Ivy League Basketball: In-depth look at Yale senior guard Azar Swain

Azar Swain looks to have a big senior campaign for the Yale Bulldogs in Ivy League Basketball.

Ivy League Basketball is about so much more than sports. The schools that make up the conference are some of the most prestigious universities in the world. They are also the oldest universities in the country as well. A degree from one of these universities carries a tremendous amount of weight. The eight schools that make up the Ivy League have produced Presidents, Astronauts, Scientists, Doctors, Surgeons, Actors, and basically any high-profile high-stress job. They don’t produce all the individuals in these jobs of course but there has been a significant amount of those jobs to come from the Ivy League.

The eight schools in the Ivy League also were the first schools to join and play sanctioned athletics. In 1870 the schools formed the American Rowing League and these schools have been playing basketball together since 1902. That is longer than any other conference in the United States. The league also plays host to one of the best rivalries in all of sports. Harvard and Yale a great sports rivalry, many of the former students will carry that rivalry into their professional lives as well. Their alumni still go after each other once they graduate.

The league has also had a huge impact on the history of the game. Princeton, who is a member of the Ivy League, created and perfected a motion offense used by many coaches in today’s game. The Princeton Offense, much like the Ivy League is not going anywhere.

This year, another school, Yale is going to have a tremendous basketball team and they are led by one of the best players in the Ivy League. Azar Swain enters his senior year and he is no longer going to be a secret. He had his breakout year last year, but the nation never got to see just how good he was because the tournament was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Yale was the team to beat last season and entering this season nothing has changed. They still are the team to beat in the Ivy and Swain is a huge reason why.