The panel considers Yale’s show of support for Jack Montague, looks back at Columbia-Princeton and ahead to the final weekend of Ivy regular season play. Peter Andrews and Mike Tony are joined by Michael James (@ivybball), IHO founder Ian Halpern and IHO writer George Clark for this episode.
Controversy over Yale basketball team’s support of Jack Montague erupts on campus
On Tuesday, the Yale Daily News reported that the Yale basketball program is facing backlash on campus for its show of support for former team captain Jack Montague, who the News reported had withdrawn from the school on Feb. 10. On Thursday, the Yale Daily News further reported that that backlash is escalating.
Before their game against Harvard at Payne Whitney Gym on Senior Night last Friday, members of the team took the court wearing shirts with Montague’s jersey number and nickname, “Gucci,” on the back and “Yale” spelled backwards on the front, which Justin Sears characterized as a show of support for Montague after the game.
“‘Yale’ spelled backwards wasn’t to make a statement. It’s just because Yale is a brand and there was a copyright,” Sears told the News postgame. “It was just convenient, at the last minute. Everyone on the team supported it and wanted to show our support for Jack.”
But Tuesday, the YDN reported posters featuring a picture of the team dressed in the shirts and asking Yale men’s basketball to “stop supporting a rapist” appeared all over campus, including at the entrance of Payne Whitney Gym. The majority of the posters had been taken down by 8 a.m. that same day, most by members of the team, according to the Yale Daily News. Sears said told the News Sunday that Yale athletic director Tom Beckett and coach James Jones did not have “any say” in the shirts, declining to say whether the staff knew about the shirts in advance.
Then Thursday, the YDN reported a second wave of posters appearing on campus:
The beginning of the end for Cornell
In the midst of a six game losing streak, Cornell headed to Penn and Princeton for its final road trip of the season. The Big Red were hoping to get back in the win column, surprise a top-tier team and escape the league basement. Unfortunately, the team finished the weekend with two losses, an eight-game losing streak and sole possession of last place.
Most of the information about this past weekend was covered well by Mike Tony in his Friday roundup, Saturday recap and Ivy Power Rankings.
Just to add a small amount to those items:
Ivy Power Rankings – Mar. 1, 2016
1. Princeton (20-5, 10-1 Ivy)
It’s Princeton’s versatility that gives the Tigers a better chance to win in a potential NCAA Tournament berth than Yale, or indeed, most mid-majors. What matters most in an Ivy playoff is that Princeton’s offense matches up well with Yale’s defense, complete with multiple sharpshooters and slashers that can use the Elis’ size advantage against them.
Ivy Saturday roundup
Princeton 74, Cornell 60
A day after starting with a 12-0 deficit at Penn, Cornell reeled off a game-opening 11-4 run at Jadwin, maintaining a lead for most of the first 12 minutes and trailing 37-34 at halftime before the Tigers very gradually took control. Matt Morgan got in on the scoring action as Robert Hatter receded in the second half. There’s no such thing as “the usual suspects” for Princeton, but tonight it was Amir Bell and Spencer Weisz leading the Tigers with 16 points, and Devin Cannady shooting 6-for-7 from deep, including 3-for-3 from long range. (Ask Columbia about that.) Meanwhile, Henry Caruso notched just two points on 0-for-4 shooting, though he did add seven rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Ivy 60 for 60: Frank Sowinski
Frank Sowinski was one of the more productive Tigers over his stellar three-year career in the orange and black.
Ivy Friday roundup
Princeton 88, Columbia 83
In a cruel twist of fate for Columbia fans, the Tigers outdid the Lions at Jadwin by the same score as they did earlier this month, when Princeton made not one but two unlikely comebacks in its overtime win at Levien. In Princeton’s previous win against the Lions, Henry Caruso, Spencer Weisz and Steven Cook shot 4-for-24 from the floor. Friday night, that trio shot 22-for-31 en route to 60 combined points, with freshman guard Myles Stephens adding 15 points in 26 minutes off the bench.
Harvard-Yale: The Elis must hold serve
The biggest drama Friday night at Yale may be halftime, when Yale will find out if Columbia was able to knock off Princeton at Jadwin. If not, the Elis will likely have to win out.
Yale will be playing its first repeat league game without Jack Montague, with the Elis having already played (and defeated) Harvard sans Montague less than two weeks ago. The experience of that will help. Montague, unfortunately is now out for the rest of the season after having withdrawn from the university.
The Elis beat Harvard, 67-55, at Lavietes Pavilion earlier this month. It was not that close.
On the Vine – Feb. 25, 2016
The panel looks back at Yale-Princeton and ahead to this weekend’s crucial Columbia-Princeton matchup, as well as assessing Cornell’s slide and Yale’s outlook now that Jack Montague has withdrawn from the school. Peter Andrews and Mike Tony are joined by IHO founder Ian Halpern and IHO writer George Clark for this episode.
Jack Montague withdraws from Yale, will not return to team
Jack Montague has “withdrawn” from Yale, the Yale Daily News reported Wednesday, citing an update regarding Montague’s status from the University Registrar’s office Tuesday. Later Wednesday afternoon, Yale announced in a press release that Montague will not return to the team, declining further comment.
The University Registrar’s office declined to specify why Montague, the team’s captain, had withdrawn from the university, and Montague had told the YDN he was taking a personal leave on Feb. 17 and added then that he was “trying to come back as soon as possible.”
According to Yale’s policy on absence, withdrawal and reinstatement, the earliest he could have come back to Yale is the spring ’17 semester if his withdrawal is medical, or the fall ’17 semester if his leave is due to personal (non-disciplinary) reasons. If a personal leave is done to avoid disciplinary reasons, then there is no reinstatement. If the withdrawal is due to disciplinary reasons, then the return date is determined by Yale College Executive Committee.