Jess Deutsch

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

September 3, 2026 by Jess Deutsch

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)

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)

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)

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.

Off The Bench: Cate MacDonald of Dartmouth women’s basketball

July 20, 2026 by Jess Deutsch

Cate MacDonald ‘27, a rising senior on the Dartmouth women’s basketball team from Lynnfield, Mass., shares a particularly inspiring journey to the Ivy League. A learning difference made school a challenge for her early on. Basketball was a comfort and a constant. With persistence and clarity about what she needs to thrive, there seems to be no stopping her.

Off the Bench: Mateen Rafiq of Cornell men’s basketball

July 16, 2026 by Jess Deutsch

Mateen Rafiq ‘28, a rising junior on the Cornell men’s basketball team, is our next featured player. Rafiq’s humility, discipline and ambitions are outsized (no matter that he is a 6-foot-0 guard), and there’s no doubt he is building toward something bigger.

Off the Bench: Izzy Wesley of Brown women’s basketball

July 9, 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.

Izzy Wesley ‘29, a rising sophomore on the Brown women’s basketball team, is the second twin we have featured in this series. An innate teammate and ultimate family person, she brings “gioia di vivere” to the Bears, and she is channeling it in all the ways that make a team better: