Coach Harrison Replies To Basketball Critics

Head basketball coach Bob Harrison, under fire lately because of his cagers' mediocre performance, discussed basketball in his office in the IAB on Tuesday.

Harrison named three difficulties peculiar to the Harvard situation.

First, he said that the Cambridge community was not as basketball-oriented as many other places and that players used to adulation by fans during their high school careers had to make an adjustment here.

Second, Harrison explained that basketball at Harvard is relatively low-budgeted and that the athletic program in general is not as high-powered as in other large schools.

Third, the head coach maintained that imbalanced reporting by the Crimson had damaged the team's reputation and hurt in recruiting players.

Harrison reminisced about his ten seasons at Kenyon College when he spoke of community support for the team.

"Kenyon was small and I was in touch with my players constantly. The whole school knew them. Here my relationship ends for the most part when I blow that last whistle," he said.

"The fans we have at the games here are great. It's what we don't have--that feeling of enthusiastic support by the entire student community--that makes a big difference to the players," he said.

Assistant coach Ernie Hardy interjected his own thoughts on fan support.

"Most guys who come here are used to fans who blow the roof off the gym. At Harvard people just view the game," he said.

Harrison cited last year's Oral Roberts game as an example of a case when the team responded to crowd enthusiasm and played great basketball.

"If we had that kind of spirit at all our games there is no doubt that it would be a tremendous lift to the team," he said.

Harrison leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head when asked to talk about the problems of coaching in the Ivy League.

"First of all, let me say that I understood perfectly the restrictions of the job before I came here and that I agree with Harvard's policies all the way," he noted.

"But when we come up against teams like Duke, or talk about teams like Kentucky and UCLA, we have to realize the priorities here and why those schools are tough," he added.

Harrison quickly outlined what he was up against in recruiting talent which he said was the most important part of building a team.

"We can't travel to see players in distant locations. I never saw James Brown play before he came here though I had heard of him," he said.

"In addition coaches from other schools are smart. They ask a ball player, 'Why hasn't Harvard been down to talk to you?'" he added.

The University has a rule prohibiting coaches from initiating contact with high school athletes. Harvard cannot pay visiting teams enough money to induce them to come to Cambridge, Harrison said.

"Last year we gave Oral Roberts $200 to travel here. When we went down to North Carolina do you know what they gave us?" he asked leaning forward.

"Five thousand dollars," he said, relaxing again.

"Harvard does not practice as long as other schools. We accomodate the players' schedules and academic requirements. We don't run off-season training or summer camps," he added.

Harrison said that some schools have massive budgets for basketball and gave Rhode Island's $90,000 funding as an example.

"If a kid wants to be a great ballplayer it's probably better for him to go to UCLA where basketball will run his life," he said.

"The ball player who comes here has decided that there are things just as important, if not more so, than basketball," he added.

Crimson guard Jim Fitzsimmons, who transferred here from Duke, said he feels the same way.

"Duke was not consonant with my academic needs so I left. But I would be a better basketball player now had I stayed," he said, adding that he did not regret the decision.

The Crimson reported a confrontation between Harrison and Fitzsimmons during the Columbia game last Saturday. Both parties said that the incident was misreported.

"The story was completely misleading and one more example of unknowledgeable reporting," the head coach said.

"We had no altercation and that kind of false story only hurts the team," said Fitzsimmons.

Harrison said that articles from The Crimson had been used to dissuade at least three players from attending Harvard and that poor reporting had damaged the team's reputation with alumni.

"Recruiting is an all-important part of building a good team. I don't care personally what is reported but when it hurts the team I definitely do," he said.

The coach reiterated vigorously that he has noticed a lack of knowledge in Crimson reporting and a negative attitude toward the team's play.

Harrison pulled out a sheet of statistics which he said indicated the team's improvement in rebounding, field goals, foul shooting and virtually every major aspect of the game.

"Look at this. We are a much-improved team! Why carry on a vendetta with the team?" he asked incredulously.

Harrison shrugged his shoulders, shook his head and grinned as he concluded the interview.

"Come by any time, any time," he said.

"There's only one guy I won't talk to.