The Brown Bears competed all year long in the Ivy League last season.  They did not achieve their goal of an Ivy league title but did make progress in the ability to compete with the Princeton’s and Penns of this league.  They have a solid core group that can score and are not completely undersized.  Most of the key players are also returning.   Coach Glen ‘Moonlight Serenade’ Miller has started to bring in some players who can play and is leading this challenged program in the right direction and the folks of Providence are excited.  Maybe not for the Bears but they are excited!  One of the things about the Bears even more so than other Ivy Leagues is that they only bring in four year kids.  No Juco kids in Providence, at least for the Bears.

Brown is historically one of the worst programs in the country as with their limitations of being an Ancient 8 (the Bears are also new to that dance as they were the last of the Ivy schools to become an official member) school have not been able to recruit the kind of basketball players they need.  Of course, when you are the first University to accept all kinds of people (from any religion or lack thereof) diversity means much more than basketball games!  The Bears might not have the history (at least in basketball) but like all things success is a snowball that runs downhill. The Bears do not have the talent of Princeton or Penn.  Yet!  They do have talent and they did make some waves during the last season.  But like everything else there is a pecking order at Brown University.  And as much as Miller wants to play some of his good young recruits he knows he has to work them in slowly as he was not going to go against the tradition of Brown.   The Big Band leader er coach does not have to worry about replacing too many guys down in the paint as he does have a solid nucleus of returnees including a pair of 2nd year Bears that actually have real D-1 size if they can transition from JV to varsity.  And of course beat out the guys who are already entrenched in their roles for Miller in the trenches.

 Speaking of the big men down low Junior Arnie Berman is a gifted scorer who really came on strong last year.  He knows how to post up and get his shot off against bigger guys though at 6’7 220 he does have some size as well.  He is also gifted at drawing fouls and he makes them when he gets to the charity stripe.  An 85 percent shooter from the free throw line for a guy who gets there as much as Berman is a heck of a weapon to have!  It is kind of like having a leadoff guy who can walk and then steal a base.  This Jersey kid (Short Hills) is the primary low post option and knows how to draw fouls and is a solid rebounder.  Berman has two more years in Providence and his leadership and work ethic, his nickname is the ‘gym rat’ after all, have been huge in showing the younger players what to do to get better and play like you have been there.  Berman’s presence is essential to the team’s hope of getting into the upper half of the Ivy’s standings. 

Fellow Junior Phil Brown might not have been as good on the offensive end as Berman but he more than made up for it on the boards.  The king of the boards for the Bears, Brown (see that little wordsmith trick I did?) is a good athlete who has size and knows how to go and get um in the paint.  The team namesake (I wonder if he came here for the name thing) scores consistently on putbacks and dunks and is the best low post defender on the roster.  Brown gives the Bears the kind of toughness and athleticism it needs down low and is improving offensively.  Brown is not as big at Berman (he goes 6’5) but does guard the other team’s center and is the team’s best defender and rebounder down low.  Senior Harry Platt is also in the rotation and at one point was the main man down low for the Bears.  But at only 6’3 he was getting dominated on the defensive end.  Still, his offense is supreme as he once scored 48 in a game.   Fellow seniors Gerry Alaimo, Mo Mahoney and Ed Tooley are in the same boat.  Alaimo and Mahoney are both 6’4 and Tooley is only 6’1 but man are they tough. Tooley once led the team in boards (really) and the other two rotated at center before Brown and Berman got to Providence and have been productive but might not get on the court in their final year. The aforementioned Sophomores are Stark Langs and Jim Turner who traded off starting at the post on the JV and rotating up to the varsity.  Langs goes 6’11 which is by far the biggest kid ever to lace them up for the Bears.  He is a full blown project though but he can board and takes up space and will guard the rim.  Turner goes 6’9 and showed signs of being an offensive force but needs to get some more minutes to show what he can do.  That might be difficult behind Berman and Brown for the Bears. 

Senior Mike Cingiser was the third starter up front and he was the heart and soul of this team.  He can score from the wings but is also one tough son of a gun.  He is not afraid to mix it up and has a reputation for scuffles.  The near brawl versus rival Providence and Mike Riordan is already legendary.  Cingisier who goes 6’4 is a complete player who can really pass for a wing and is always team first.  This West Hempstead NY kid is smart as a whip and knows how to play the game even if he is a bit limited athletically.  Miller loves having his leadership around on the team and even if he is not the most athletic wing out there even in the Ivy.  Juniors Peter Moss and Brian Saunders and sophomores Ira James and Marcus Thompson are waiting in the wings for when Cingiser moves on to browner pastures.  This group are much more of the typical wings who can run and shoot but are not replacing the legend that is Cingiser in Providence. Saunders had a huge year on JV last year and can really score but he is only 6’3 and he and Moss will battle for leftover minutes by the team captain.  James and Thompson will probably be relegated to the JV again for more seasoning and minutes but these two bring some athleticism this team needs.    

The front court is pretty set but nothing could be farther than that then the unsettled back court.  Last year’s point guard, John Bach, transferred back to Fordham (he came from there too) so there is an open competition to replace him.   Junior Edde Morris will get the first shot and is capable.  The 5’10 stud is cat quick and a tremendous defender who can also score when needed.  He is a solid distributor but nowhere near as good there as the kid who will challenge him for the starting role.  Sophomore Mike Waitkus averaged over 7 assists a game on the JV and looks to move up and run the show for the varsity this year.  At 6’2 he gives the team more size and can also defend all day in what is shaping up to be a great competition for the point guard job.  Junior Russ Tyler is favorite to win the two guard job.  He goes 6’3 and can score and is more athletic then most Bears.  He is a complete player but will be challenged by carryovers and the new recruits Miller has brought in which is a bunch on the perimeter.  Seniors Joe Tebo, Lou Murgo and Woody Grimshaw were all at one point the starting two guard for the Bears but were passed up on the depth chart by Tyler last year.  The likelihood is that many of these kids are phased out this year with Miller’s new band he is building for another run at Ivy glory.    

The Brown Bears do not have a tradition of winning a lot in the Ivy League.  That may be changing.  Coach Glen Miller, the bandleader himself, has bought in some talent and has changed the attitude.  The new offense showed the Bears they can score with anybody in the Ivy League.  Now it’s playing defense and rebounding that will take them to the next level.  Miller knows how to play the right tune and he has recruited athletes that are on par with the elite of this prestigious conference.  Now it is just getting all of the instruments to be in tune together and maybe the Brown Bears will stop chasing after that Ancient Eight title and finally capture one!