Richard Kent

Carla Berube: A name to remember

November 15, 2021 by Richard Kent

Carla Berube is a remarkable 29-1 (.967) in her first 30 games as the Tigers’ head coach. (Princeton Athletics)

You know all the top coaches in the women’s game. Actually, you know them all by their first names.

Geno. Kim. Tara. Dawn. Brenda. And the list goes on. Every fan of the game would come up with those names quickly.

But most would struggle to come up with another. And it belongs. Maybe not in November 2021. But it will by March 2022.

The name is Carla. Yes, Princeton’s Carla Berube.

Yale men have up and down weekend with dominant win over UMass, blowout loss at Seton Hall

November 14, 2021 by Richard Kent

Yale had an up, then down weekend.

Yale faced a more talented foe Sunday in KenPom No. 35 Seton Hall at the Prudential Center in Newark.

Except for one spurt in the first half which cut the deficit to five, it was never a game. The Pirates won in a cakewalk, 80-44.

The perimeter defense for Seton Hall (2-0) held Yale (2-1) to 24% shooting and a paltry 13% from three.

Gabbidon led Yale with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Cotton chipped in with 12 points.

Seton Hall faces No. 6 Michigan on Tuesday in Ann Arbor in a battle of teams formerly coached by Tommy Amaker.

Yale’s previous outing was a very different story.

Someone told me a few minutes into the Bulldogs’ matchup against Massachusetts at John J. Lee Amphitheater Friday night that while Yale and UMass may have nearly equal talent, Yale will win because

it has James Jones and a system. Bingo on both.

Yale men well-positioned for another Ivy title run in 2021-22

November 25, 2020 by Richard Kent

Reload, not rebuild. Next man up, as James Jones says. Call it what you want, but Yale remains the best men’s Ivy hoops program looking far ahead to the 2021-22 season.

Sure, Yale loses presumptive Ivy Player of the Year and future NBA possibility Paul Atkinson. And also his backup center Wyatt Yess. And the Elis were the odds on favorite to three-peat as Ivy champions had the 2020-21 season not been canceled.

Next season, the Elis still return ample offense and defense at the wing and guard positions. Much more on paper than any other Ivy.

A take on the top 10 teams in Ivy men’s hoops history

May 31, 2020 by Richard Kent

Editor’s note: Ivy Hoops Online writer Richard Kent has followed Ancient Eight men’s basketball for decades and after consultation with players, coaches and fans has compiled his personal list of the top 10 men’s hoops teams since the formation of the Ivy League as we know it in 1955. No top 10 list in this category is going to look the same, so if you have a top 10 of your own that you’d like to share, please share it in a comment below.

Yale men get swept by Harvard

March 8, 2020 by Richard Kent

You know the adage. It has been uttered hundreds of times by countless college coaches and scribes.

It is tough to beat a team three times in a season.

That has to be a mantra for Yale heading into a week of practice before Ivy Madness.

Yale men continue success against Princeton, remain atop Ivy standings

March 1, 2020 by Richard Kent

NEW HAVEN – The hegemony over Princeton continues for Yale at John J. Lee Amphitheater.

The Elis defeated the Tigers, 66-63, Yale’s sixth straight win in the series. The win also marks the ninth home weekend sweep of Princeton and Penn. To put this into historical context, Penn leads the overall series by 151-82 and Princeton leads it now 150-84.

How the Yale men pulled off an improbable comeback to upend Penn

February 29, 2020 by Richard Kent

In a game strewn with improbabilities, the most improbable stat was Yale rallying from down 10 with 1:38 remaining to upend Penn, 76-73, before 2,106 screaming fans at John J. Lee Amphitheater.

Sure, AJ Brodeur had 25 points and Devon Goodman 23 for Penn in a losing effort, but the number which jumps off the page from the stat sheet is five.

That’s how many steals Yale defensive specialist Jalen Gabbidon pocketed, three of which came during the final 98 seconds.

Yale avoids letdown at Columbia in 83-65 win

February 23, 2020February 23, 2020 by Richard Kent

It had all the makings of a perfect storm.

The almost five-hour drive from Cornell to Columbia at 10 p.m. The double overtime expenditure of energy in Newman Arena that preceded it. Yale was ripe for the taking.

Until it wasn’t.

Yale completes season sweep of Cornell, takes sole possession of third place

February 22, 2020 by Richard Kent

If revenge was the motive, then call it mission accomplished for Yale.

Cornell swept Yale last season to knock the Bulldogs out of Ivy League Tournament contention. Yale completed this season’s sweep of the Big Red last night at John J. Lee Amphitheater, 65-51.

The game was nip and tuck early on, but Yale (16-6, 6-3 Ivy) ended the half with a 32-27 lead behind the clutch shooting of Ellen Margaret Andrews. The Bulldogs were 4-for-6 from 3 in the first half. Andrews posted 18 points for the game to lead her squad.

Penn bests Yale at the Palestra

February 16, 2020 by Richard Kent

No one has ever pretended that the Princeton-Penn road trip is an easy one. Not even for the Ivy League leader.

Yale fell victim to a noisy and boisterous Palestra and too much AJ Brodeur and Eddie Scott, as the Quakers upset the Elis, 69-61, Saturday night.