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 knows that basketball is a language that can be spoken without words. He also knows that the sport he plays opens doors – to learning, travel and relationships that are setting him up for success.
He saw the global power of basketball during the summer before his senior year at Olympus High School in Holladay, Utah. That summer, he traveled to Kenya and Senegal with the Mountain Stars AAU program. While learning about the region and the local cultures in those countries, he competed at the NBA Academy Africa, against elite teams from across the continent.
The NBA Academy’s culture of excellence and discipline made an impression on him.
“We might not speak the same language, but we can understand each other through how we play basketball,” Dowdell said. “The way you practiced, the way you played, it showed, do you care about defense? Do you care about rebounding? Do you care about the little things? Character shows up in those moments, even more than in words.”
Last summer, the game took Dowdell to Honduras with Team USA, for a 3-on-3 tournament with players from Panama, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Mexico and Canada. Long postgame dinners at the hotel were opportunities for some of his teammates to improve their Spanish and to teach players from other countries more English. Basketball was the lingua franca.
At Harvard, basketball has provided Dowdell and his teammates the chance to expand their horizons, often without leaving Cambridge, through a program-defining series called the Breakfast Club. The club has been growing since Harvard coach Tommy Amaker took that position in 2007. Initiated by faculty members who wanted to welcome their new coach, Amaker has now made the monthly gatherings into a staple of his tenure.
On Breakfast Club mornings, on the second floor of the Charles Hotel, guests who are leaders from politics, business, history, sports and other fields join the team to impart wisdom from their wide range of life and professional experiences.
Dowdell has kept careful notes on messages from the guests who have made the strongest impression, where words and character have resonated. He is always glad to pull out his notebook to recall the lessons.
He enjoyed hearing the founder of Under Armour, Kevin Plank, talk about necessity as the mother of invention — how personal experience with heavy, wet, sweaty clothing on the football field inspired him to create the light, sweat-resistant athletic fabric his company is known for.
Dowdell recognized how “knowing and understanding people, and making connections” are the keys to success in any professional or social context.
Dowdell was moved by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s stories about Hurricane Sandy and his efforts as governor to take responsibility.
“He told us, ‘You can’t wait for someone else to act,’ and we all took that to heart, as athletes, but more just as people,” Dowdell said.
The Breakfast Club guest list has included Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., NCAA President and former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, former Boston Celtic Jaylen Brown, women’s basketball pioneer Nancy Lieberman, House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and tennis legend John McEnroe.
The diversity of the guests’ backgrounds and the level of excellence and impact they represent, speak volumes about the values upheld by the Crimson basketball program.
Through memories and stories shared over eggs and toast, the Breakfast Club has given Dowdell and his teammates an extraordinary space to practice skills that guide them both on the court and off: listening, observing and learning from those around you.
Given his wide-ranging curiosity, it’s no surprise that Dowdell is choosing to major in philosophy. He grew up fascinated by “Gladiator” and Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic philosopher and emperor, and became interested in Aurelius’ “Meditations” and its questions about life and death.
“I love taking classes on morality,” Dowdell said, “especially because I think questions of ethics will become more and more important as AI [artificial intelligence] changes the world.
An uncle who attended Harvard Business School and works in private equity encouraged Dowdell to pursue the academic subjects that genuinely interest him as an undergraduate.
“He said he when he’s recruiting and hiring, he might prefer an English or Philosophy major over the average Economics major, because he knows they will think, read and write at a high level.”
Business school is likely in Dowdell’s future, en route to a management career on the financial side of healthcare. But for now he is enjoying the opportunity to dive deep into existential questions and complex hypotheticals. He is looking forward to having a “new team dynamic” this year, and “putting another year under [his] belt in the classroom, weight room, court, and with friends.”
Some of his favorite aspects of Harvard life have nothing to do with philosophy or basketball.
Dowdell has seven roommates and has become especially close to them.
“One of the coolest things about Harvard, in my opinion, is the houses with central dining halls where we eat together every day,” he said. “I have met so many people and look forward to eating meals with new ones all the time. It’s such a great way to connect with each other.”
Teammates provide another version of community.
“You grow so close as a team over the course of a season,” Dowdell said, describing the hours spent together in the locker room, at lifts, in practice, on road trips and at events. “Managing college basketball would be impossible without the guys who you go through all the ups and downs with.”
Dowdell has learned to appreciate that the best way to understand someone is simply to show up and pay attention.
And it never hurts to break bread together to get the best conversations flowing.
