By Joe Budzelek (@stf_ncaa)
Richard Kent, the author of The Madness of Ivy Basketball, has been embedded in Ivy Hoops for almost his entire life, so it is an honor to have him joining this feature to discuss the breakouts, and hopefully, future stars of the Ivy League.
Brown - Alexander Lesbert Jr. - 6’5 junior guard
Following their first Ivy Madness appearance and a Matt Knowling buzzer-beater from earning their first NCAA Tournament appearance in nearly 40 years, Brown is looking to carry that momentum into this season mostly on the shoulders of their star senior duo of Kino Lilly Jr. and Nana Owusu-Anane, should he be able to return following left shoulder surgery last week.
However, Lilly Jr. and a healthy Owusu-Anane can’t do it alone. With his combination of offensive efficiency and defensive fortitude, Alexander Lesburt Jr. possesses the versatility and opportunity to become Brown’s second best player come opening tip. Playing inconsistent minutes for most of his career, Lesburt stepped into the starting lineup for Felix Kloman in late February, averaging ten points and four rebounds per-game while shooting an efficient 57.7 2P% and 41.3 3P% during that span. With enough size to guard one-through-four, Lesburt Jr.’s defensive metrics look strong as he finished last season as Brown’s third most efficient defender, per EvanMiya.com.
Expect Lesburt Jr.’s strong finish from last year to sustain throughout the eternity of this upcoming season.
Columbia - Richard Nweke - 6’8 sophomore forward
Following their best season under the eight-year tenure of head coach Jim Engles, the Columbia Lions are primed to earn their first Ivy Madness appearance after returning close to 80% of their scoring from last year. The team will be led by senior guard Geronimo Rubio de la Rosa while junior guard Avery Brown and junior forward Blair Thompson will return as key starters.
However, with Josh Odunowo taking his grad transfer season at UMBC, Columbia will need to replace the physicality and grit left behind in Odunowo’s wake. Former three-star prospect Richard Nweke is one forward who is primed to apply his blue-collar grit to earn a role in the frontcourt after tearing his ACL right before the start of the 2023-24 season.
“He’s a guy who’s most similar to Josh,” says Columbia assistant head coach Jake Brown, “Not maybe your traditional five man, but he’s got an unbelievable motor, work ethic and a guy we expect to contribute.” In order to break out, Nweke will have to fend off playing time away from 6’10 junior Zine Eddine Bedri, 6’9 senior Jake Travroff and 6’9 senior Robbie Stankard. “The three returning centers for Columbia that played in the rotation last season have yet to distinguish themselves so far,” says venerable Ivy Hoops writer Richard Kent, “so, considering that Engles is very comfortable playing younger players right away, Nweke has an opportunity to earn an immediate role with the Lions.”
Cornell - Jake Fiegen - 6’4 sophomore guard
Between Chris Manon (Vanderbilt) and Isaiah Gray (Akron) exhausting their eligibility and taking their grad transfer year of eligibility elsewhere, new head coach Jon Jacques, who was quickly promoted after Brian Earl left to lead William & Mary, will be counting on Jake Fiegen to inject physicality and defense to the new-look backcourt.
Like Gray and Manon, the 6’4 205 Fiegen is a bigger guard who shoots well enough (32.1 3P%) and hits the boards with enough regularity (14th highest offensive rebounding rate during Ivy League conference play) to play multiple positions in Cornell’s deep and ever-changing rotations. Already a counted on glue guy, Fiegen’s shooting improvement throughout his freshman season also foreshadows an offensive breakout. Across his first twenty games, Fiegen made 44% of his two-point attempts and just 23% of his three-point attempts, but over his last ten games, Fiegen improved and made 63% of his two-pointers and 39% of his three-pointers.
Between his excellent defense, all-out hustle, improved offense and the opportunity ahead of him, Fiegen has an excellent shot to greatly improve his modest, but solid freshman numbers.
Dartmouth - Jackson Munro - 6’8 junior forward
Most breakout picks usually don’t start 23 games the previous season, but with Dusan Neskovic exhausting his Ivy League eligibility – and as a result will take his grad transfer season at George Washington – Dartmouth is desperate for someone to step up and be counted on when the Big Green need a big bucket.
Enter Jackson Munro. While Dartmouth was ranked by Ken Pomeroy as one of the least efficient teams in the nation, Munro led the team in offensive efficiency, anchored by 58.3 two-point percentage in conference play. Amongst starters and key bench reserves, Munro did have one of lowest usage rates on the team, but he contributed in a lot of ways: he led the team in assist rate, is one of the team’s better rebounders, was second in block rate and he also shot 28% from three, a clip that, while not ideal, is strong enough to make defenses to pay attention and open up space when the Munro is out on the perimeter.
