By Peter Andrews and Sam Tydings
In this scenario, Alex Rosenberg is Bill Murray.
columbia
A Far Too Comprehensive and Ridiculous Columbia Season Preview, Part 3
Best Case Scenario
By Miles Johnson
In November in the year of our Lord 2016, students, alums and fresh-faced future Lions will pack into Levien Gymnasium. As fans of all ages watch Kendall Jackson rack up triple-doubles, or Jeff Coby slam home put-back dunks, or even a transformed Chris McComber knock down 30-foot threes—as a wistful Cory Osetkowski watches from afar—one can notice Kyle Smith pace nervously on the sidelines. Then, a strange calm takes hold, and he tilts his head up toward the rafters and smiles.
“2015-16 NCAA National Champions – Columbia Lions.”
A Far Too Comprehensive and Ridiculous Columbia Season Preview, Part 2
Rookie Watch
By Peter Andrews
On paper, there isn’t much room for Columbia’s seven-man freshman class to make a difference. With a veteran rotation that goes 11-deep, it may be a “wait-and-see” year for the class of 2019. One name, though, stands out from the rest. And that name is Dirk Junior.Okay, that’s not his actual name. However, it is the official Ivy Hoops Online ™ (must credit @pfandrews and @simmonsclass) nickname for Lukas Meisner, Columbia’s newest German import.
A Far Too Comprehensive and Ridiculous Columbia Season Preview, Part 1
Player to Watch
By Peter Andrews
Here are some sentences that I have written about Maodo Lo in the past year. (No two are from the same article.)
“On Friday night, Maodo Lo showed his class. It’s Maodo Lo’s world, and we’re just living in it … This game should serve as Maodo Lo’s coming-out party for a national audience … Every time the ball left his fingertips, the swoosh seemed a mere inevitability … He remains as cool as a cucumber … No Ivy guard can match Lo’s blazing quickness, and when combined with his dribbling skills he is a nightmare to defend … Don’t worry, Columbia fans: The greatest basketball player of all time isn’t graduating just yet.”
Columbia Season Preview – Is This Finally “The Year”?
Last year was supposed to be “the year” for Columbia, which hasn’t won an Ivy title since 1968.
Then star forward Alex Rosenberg broke his foot two weeks before the start of the season and withdrew from school — thanks to the Ivy League’s arcane player eligibility rules. A new star emerged in guard Maodo Lo, but the Lions collapsed at the end of the season, losing their final four games and any shot at competing in the postseason.
Reading the Ivy tea leaves – Columbia roundup
Check out a couple of highly knowledgeable thoughts on expectations and hopes for the Lions this season:
Haiku Corner – Columbia season preview edition
Columbia D
May not even exist
Scoreboards get ready
———————————
Rosenberg will rise again
But expectations might not
This must be the year
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Columbia all-time moment No. 1: Lions defeat La Salle in NCAA Tournament
We’re counting down the top 10 moments in each Ivy school’s history as part of our Ivy League at 60 retrospective. We did Columbia next because in 1968, a little light blue went a long way.
Today we celebrate the best moment in Columbia’s basketball history by celebrating the farthest the team has gone in NCAA Tournament play, as well as one more big win for the school’s best squad of the modern era.
Columbia all-time moment No. 2: Jim McMillian’s third straight All-American selection
We’re counting down the top 10 moments in each Ivy school’s history as part of our Ivy League at 60 retrospective. Columbia is next because you don’t mess around with Jim.
The man behind the best prolonged stretch of basketball in Columbia history receives his own honor in our countdown.
There are individual moments in Jim McMillian’s career one could point to, such as his 37-point effort against Princeton in 1968’s playoff, but nothing single-handedly sums up his career better than his postseason accolades. Since freshmen could not play varsity NCAA basketball, McMillian’s three-year run from 1967-68 through 1969-70 is unequaled in Columbia history and is unlikely to be repeated by anyone going forward. McMillian led Columbia to an incredible 63-14 record in his tenure, including the 1968 Ivy title and 20-4 and 20-5 records the next two years, finishing second in the league. Had the landscape of NCAA basketball looked in the late 1960s as it does today, McMillian likely would have had more than just one postseason opportunity as the Lions were ranked in the top 20 at points in each of his last two season with nothing to show for it. Nonetheless, his career on the court is unparalleled in Lions history.
Columbia all-time moment No. 3: Columbia clinches 1968 NCAA Tourney berth
We’re counting down the top 10 moments in each Ivy school’s history as part of our Ivy League at 60 retrospective. Columbia is next because the Dave Newmark did Willis Reed in NYC before Willis Reed did Willis Reed in NYC.
The best season in Columbia basketball history was in jeopardy. Despite a 16-game win streak and a dominating stretch in Ivy play, the Lions had to face a Princeton Tigers team which just defeated them by 11 points. The winner would be the Ivy representative in the 23-team NCAA Tournament, the loser would be unlikely to make the NIT. For a Columbia team sitting at 20-4, anything less than a title would have been an extraordinary disappointment, even to be taken down by a Princeton squad who was 20-5 and started the preseason ranked No. 8 in the nation.