Ivy Hoops Online

Off the Bench: Dutch Dowdell of Harvard men’s basketball

September 3, 2026 by Jess Deutsch

Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents the latest edition of our Off the Bench series that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen.

Basketball has taken Dutch Dowdell ’29 around the world, introduced him to inspirational leaders from every sector, and taught him unforgettable life lessons. Dowdell spoke to IHO as his junior year at Harvard was beginning:

Dutch Dowdell takes aim at the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal in April 2023. (photo courtesy of Dutch Dowdell)

Off the Bench: Hilke Feldrappe of Columbia women’s basketball

September 3, 2026September 3, 2026 by Jess Deutsch

Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents the latest edition of our Off the Bench series that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen.

From Berlin to Columbia, Missouri and now at Columbia and Barnard in the Big Apple, Hilke Feldrappe ’27 considers herself very lucky to have generally found what she was looking for. As her senior year is set in motion, she’s dreaming big about basketball, architecture and sustainability — and whatever will come next.

Hilke Feldrappe plays for the German National Team at EuroBasket 2025. (photo courtesy of Hilke Feldrappe)

Q&A with Yale women’s basketball coach Dalila Eshe

August 31, 2026 by Richard Kent

Ivy Hoops Online recently caught up with fifth-year Yale women’s basketball coach Dalila Eshe on a wide range of topics:

Ivy Hoops Online: Can you give us a preview of your out-of-conference scheduling and some insight into your scheduling philosophy?

Dalila Eshe: My philosophy around nonconference scheduling has evolved over the last few years. We always want to challenge our team, but we also have to balance several important factors. We try to give our players an opportunity to play close to home at some point during their four years, and we’re mindful of the academic calendar – particularly when they have to manage midterms or other demanding course work. We always prioritize regional games during the week whenever possible to minimize missed class time and travel demands. Ultimately, the goal is to build a balanced schedule that challenges our players appropriately, prepares us for Ivy League play and supports their overall experience as student-athletes.

Off the Bench: N’famara Dabo of Brown men’s basketball

August 27, 2026 by Jess Deutsch

N’famara Dabo ’27 loves asking himself big questions. His curiosity extends from the classroom to his reading list, and to finding his place far from home. He spoke to us on the verge of a senior year he intends to fill with learning, winning and the best of the Providence dining scene.

N’famara Dabo leading the way with friends in Hawaii in the summer of 2023. (photo courtesy of N’famara Dabo)

Off the Bench: Clarke Jackson of Cornell women’s basketball

August 23, 2026August 22, 2026 by Jess Deutsch

Clarke Jackson ’27 is next up in the series. Basketball and an enterprising mind have taken Jackson from Columbus, Ohio to Cornell. Her creative journey in the wider world of sports and marketing is only just beginning.

Clarke Jackson is pictured walking in Chicago in July 2026. (photo courtesy of Clarke Jackson)

This summer, Clarke Jackson is getting a glimpse at her future.

Off the Bench: Shanon Simango of Dartmouth men’s basketball

September 3, 2026August 12, 2026 by Jess Deutsch

Shanon Simango ’28 is next in our series. Simango has traveled from a small, close-knit family in Maputo, Mozambique to the Blue Ridge School, and now to Hanover. Basketball and education have given him an extended family that keeps expanding. Now the rising junior is paying it forward, and winning much more than games as his story unfolds.

Shanon Simango and his mother Martha Monjane (left) with him at an October 2023 recruiting visit in front of Dartmouth Hall. (photo courtesy of Shanon Simango)

Princeton women’s basketball faces national champion UCLA in challenging 2026-27 schedule

August 6, 2026 by Steve Silverman

Princeton women’s basketball has released its schedule for the upcoming 2026-27 season, and once again, the Tigers have chosen to run a daunting gauntlet.

Of Princeton’s 29 regular-season games, 16 will come against programs that earned bids to postseason tournaments last March, including the team that won it all at the Big Dance, the UCLA Bruins.

“Our 2026-27 schedule reflects the championship mentality of this program,” newly installed head coach Lauren Gosselin said in a statement released by Princeton Wednesday. “Our non-conference schedule will test us immediately against some of the most successful programs in the country and prepare us to defend our Ivy League Championship while building a resume worthy of postseason competition.”

Gosselin will make her debut as Princeton’s 11th head coach on Nov. 2 when the Tigers open the season against Belmont at Jadwin Gymnasium in a return matchup from a season ago. The Tigers prevailed over the Bruins last year in Nashville, 70-58, in the first ever meeting between the two programs.

Off the Bench: Radhika Garapaty of Yale women’s basketball

August 6, 2026August 5, 2026 by Jess Deutsch

Radhika Garapaty ’29 takes center court in our next installment in the series. After nearly a full year away from basketball due to injury, the rising Yale women’s basketball sophomore has found inspiring answers to the hardest question an athlete has to answer: Who am I without the game? And as she finds her way back into the lineup at Payne Whitney Gymnasium with her teammates, she is bringing strengths she may not have known she possessed before.

From left to right: Radhi; her mother Bindu; brother Kunaal; and father, Rahul Garapaty at a wedding reception in southern California in July 2025. (photo courtesy of Garapaty family)

Q&A with Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones

August 3, 2026 by Richard Kent

Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones is pictured in this undated photo. (James Jones’ X page)

Ivy Hoops Online recently caught up with veteran Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones to discuss summer developments and the upcoming season.

Ivy Hoops Online: You obviously planned to have Isaac Celiscar and Samson Aletan on your team in ’26-27 when you recruited them a few years back. What is it like without them? (Editor’s note: Celiscar, a rising junior, signed with Baylor after a Second Team All-Ivy selection in 2025-26. Aletan signed with Providence after three years at Yale and leading the Bulldogs in blocks and field-goal percentage in 2025-26.)

James Jones: You can’t compensate for juniors and seniors. The transfer rules are different for us (Ivies). Hard to replace a junior and a senior.

IHO: Do you look at the [transfer] portal now more than previously?

JJ: Not really, because I never think that any of our guys will be leaving. It is also so hard to get a player into our school and to get one who is willing to pay to win a championship.

Off the Bench: Miles Franklin of Columbia men’s basketball

July 30, 2026July 29, 2026 by Jess Deutsch

The Franklin family, at the Colosseum, in Rome, Italy, on a 2016 vacation (left to right: Miles’ mother Marina, brother Elliot, sister Amelia, brother Tristan, Miles and Miles’ father Dereck. (photo courtesy of Franklin family)

For Miles Franklin ’29, a political science major from Vienna, Va., and rising sophomore guard for the Columbia men’s basketball team, a disciplined approach to nutrition, sleep and mental health began in childhood. Now the boy who brought homemade pickles to the party is getting the last laugh, powering his basketball career, making music and taking care of business wherever he goes.