It wouldn’t surprise to see Munro finish next season with a few triple-doubles and building a rep as the best player for Big Green.
Harvard - Robert Hinton - 6’5 freshman guard
Robert Hinton is a consensus Top-100 prospect that is, according to 247’s Composite rankings, Harvard’s third-highest ranked prospect of all time. Ultimately picking Harvard over Princeton, Hinton is the younger brother of Cornell junior Adam Hinton, so the Ivy ties with the family run deep.
At 6’5 190, Hinton brings a total package that combines skill, will and awareness. A knock down shooter who can create off the dribble, Hinton’s vision also allows him to distribute freely in transition and he is also a positionally strong rebounder. With impressive length and a strong motor, Hinton has the potential to develop into the team’s best perimeter defender, which is key as Harvard’s recent team defenses have been inconsistent, at best.
With Malik Mack transferring to Georgetown and Chisom Okpara heading to Stanford, there are plenty of shots available for Hinton to not only become the best freshman in the Ivy League, but immediately become the best player on Harvard.
Penn - Cam Thrower - 6’3 junior guard.
Similar to Harvard, Penn’s top-two scorers departed via the transfer portal. Since the Ivy League does not allow players to continue their careers after graduating, stud senior guard Clark Slajchert will join Yale’s Matt Knowling at USC, but the biggest blow to the Quakers was freshman guard Tyler Perkins following the money by transferring to Big 5 power Villanova.
The Quakers will be led by senior big Nick Spinoso, so to best utilize his excellent vision and passing ability, it is imperative for head coach Steve Donahue to surround Spinoso with shooters and playmakers. Sophomore Sam Brown is Penn’s best returning guard and if Cam Thrower can parlay the excellent finish of his sophomore season to a starting role for Penn, he too can be one of Penn’s best scorers.
How good was Thrower’s tailend to the season? In four starts to close out the season, Thrower averaged 12.8 points-per-game and shot 40% from three. Overall, Thrower’s career 31.4 3P% is modest, but he converts 40% of threes in games where he played 20 or more minutes. That being said, if Thrower can earn enough minutes to regularly get into a rhythm, he can score in bunches and become a valuable spacer for the Quakers.
Princeton - Malik Abdullahi - 6’7 freshman forward
Princeton has been an Ivy powerhouse across the last three seasons and are expected again to be the top team in the conference thanks to the dynamic duo of Xaivian Lee and Caden Pierce. However, following Zach Marinti’s graduation and transfer to Rutgers, Princeton does not have an experienced forward with size to pair with Caden Pierce.
“I think a freshman will be needed to step up the physical load,” says Richard Kent, “Princeton needs another presence underneath to make defensive stops to pair alongside Caden Pierce in the frontcourt, and I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about the immediate impact Malik Abdullahi can make this year for the Tigers.”
While juniors Jack Scott and a now healthy Deven Austin will be candidates to start alongside Pierce, Abdullahi brings a more physical dimension that the aforementioned duo lack. Abdullahi is a hard-nosed athlete who brings a grittiness under the boards who also is blessed with a above-the-rim explosiveness to his 6’7 207 frame. A three-star recruit and a top-225 prospect of the 2025 class, according to 247Sports, Abdullahi’s offensive profile already makes him a prolific slasher and generator of second-chance points, but he also shows potential as a perimeter shooter and also a distributor. This year, expect Abdullahi to add an important physical dimension to the team’s supporting cast, but it wouldn’t surprise if he becomes one of the team’s stars by the time Abdullahi is an upperclassman.
Yale - Devon Arlington - 6’3 junior
Winning three of the last four Ivy Madness tournaments, Yale returns another strong group this season led by the clutch scoring of senior wing John Poulakidas and the staunch defense of senior guard Bez Mbeng.
Between the returns of Nick Townsend, Casey Simmons and Samson Aletan, Yale’s frontcourt is well-positioned to adjust to the graduation of Matt Knowling – who is taking his grad transfer season at USC – and the transferring of Danny Wolf to Michigan, but there isn’t a clear proven commodity to replace the perimeter consistency of their former captain, August Mahoney.
However, junior guard Devon Arlington could be exactly the player to step up in this role. At 6’3, Arlington possesses intriguing length at the point guard position and finished his high school career at San Marcos [CA] as the school's all-time leading scorer finishing with 2,035 career points. “In practice, Arlington’s shooting it very well from three,” says Richard Kent, “He looks like a way more efficient offensive player this year than what I saw in a game or at practice over the last two years.” James Jones is going to play an eight- or nine-man rotation, so a guard like Arlington will likely be needed to make this year’s rotation complete.
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