Ivy League Sports

By Chris Humm, Brown University

Just a year ago, Brown featured the youngest basketball team in the nation with just one senior and one junior. Head coach Glen Miller had to orchestrate a lineup that often featured four freshmen on the floor at the same time.

The good news for the Brown basketball team is that the squad gained invaluable experience in a rebuilding season, and returns four starters, including the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, and 10 lettermen. Seven returning players averaged more than 12 minutes a game.

Heading the list of returnees is versatile tri-captain Luke Ruscoe, the lone senior on the Brown squad and the Bears’ top returning scorer. The 6-foot-7 Ruscoe, who has played four different positions for Miller, is on the verge of a breakout season and should be the beneficiary of the Bears’ team-oriented offense.

Ruscoe averaged 10.3 points per game last season, including points in Brown's win over Central Florida, when he connected on 6 of 7 3-point attempts. He also had some big

games on the defensive end, pulling down 11 rebounds against Dartmouth and 10 boards against Missouri. His 5.6 rebounds per game led the Bears and were seventh in the Ivy League. He also displayed great anticipation, leading the Bears with 53 steals, second best in the League.

Junior tri-captain P.J. Flaherty, a 6-9 forward, joins Ruscoe as a returning starter in the frontcourt following a solid sophomore campaign. Flaherty, a solid offensive threat inside, scored in double figures six times a year ago, including a career-high 14 points against Patriot League regular season champion Holy Cross. Flaherty, who has gotten much stronger since the completion of last season, also had a season-high seven rebounds against Yale.

Sophomore Mark MacDonald, a 6-8 forward, has the ability to score inside and out. He netted a season-high 25 points against New Hampshire, knocking down 10 of 12 field goals, including 3 of 4 3-point baskets. His 20 blocked shots led the Bears. Sophomore Keenan Jeppesen is an athletic 6-7 swingman who started six of Brown's last seven games and scored 16 points against Columbia.

Additional competition in the frontcourt will come from juniors Sam Manhanga and Nathan Eads. Manhanga netted a season-high 16 points against Harvard last season, while pulling down seven rebounds. Eads got his playing legs back last year after missing the previous two years while on a Mormon Mission. He came off the bench to score eight points against Charleston Southern.

Despite the loss of three-time All-Ivy guard Jason Forte, Brown’s backcourt looks solid with the return of junior tri-captain Marcus Becker to the point, and sophomore shooting guard Damon Huffman, the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

Becker will direct the Bears’ up-tempo motion offense after starting 22 of 28 games a year ago. A slashing guard with excellent athletic ability, Becker is expected to assume more of a scoring role for the Bears. He netted a career-high 12 points against Harvard, connecting on four treys versus the Crimson, and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds against Yale.

Huffman, meantime, had an up-and-down campaign. He started strong, scoring 16 points in his collegiate debut against Missouri, struggled in the middle of the season, and finished strong in the last quarter of the season. A solid long-range shooter, Huffman hit 5 of 7 treys against both Missouri and Columbia, and scored in double figures nine times. He finished the season ranked sixth in the Ivy League in 3-point field goal percentage (.415).

Huffman, who averaged 8.4 points per game, netted 17 points against Columbia and a season-high 18 against Yale to finish the season. His 44 treys ranked second on last year’s team, while his 34 steals ranked third on the Brown team and 10th in the Ivy.

Sophomore Mark McAndrew is another long-range marksman; he connected on 20 3-point baskets a year ago. He was one of three Brown first-year players to earn Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors. He helped the Bears to the UCF Holiday Invitational championship, scoring a season-high 13 points in the victory over Central Florida, and netting nine points and pulling down six rebounds in the title game against Charleston Southern.

Miller has high expectations for this year’s freshmen class, with several first-year players expected to contribute immediately. Freshman Scott Friske, a native of Charlevoix, Michigan, averaged 14.5 points and seven rebounds a game last year at Worcester Academy. Rugged 6-5 freshman forward Chris Skrelja from Trinity Catholic HS in Stamford, Conn., a first-team All-State selection, averaged 19 points and 8.7 rebounds a game. Freshman Aaron Jimenez, a top prospect from the Chicago area, averaged 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Leyden High School.