Ivy League Preview

The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.   Blue Ribbon Forecast No. Team  '01-02 Conf. Rec. (Overall) 1. Pennsylvania  11-3 (25-6)  2. Princeton  11-3 (16-11)  3. Yale  11-3 (20-10)  4. Brown  9-7 (22-10)  5 Harvard  8-6 (17-10)  6. Dartmouth  2-12 (9-18)  7. Columbia  4-10 (11-17)  8. Cornell  2-12 (5-22)  All-Conference Team Did You Know? G: Patrick Harvey JR, Harvard G: Earl Hunt SR, Brown G: Andrew Toole SR, Pennsylvania F: Koko Archibong SR, Pennsylvania F: Ugonna Onyekwe SR, Pennsylvania Player of the Year Ugonna Onyekwe SR, Pennsylvania Newcomer of the Year Dexter Upshaw FR, Yale Top Backcourts 1. Yale (second round) 2. Penn 3. Brown/Harvard Top Frontcourts 1. Yale (second round) 2. Yale 3. Princeton 2001-02 Champions Tie Penn, Princeton and Yale (Penn won playoff). 2001-02 NCAA Tournament Postseason Record 1-3 (.250) NCAA Pennsylvania NIT Yale (second round) Princeton All five members of last year's first-team All-Ivy squad return, including unanimous selections Patrick Harvey (Harvard), Earl Hunt (Brown) and Ugonna Onyekwe (Pennsylvania). Onyekwe was selected player of the year. The first three-way tie in Ivy history did wonders for the league's RPI. It jumped from 28 to 14, and the Ivy figures to remain fiercely competitive this season. "I've been in this league 13 years," said Cornell coach Steve Donahue, a former assistant at Penn, "and this is as strong as the league has ever been." A new floor has been put down in Jadwin Gym, home of the Princeton Tigers. The old floor had been there since a circus destroyed the previous one in 1987. The old floor is blamed for many knee, foot and ankle injuries suffered by several Princeton players the last few years. Penn coach Fran Dunphy was voted the 2002 Coaches vs. Cancer National Coach of the Year by the American Cancer Society. He was honored for his ongoing leadership in the battle against cancer. Dunphy helps promote a variety of events in the Philadelphia area and has been instrumental in bringing the entire Philadelphia Big 5 together to help fight the disease. In addition to the late season drama that was the Ivy League, the Ancient Eight enjoyed its best non- conference success in three decades, posting a combined 59-48 record, a new out-of-conference mark for wins.

 

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