Ivy League primer

A team-by-team glance at the Ivy League heading into the 2007-08 season.

Brown

Strengths: With the backcourt of Mark McAndrew and Damon Huffman, Brown's perimeter scoring will be as good as any team in the league. The Bears return nine letterwinners and three starters.

Weaknesses: There's still plenty of uncertainty in the frontcourt and the depth in the backcourt is unproven. Coach Craig Robinson may need help from too many members of his seven-man recruiting class.

Newcomers: Robinson appears to have upgraded Brown's overall talent level with his first full recruiting class. At the very least he improved Brown's roster numbers by signing seven players. That's important for a team that often had to practice with seven or eight players last season because of injuries. Robinson, a former Northwestern assistant, tapped into his Illinois background to sign forward Jelani Floyd, who actually played point guard in high school; guard Sean Kane, a 6-5 long-range shooter; Garrett Leffelman, a physical 6-4 guard; and 6-5 forward Peter Sullivan, who can shoot like a three and rebound like a four. Brown also added Morgan Kelly, a 6-9 forward who can play inside or outside; Chris Taylor, a 6-8 forward who brings some size and length to the roster; and Adrian Williams, a 6-1 combo guard who can shoot from long range and could find himself in the starting lineup early in the season if he can handle the load.

Columbia

Strengths: The Lions return all five starters from a much-improved team that starts with a strong frontcourt in forward John Baumann and center Ben Nwachukwu. Sophomore guards Patrick Foley, Nico Scott and Kevin Bulger gained valuable game experience last season.

Weaknesses: The depth is uncertain so coach Joe Jones will need senior guard Justin Armstrong to stay healthy and immediate help from his freshmen.

Newcomers: Columbia is strong in the frontcourt with starters John Baumann and Ben Nwachukwu but needs help beyond the starters. Jones hopes it will come from two freshmen, 7-foot, 220-pound Zack Cimmins and 6-6, 240-pound Asenso Ampim.

Cornell

Strengths: Cornell not only returns three starters and capable bench contributors, but the Big Red also has Adam Gore, who led the team in scoring in 2005-06 but missed last season with a knee injury. With Ryan Wittman, Louis Dale and Gore, Cornell might have the best trio of offensive playmakers in the conference. Add USC transfer Collin Robinson off the bench and Cornell's offensive firepower runs deep.

Weaknesses: The Big Red needs some unproven players to come through in the frontcourt, especially Jason Hartford, who missed last season with a foot injury, and Jeff Foote, who won't be eligible until the end of the first semester after transferring from St. Bonaventure.

Newcomers: Transfers are relatively rare in the Ivy League, especially mid-year and junior college transfers, but Cornell has one of each. Jeff Foote, a 7-foot, 210-pound center, is a mid-year transfer from St. Bonaventure who will be eligible after the first semester. Andre Wilkins, a 6-5, 210-pound forward, comes to Cornell from Blinn College in Texas, where he averaged 10.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in his only season. Both are expected to provide immediate help, Foote in the post and Wilkins out on the wing. Cornell coach Steve Donahue also brought in Aaron Richardson-Osgood, a 6-9, 220-pound forward/center who also has a chance to play right away, and Adam Wire, another 6-5, 210-pound wing who might need more time before he's ready to make an impact on a deep team.

Dartmouth

Strengths: Dartmouth returns three starters and nine letterwinners from a team that should be resilient after being tested by an unusual number of injuries last season.

Weaknesses: For all those returning players, Alex Barnett is the only player who appears moderately capable of carrying the scoring load following the loss of leading scorer Leon Pattman to graduation. There are some productive post players in the Ivy League but none plays for Dartmouth.

Newcomers: Coach Terry Dunn returns enough experience that his freshmen might not have to make a significant contribution this season. There's still the possibility for help from 6-7 forward Matt Chisick, 5-11 guard Ronnie Dixon, 7-foot, 265-pound center John Marciano and 6-9, 215-pound forward Clive Weeden. Of the four, Chisick and Weeden have the best chance of playing as freshmen simply because of depth needs at those spots.

