The Yale Elis had a horrible year last season in the Ivy League.  A slow start had the fans of New Haven looking forward to track season.  The senior laden team could not get it going and this led to the dismissal of Coach Joseph Vancisin after a 7th place finish in the Ivy.  Vancisin might have kept his job but when Harvard beat them twice and finished ahead of the Elis, the administration could not let that go on.  The funny thing is that they did not have to look any further then the JV team for Kuchen’s replacement.  James Jones led an impressive group of underclassmen to a surprising 2nd place finish in the JV tourney and got a promotion.  Jones recruited most of the kids who played for him and has added a solid group of freshmen once again to the New Haven campus.  Jones will almost assuredly be replacing some of the upperclassmen this next season but he knows he will have to rely on some of them as the building blocks.  Nobody is expecting the Elis to challenge the powerhouse programs of Princton and Penn in the Ivy this year but a 3rd place finish is not out of the question as there is a solid nucleus of smart, undersized and unathletic players who will compete once again for the Ivy title. 

Foremost of the returning Elis is All Ivy league performer Tony Lavelli.  The senior forward is an inspiration and is as multitalented as it gets.  This burgeoning musician decided to play basketball to impress his friends and has worked his way in to being probably the best player in the history of this program.  Undersized at best at 6’3, Lavelli counts on court savvy and a great shot to produce great numbers.  Lavelli is an offensive threat whenever he touches the ball.  He may have been the most unheralded scorer in the league but he will gladly give up a few points this year if the supporting crew gets better in New Haven.  The fans of the Ivy know this guy and hopefully with a little luck the rest of the country will get to know him too but that would mean the Elis got some recognition.  And that means winning and/or TV time which are not really part of the equation for players coming to play in New Haven.  It is hard to imagine Yalie forward going to the pros (after this year) but Lavelli is the very definition of overachiever.  And he plays a mean Accordion too.  As a matter of fact many people came to see his halftime renditions of their favorite songs he would play to entertain the crowd before he would join his buddies in the locker room.  So he’s got that going for him!  Speaking of his supporting crew…

Senior John Lee is the starter at power forward for the Elis though to be honest he does not exactly put the power in the forward position.  Lee has had a great career and is the definition of a ‘scholar-athlete’ who is working on becoming a chemical engineer.  A good scorer and a decent board guy though he like all the Elis, except big Chris Dudley, is undersized.  At 6’3, Lee is not a power forward but he is the 2nd best player on the team and the first is Lavelli so Vancisin made them bookend forwards.  That did not work as even in the Ivy league have your forwards both at 6’3 is not going to cut the mustard.  The plan is to make him the 6th man with instant offense off the bench and Lee will gladly accept this role as that is the kind of guy he is.  Lee is already an Eli legend but has one more year to show how great of a leader he really is, perhaps they can even name their new amphitheater after him?   Lol.  The guy taking over for him at the four will be fellow senior Larry Downs who has played the center position the last two years in New Haven.  At 6’5 the cocky Downs is better suited for the power forward spot though he is one tough hombre in the paint.  He easily led the team in rebounds and averaged almost 12 a game but offense is not his problem.  Trying to guard guys who are four or five inches taller on a regular basis does not bode well for success and Downs turned into a salesman with the new coach and convinced him of the switch.  Well, that, and the advent of 6’11 kid on the JV squad Jones coached who will be the rim protector this team needs.  Downs better not count his chickens though as Jones has another stud ready to go from his JV team and he is 6’7 and true power forward.  

Seniors Bill Madden, Rick Kaminsky, Ed Robinson, Ed Goldstone, Bob Trupin, Denny Lynch and Rick Stoner have all had their opportunities to shine for the Elis and a few have had a big impact on this program.   Robinson is a board guy who had played frequently in the past but lost most of his minutes primarily due to his lack of height which is listed either at 6’2 or 6’3 depending on the source.  Either way that is way too small, even for the Ivy, for post play.  Goldstone and Kaminsky are good wings players who can score and rebound but are undersized as well.  Kaminsky missed some games with injuries but showed once again while he has been so valuable for the Elis for three years when he did play as he was the team’s best player off the bench.  Kaminsky is like some other famous Yale graduates Bush 41 (the first baseman) and Bush 43 (the cheerleader) is from Houston and is a terrific scorer who at one point was the best athlete on this team before the injury.  He got surpassed like his compadres as Vancisin was writing a new ‘book of Eli.’  This kid has a complete game which even though he is undersized could play at the next level but he has other dreams.  His duels with ‘Dollar’ Bill Bradley of Princeton are legendary but Kaminsky took a seat on the bench last year as he gets ready to pursue a career in medicine but all who ever saw him at Payne Whitney know he was one heck of a player for the Elis.  All seven of these kids come to the court with lunch pails ready to do a hard day’s work.  Madden is one of the team leaders and a terrific shooter but was destined for the bench as he is not a point guard which he played far too often.  Madden wants to keep his role of designated shooter off the bench but at 6’0 and slow he is not what you are asking for but he can shoot.  The ‘city kid’ from Jersey has become legendary in New Haven for his long range bombing and the ‘new’ three point line feeds right into his game with the Ivy finally implementing the rule this upcoming season.  Madden knows the game and when Vancisin asked him to go to the bench so the ultra-athletic Graves could start and benefit the team.  Madden has no real chance of going to the next level (unless he is an agent or something) but he is the best shooter of anyone in Eli history.  Lynch, Trupin and Stoner are also scorers off the wing who can also let it fly but with nowhere near Madden’s range but will be on the roster once again.  They might not play much in their last year of organized basketball as they did not exactly come to New Haven as a stepping stone for the NBA. 

