Rookie of the Year, Runner-Up: Temi Fagbenle, Women's Basketball

Temi Fagbenle is a rookie, but not in the way that most Harvard athletes fit the label. The sophomore was recruited out of England as the team’s highest-rated recruit, but wound up warming the bench during her freshman year after the NCAA declared her ineligible for the 2011-12 season due to an academic rule concerning her transition into the American educational system.

“Obviously, I wasn’t happy about it, and I didn’t really understand why,” Fagbenle said. “I felt as if I was dealt an injustice, but that’s all in the past now.”

After multiple attempts to appeal the decision, it seemed that the London native would not get to play ball until her sophomore fall. But that spring, Fagbenle’s luck turned—she was selected to play for Great Britain in the Olympics hosted in her hometown.

Although Great Britain did not pick up a victory in the Games, Fagbenle’s role on the team carried over into her first year as an active Harvard player and her first year as a collegiate player.

“It’s a whole different level of play,” Fagbenle said. “The transition was more difficult than I thought it would be, and I’m still a little bit nervous trying to adjust to this game, but it’s been fun.”

Fagbenle shot 57.8 percent from the field to lead all Crimson starters and averaged 12.3 points per game, garnering her 10 Ivy League Rookie of the Week awards and a unanimous vote for Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Despite Fagbenle’s seven double-doubles this season, Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith maintains that the rising junior has not reached her full potential yet.

“I was always warned that transitioning from the Olympics, particularly for a kid who had never played college ball, would be difficult. Temi did it as well as you could expect any athlete to do it,” Delaney-Smith said. “What the doctor would have ordered would have been a lot of rest and a lot of rehab coming off of the Olympics, and she really didn’t have the luxury to do that, and she still impacted our season each and every day.”

Leading the team in both rebounds per game with 7.7 and blocks per game, Fagbenle demonstrated her prowess on both ends of the court. But with Fagbenle just a sophomore, Delaney-Smith notes that the forward will only grow as a weapon on the team.

“The thing that’s scary for anyone playing us going forward will be her versatility,” Delaney-Smith said. “She’s got great shooting, she’s not one-dimensional, and I think our system’s going to broaden next year, where I think they’re going to bring in a double-team in order to stop her. But I think she can continue to grow as a rebounder and as a perimeter player.”

—Staff writer Samantha Lin can be reached at samanthalin@college.harvard.edu.