By Pablo Torre

	After Zach Puchtel's strong play against Indiana, ex-Hoosiers coach Mike Davis said, "I need to get him on my team." AP

After scoring 13 points and pulling down five rebounds in Minnesota's 69-65 win over Michigan State, Spartans coach Tom Izzo singled him out for how hard he played. Then, after Puchtel locked down Indiana prospect Marco Killingsworth in a 61-42 win, then-Hoosiers coach Mike Davis raved, "I need to get him on my team. This guy was so clean with his fundamentals."

But beneath the surface, past the Puchtels and the Dudleys, there is a different story: one of a sizeable, if subtle, population of Ivy-educated pros. In baseball, roughly 30 of them toil along with Herrmann in the minors. In The Show itself, the Houston Astros' Brad Ausmus notoriously attended Dartmouth, and is known as a cerebral catcher and a future managerial candidate. He told the school's student newspaper that his teammates liked to "make fun of the prototypical Ivy League student that you see in the movies: smoking a pipe, wearing a sweater vest."

Elsewhere in the National League, towering 6-10 right-hander Chris Young of the Padres is a Princeton alum who has thrived in San Diego, keeping his ERA (3.27) below his high school GPA. There is also Texas Rangers utility man Mark DeRosa (Penn), who is currently lashing the ball at a .333 clip, and veteran lefty Mike Remlinger (Dartmouth), who anchors a young Braves bullpen with a 3.68 ERA.

California prep right-hander Trevor Cahill -- a second-round draft choice (66th overall) in this month's Amateur Draft -- is facing an intriguing choice: take the money from the Oakland A's or bring his smarts, mid-90's fastball, and vicious knuckle curve to Hanover, N.H. and The Big Green.

And we can't forget about football. At last count, 22 Ivy Leaguers were on NFL rosters. Among them are the Vikings' four-time Pro Bowl center Matt Birk and Seahawks linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski, both of whom made names for themselves at Harvard. Jets QB Jay Fielder played at Dartmouth. Giants fullback Jim Finn went to Penn. San Francisco's top receiver in 2004, tight end Eric Johnson, is a Yalie. And the Jaguars' former Pro Bowl end, Marcellus Wiley, once made his home at Columbia's Morningside Heights.

You might also recall Rams sixth-round pick and Crimson legend Ryan Fitzpatrick, who endeared himself to then-head coach Mike Martz and Fantasy Football watchdogs alike with his surprisingly effective performance. Fitzpatrick, by the way, famously finished the NFL's Wonderlic Test in just nine minutes, the fastest time ever. Naturally, fellow Harvard alum Pat McInally ('75) owns the only perfect score.

Still, one thing is certain. Lou Gehrig (Columbia), Bill Bradley (Princeton), and Michael Jordan (Penn...okay, it was a different Michael Jordan) are long gone. It might take a while -- or a particularly cerebral high school senior with the wingspan of a condor and good SAT's -- before the Ancient Eight produces another Hall of Famer.

But while the halcyon days of Rose Bowls (Harvard won its seventh and last national title in 1920) may be over, the Ivy League pro athlete is by no means extinct. Credit the Frank Herrmanns of the world for working hard, despite the odds, to make sure their alma mater is no laughing matter.

Then again, being known as the Ivy Leaguer might have a few advantages after all.

"On the plus side," Herrmann says, "whenever there is a dispute about some trivial matter in the locker room, guys usually let me be the final voice in the debates. I have played judge and jury on all kinds of matters, from the capitals of states we pass through on bus trips to the score of a game last week. One of my roommates is from Stanford. He told me he played the role of smart kid until I got there."

Thank goodness a Harvard degree still counts for something.

Top Photo Galleries New Orleans Saints Camp Top Olympic Pioneers New England Patriots Camp Did You See That? Top Inspirational Olympic Stories

Most Popular Stories Yankees haven't ruled out Bonds Favre must file letter to show for Packers camp Cubs call up former Notre Dame wide receiver Samardzija Pitcher charged with felonious assault for role in brawl Jets ink Gholston; more 1st-rounders land deals