Another Step Up

As a sophomore, Earvin "Magic" Johnson led Michigan State to a national championship. As a sophomore, Darren Rankin hopes to put Harvard on the college basketball map.

Although, in truth, the comparison between Magic and Rankin is not Air-Jordan-tight (Rankin's diction is much better), both are multi-talented big men who stress the team "we" before the individual "I."

Rankin is Harvard's leading scorer at 12.8 points per game, second-leading sharpshooter from the field at 51.8 percent, second-leading rebounder at 5.5 per contest, and second-leading three-point shooter at 39.6 percent (21-53).

These numbers are a tremendous improvement from last year, when he averaged only 6.7 points per game and 4.5 boards per outing (and hit only five treys all year). And that's not all--Rankin improved so much during last year that he garnered the team's most improved player award as a freshman.

Rankin, however, is not especially concerned with his stats. His goal at Harvard is to help establish a proud, winning tradition.

"I want to help Harvard go to the next level," Rankin says. "I want to help Harvard gain some respect. I would love to have more fan support, to make Harvard basketball games the place to be."

Rankin realizes that the only way to achieve this transformation is through consistent, shameless victory. After all, as soon as Magic left, the Great Western Forum became a virtual graveyard.

"We won't get there until we have a winning season," Rankin says. "We've had a lot of close games, like against Penn, Vanderbilt and Princeton. We lost a lot of games we should have won. Next year, we feel we can win the close ones, and if that happens, then we'll get the recognition."

Going into this weekend's final two games against Brown and Yale, the Crimson is 9-15 overall, 5-7 in the Ivy race. That league record places Harvard in a four-way tie for third with Brown, Yale, and Dartmouth--and for the young Crimson, to stay as high as fourth would certainly be an encouraging sign going into next year.

Rankin prides himself on his versatility. Not only does he seamlessly go from inside to out on the offensive side, he is willing to rebound and play hard defense on the nights when his shot is not falling. He cites confidence and a consistent outside shot as the reasons his game has ascended to a higher level.

"Darren can do just about anything on the court he wants," says forward (and Rankin roommate) Mike Gilmore. "He can post up, then hit a three. He understands the game well, and is very consistent."

"I am much more confident then I was last year," Rankin says. "As a freshman, I felt a little bit tentative. Now I'm comfortable taking threes. And if things don't go my way, I still work hard on defense and rebounding."

Rankin was offered basketball scholarships to a bevy of Division One schools. He toyed with the idea of going to Northwestern to play with his brother, who is on the Wildcat varsity squad. Yet ultimately, he could not turn down the offer to pay $26,000 a year for the privilege of playing for the Crimson.

"I was able to play a lot as a freshman," Rankin explains.

A la Tyler Rullman '93, Rankin might try his hand at European basketball after graduating. But in the long term, he believes he would like to get into sports medicine or a related field and work with college-age athletes.

"I would like to help shape kids in some way", Rankin says.

An athlete and a gentlemen. And can we say that about Magic?