Junior Jim Morgan is the returning starter at the point and brings some pin ache to the role.  Morgan has a great shot for a 5 foot 11 guy but would rather score than shoot. Jones wants more of a floor general on the court and will bring his floor general from the JV to challenge ‘the Captain’.  Junior Larry Zigerelli is similar to White and played often last year but is only 5’9 but neither bring much to the table as far as an ability to put the ball in the hoop. Both are way better passers than Morgan but the incumbent should be able to hold onto his job due to his toughness, leadership (he is the captain after all) and his ability to score. 

White is a sophomore and did lead that impressive group of first year players last year (plus a few carryover sophomores) to that good run on the JV behind Jones’ tutelage.  He goes 5’10 and boy can he distribute but had some real studs to get the ball to even if they don’t always make the easy shots.  The aforementioned Sophomore Dudley brings much to the table but scoring is not one of those things. This big man is a true center that truthfully could play in any conference in the country.  Dudley has the size and body to play with anybody.  His problem is that he has no touch.  Dudley is six foot eleven with some muscle (235 pounds) and eats up space.  This San Diego product has the potential to be as impressive as anyone in the league at blocking shots and grabbing boards.  But, he has no game outside of ten feet and when he gets fouled he is terrible.  Dudley made less than half of his foul shots.  Dudley has three years to improve his touch and if he does will get a shot at the next level.  Coach Jones realizes this is a problem but Dudley is the most talented player on the team and brings something you don’t get to see much at the Ivy level.  Size.  He is a keeper but dude practice your free throws.  Fellow Sophomore Tim Daalemann is the power forward we mentioned earlier and gives the Elis some talent and toughness to build around next year.  Daalemann did take over some minutes from Lee midway thru the season as Vancisin looked to the future.  Daalemann is much bigger than Lee at six eight with some athleticism and muscle and is tough inside on both ends.  Daalemann and Dudley should form a potent combo under the boards for the next three years and give the Elis the kind of inside size and toughness that is not common in this league.   Paul Maley is a 6’7 kid who took over for the phenom that is Daalemann on the JV when he got the call to the varsity and played well.  He is tough inside but can also take it out to about 15 feet.  He will push for minutes as will junior Scott Mitchel.  Mitchel only goes 6’4 but is well-rounded and tough inside has some studs in front of him who are much bigger.  Another Sophomore, Steve Leondis is a wing man who is a gifted passer and will give Jones options off the bench.  Leondis goes only 6’4 but should get some minutes as he was the best player on the JV roster.  The problem is he plays the same position as Lavelli and Lee so he might have to wait another year to get serious minutes.  But this kid from up the road is Masspeequa, New York can flat do it all and Jones will find a way to get him on the court somehow. 

The other gifted Sophomore on this team is Earl G. Graves Jr.  Better known as Butch around these parts Graves had a great second year.  Graves can score and almost caught Lavelli for team leadership with an explosion the last half averaging over 15 points a game.  Graves is a tremendous athlete that relies on strength and quickness to succeed.  Graves is easily the best pure athlete on the team and is the future of the program.  He lead the team in scoring this year and should be the number one option in New Haven for the next two years.  Graves showed that he can also distribute the ball averaging three assists a game and got some time at the point when Vancisin was trying to figure out his team’s best unit.  Graves is much better suited to the two guard position and when Vancisin put him there full time the team was much better.  Graves is a gifted rebounder and has a chance of becoming a great player if his outside shot becomes a little more consistent and like Dudley needs to improve drastically at the free throw line.  He gets there more than enough with athletic forays into the paint using his six three frame to get to the hoop and draw harm but you got to shoot better than 68 percent if you are a guard.  Seriously how in the heck did this program with the smartest kids in America (and this Skull and Bones member Graves has got a huge future in business if he does not make it to the pros) shoot so bad from the free throw line?  But I digress Graves will be the star of the team for the next two years and could put up some ridiculous numbers if he does not keep getting pulled over by police because he is black! 

New Coach James Jones has the type of team one would expect from Yale.  A group of smart, hard-working players who were not real athletic but tenacious.   Yale basketball in alive and well in Connecticut but the next chapter of the Book of Eli for this program will be written by a group of talented upperclassmen who had a terrific JV season that ended up getting their coach promoted.  These young guys might finally have the size and athleticism to help this program compete with the Big Dogs who are Penn and Princeton in the glorified walls of the Ivy League.  That is if these scholastic wunderkids figure out an equation to make some free throws?