost an immense amount of talent, Tommy Amaker and the Crimson's coaching staff still believes that they have what it takes to not only contend, but to win in the Ivy League.

With gaping holes left in their rotation, it will be time for new players to assert themselves as the "go-to" players on the court.  After Harvard opened up their season on October 16th with their annual Crimson Madness, it is obvious who has the potential to fill these gaps in their lineup.



The first two players that come to mind are Evan Cummings and Agunwa Okolie; the senior leadership.  Harvard has lost a prodigious amount of leadership, that's not a question.  The question is, who will step up and become leaders on this year's team?  Cummings and Okolie are the obvious answer, the two seniors who will rule the front court will have to pick up responsibility and a scoring load.

Another player that comes to mind is freshman sharpshooter Corey Johnson.  The 6 foot 6 guard will fill the void left behind by pro-prospect Wesley Saunders.  In addition to being a threat beyond the arc, Johnson will also be a go to player on offense.  His combination of shooting ability and basketball I.Q. will serve him well as a freshman in the Ivy League.



Last, but not least; Zena Edosomwan. The 6 foot 9 beast is going to be Harvard's best player this year.  Although going from limited minutes to being their best player this year is a huge jump, Edosomwan is going to do such a thing.  Not only does he have a promising opportunity, he has the skill to match it.  Edosomwan is a superior to most of the athletes in the Ivy League, and he also has an ample collection of post moves that compliment his smooth mid range jumper.  After a dominant performance at Crimson Madness - winning the slam-dunk contest and scoring 22 of his team's 43 points in the inter-squad scrimmage - Zena Edosomwan is going to not only be a star on Harvard's team this year, but also a star in the Ivy League.



Even though Harvard lost so much talent, they still have potential to win the Ivy League title again this year.  Only time will tell if these players will be able to take advantage of the promising chance they have to fill the voids in the roster.  Although Harvard is going to struggle at times this year, it will definitely be fun to see them grow and find an identity as the season goes on. They open up their season this Friday at home against MIT, and have another game the next day at Providence against one of the nation's best point guards in Kris Dunn.

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