Ackerman, Irion Named Captains at Hoop Banquet

Harvard basketball officially closed its 1976-77 chapter with a banquet at the Faculty Club last night. The dinner epitomized the rennaissance in attitude that took place this season, as well as the optimistic atmosphere that prevails for next season.

The big story of the evening was the election of Gary Ackerman and Steve Irion as captains for next year. In addition to these laurels, Irion also won the MVP and Top Rebounder Awards from the Friends of Harvard Basketball, while Ackerman deservedly garnered the Most Improved Player prize.

Other awards went to sophomore Rich Bengel ("Unsung Hero" Award), Captain Jeff Hill (Coaches' Award), and senior Jonas Honick ("The Curtailer" or Best Defensive Player Award).

Irion and Ackerman both reflected their enthusiasm for the strides that the program made during the past season. "I think that Jeff [Hill] did a super job this year. Everyone went out and worked as hard as they could every game, and Steve and I hope to motivate people in the same way next year," Ackerman said.

Indeed, "next year" was a dominant topic of conversation before and after the ceremonies. Coach Tom Sanders and the incoming captains both emphasized the need to "set the record straight" regarding attitude for next year's team. "We'll use this year's team as an example of attitude and unity," Irion said.

Coach Sanders now has the unenviable job of recruiting hoop talent for next year's freshman class. This is a difficult task, as Sanders explained, "because in order to find people that fit in you have to be able to see them play and this is hard to do when Harvard has no recruiting budget."

Nevertheless, the final banquet left everyone with bellies filled and food for thought, as a talented freshman squad and leave-of-absence returnees should combine with this year's attitude and lettermen to characteristically punctuate last night's enthusiastic postscript.