Amaker's Crimson lean on Lin

Say what you want about Tommy Amaker. Just don't say he doesn't win.

In just its second year under Amaker, the historically derelict Harvard appears to be reviving. The Crimson (9-7, 1-1 Ivy) put up a better-than-expected performance in Ivy League play last year, and started the 2008-09 season with a head-turning non-conference performance.

The Amaker brand name and all it connotes - Duke, Seton Hall, Michigan and above all name recognition - dropped fortuitously into Harvard's lap after Amaker's failure to take the Wolverines to the NCAA Tournament in six years cost him that job. He went searching for an underperformer to turn around and found one in the Crimson, which have never won an Ivy title since the league was formed.

What seemed like a perfect fit, though, turned temporarily sour in the midst of conference play when a New York Times investigation questioned whether Amaker's hard-nosed recruiting tactics had violated league and NCAA rules. One allegation involved a borderline-illegal supermarket recruitment pitch to the father of current Penn freshman Zack Rosen; another questioned whether an Amaker assistant had recruited for Harvard before his official hire. The article produced the spectacle of Crimson athletic director Bob Scalise having a "teaching moment" about basic regulations with a man who had been a head coach for over a decade.

Internal investigations cleared Amaker of wrongdoing but left a black eye on the program - and probably cost it the prized recruit Frank Ben-Eze. Amaker made headlines again last fall, when he cut several players at a point when the deadline for transferring had passed.

None of those issues has stopped Harvard from posting a banner campaign so far this year. The highlight was the Crimson's first win ever over a ranked opponent: 82-70 over then-No. 17 Boston College on Jan. 7, just days after the Eagles beat then-No. 1 North Carolina. Harvard also has wins over New Hampshire, Holy Cross and Santa Clara.

Speedy point guard Jeremy Lin has led the way. With 18.1 points per game, he is Harvard's leading scorer by a 10-point margin. He has hit half of his field goals, drained an equally impressive 43 percent of his three-pointers and notched team highs with 90 rebounds, 12 blocks, 80 assists and 48 steals.

With freshmen Peter Boehm and Keith Wright and junior Doug Miller manning the frontcourt, rebounding may continue to be an issue. And Harvard is young, with veterans like Drew Housman and Evan Harris now relegated to backing up Amaker's recruits.

The Crimson lost some luster when Dartmouth beat them in overtime on their home court Saturday, a week after the Crimson won by a point in New Hampshire. Amaker must restore it once more. It was the job he was hired to do.

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