Athlete of the Week: Saunders Leads Men's Basketball in NCAA Tournament

After the Harvard men’s basketball team shocked the hoops world by beating No. 3 seed New Mexico in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament, the team was quickly brought back to reality, losing to No. 6 seed Arizona by 23 points two days later.

At that point, there were many questions to answer.

What would next year’s expectations be, as the team reintegrated senior Kyle Casey and co-captain Brandyn Curry? Would the Crimson be able to win the Ivy League and get another chance to play bracket-buster?

Perhaps no player answered more of these questions than junior wing Wesley Saunders, who helped the team duplicate last season’s NCAA success by dispatching No. 5 seed Cincinnati last Thursday, and then losing a close-fought battle against No. 4 seed Michigan State on Saturday night.

Saunders looks at least year’s victory over the Lobos as a turning point for the Crimson program, which has risen from being overlooked to being a force to be reckoned with on a national stage.

“Ever since that win, every time we stepped on the court we have had to bring our A game because everybody’s giving us their best shot because of what we were able to do in the [2013] tournament,” said Saunders at Wednesday’s media availability. “So I think it kind of just put a little bit of a target on our back. But I think that we have been able to step up to the challenge and embrace it.”

The 2013-2014 Ivy League Player of the Year was a key component in Harvard’s efforts once again, leading the team in scoring against both Cincinnati and Michigan State.

Saunders’ 22 points on Saturday led to his entrance into the 1,000-point club at Harvard and almost resulted in an upset of a Michigan State team that many pundits have picked to make it to Dallas for the Final Four. The junior finished the season with 1,012 career points.

Saunders’ offensive efforts in the tournament have proven to be no fluke. The swingman reached double-digit scoring for the 21st game during his junior season against Michigan State, and the 52nd time in his career.

While the wing was expected to perform well this season after leading the Ivy League in points per game last year with an average of 17.1, his expertise isn’t limited to his scoring capabilities.

When the Crimson found out it would face Cincinnati in its opening tournament appearance this year, Harvard coach Tommy Amaker turned to Saunders to stop Cincinnati co-captain Sean Kilpatrick, who averaged 20.6 points per game.

“[Saunders has] been, in my opinion, the best all-around player in our conference and one of the better ones in the country, and he doesn’t get enough credit for what he does on the defensive end of the floor,” said Amaker after Thursday’s game. “Wesley has got to guard those guys for us. That’s lot to ask of him, but he’s capable and I think he’s shown that he’s up to the task for doing that. He’s done it for us all season.”

His teammates expected the same from Saunders, who made a further mark in the box score by leading the team in steals this season.

“Our game plan was to put our best defender on [Kilpatrick], Wesley Saunders,” sophomore Siyani Chambers said. “He’s done it for us all year. And he was able to do it again tonight, I thought.”

Entering Saturday’s contest opposite Michigan State, Saunders was prepared to repeat his defensive prowess against potential first-round NBA selection Gary Harris.

“[I’m planning to] just come out and play hard,” said Saunders at Friday’s media availability. “It’s going to be another great challenge, and I’m looking forward to it. We just try to stick to our standards and principles and do the things that have gotten us to this point.”

Despite the early deficit the Crimson experienced in Saturday’s game—in which Michigan State scored nine of the game’s first 11 points—Saunders aided the team’s comeback efforts, taking advantage of any transition opportunities.

“We thought if we could get up the court and try to score some things before they got set up, it would be beneficial for us,” Saunders said. “We just were able to knock down some shots, and we were able to lock in on defense a little bit to chip away at the lead.”

While Amaker recognized the talent of Michigan State after Saturday’s game, he was sure to acknowledge the performance of the players sitting by his side during the post game interview, including Saunders.

“I can’t say enough about our team and the effort and the guts that they showed in the second half to make a run, to take the lead, to play with so much composure and poise and fight,” Amaker said. “I’m proud of our program, proud of our team.”

—Staff writer Orlea Miller can be reached at omiller@college.harvard.edu.