Harvard

Strengths: The coaching change brings a fresh start to a Harvard program that hasn't finished with a winning record in Ivy League play since the 1996-97 season. Drew Housman is a solid, experienced point guard and forward Evan Harris showed potential down the stretch last season.

Weaknesses: Outside of Housman and Harris the roster isn't exactly loaded with proven players who appear ready to take on bigger roles. After Harris and solid-but-unspectacular Brad Under, there isn't much to count on in the frontcourt.

Newcomers: The coaching change could open up some immediate opportunities for the newcomers, particularly 6-7 freshman Kyle Fitzgerald and 6-10 junior Cem Dinc from Marshalltown (Iowa) Community College. Dinc is a member of the Turkish National Team and spent a season at Indiana before transferring to Marshalltown. Adam Demuyakor, a 6-6 freshman swingman, has shooting range while T.J. Carey is a 6-3 freshman combo guard.

Pennsylvania

Strengths: Three consecutive Ivy League championships and a history of success can raise the standards and work ethic of a young team. Penn returns guards Darren Smith and senior Brian Grandieri and talented up-and-coming players such as Kevin Egee.

Weaknesses: Beyond Smith and Grandieri most of the roster is unproven and inexperienced, especially the frontcourt players. It remains to be seen if those young players can handle the expectations that come with playing at Penn.

Newcomers: Coach Glen Miller's first full recruiting class brought in six players who appear to fill a number of spots and roles. Three of the recruits come from California: 6-6 swingman Tyler Bernardini, 6-1 point guard Harrison Gaines and 6-7, 220-pound forward Conor Turley. The Quakers also signed 6-4 guard Remy Cofield, the runner-up for the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year award; 6-6 guard/forward Danny Monckton; and 6-8, 215-pound forward Jack Eggleston. Of the six Gaines might be the most likely to play this season because of Penn's needs at the point.

Princeton

Strengths: A coaching change gets the Tigers out from under the shadow that had fallen over the entire program under former coach Joe Scott. New coach Sydney Johnson is a former Princeton player and coach and understands the expectations and parameters. Senior forwards Kyle Koncz and Noah Savage bring experience and guards Marcus Schroeder and Lincoln Gunn started throughout their freshman seasons.

Weaknesses: No returning player scored more than 8.0 points per game last season for a team that averaged only 50.4 points. Schroeder and Gunn aren't prolific 3-point shooters and the Tigers made only 31.5 percent of their 3-pointers in Ivy League play.

Newcomers: By the time Sydney Johnson took over, Princeton didn't have any spots open, partly because outgoing coach Joe Scott had already signed four players. Princeton shot so poorly the past two seasons Scott signed three long-range shooters in 6-4 Bobby Foley, 6-2 Dan Mavraides and 6-5 Jason Liberman. Johnson also inherited 6-7 Kareem Maddox, who can play the three or four. Even though Johnson didn't sign them he's been positive about the talents and skills they're bringing to the program and said he was encouraged about their ability to help the Tigers.

Yale

Strengths: Yale returns four starters and six of its top seven scorers, led by senior guard Eric Flato, who is as good as any player in the Ivy League. The Bulldogs finished second in both field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage in conference play.

Weaknesses: As good as Flato is, he's not a pure point guard. Unfortunately for Flato and the Bulldogs there are no obvious solutions at the point. The Bulldogs depend a lot on twins Caleb and Nick Holmes, but they need to be more consistent.

Newcomers: Coach James Jones signed four freshmen, with two guards and two forwards: 6-1 point guard Porter Braswell, who should add quickness and athleticism to the roster; 6-9, 225-pound Garrett Fiddler, a rugged post player who led the state of Colorado in blocked shots as both a junior and senior; 6-3 guard Raffi Mantilla, who is considered a pure shooter; and 6-7, 225-pound Michael Sands, whom Jones called "the most versatile player in the incoming freshmen class."