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Harvard Basketball: Crimson primed for breakthrough 2019-20 season

By Jacob Zinkula

FULLERTON, CA - NOVEMBER 26: Head coach Tommy Amaker of the Harvard Crimson in the first half of the game against the Cal State Fullerton Titans at the Titan Gym on November 26, 2017 in Fullerton, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
FULLERTON, CA - NOVEMBER 26: Head coach Tommy Amaker of the Harvard Crimson in the first half of the game against the Cal State Fullerton Titans at the Titan Gym on November 26, 2017 in Fullerton, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images
Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images /

Seth Towns

The former 4-star recruit (98th in ESPN 100) was a part of Harvard’s outstanding 2016 recruiting class alongside Aiken (99th) and Chris Lewis (68th). He had offers from Michigan, Xavier, Purdue and Ohio State, among others.

Coexisting with Aiken

Aiken will be the team’s primary ball-handler, but he and Towns will have to share shot attempts this season, something that might take a bit of time to be sorted out. Despite both being seniors, they haven’t spent too much time on the court together over the past few years.

As mentioned previously, Aiken had a huge offensive load last season while Towns missed the season due to a knee injury. Towns took the reins their sophomore season, however, when Aiken only played 13 games, posting the 38th highest usage rate in the nation.

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If Tommy Amaker wants to figure out how Aiken and Towns will best share the court together, he perhaps should look back all the way to their freshmen season in 2016-17. Both Aiken and Towns played significant minutes (27.8 and 24.6 respectively) and were able to split their usage fairly evenly (126th and 152nd in usage). Given this experience and the fact that they are different types of players (Aiken more on-ball, Towns more off-ball), they should be able to coexist just fine.

Stellar Shooter

Towns should compete with Aiken for the title of Harvard’s best long-range shooter, having shot a scorching 43.7% on threes two seasons ago (73rd nationally). 54.0% of his long-range makes were assisted. Although more than Aiken’s 23.5% assisted, this still demonstrates Towns’ ability to shoot off-the-dribble. He’s comfortable both behind the arc and in the midrange, and his height allows him to get his shot off cleanly.

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At 6-7, Towns was also one of Harvard’s better rebounders two seasons ago, and his return should make rebounding even more of a strength for the team season. He’ll also help out as a ball-handler/playmaker, but he’s likely not the answer to the team’s turnover woes (averaged 1.8 assists, 2.1 turnovers).

Although Towns missed all of last season due to injury, he wasn’t able to gain a medical redshirt. Ivy League players can’t take a redshirt year of any form because the league does not provide athletic scholarships.