Sports: Basketball

Senior Brings ‘Intangibles’

HONORS: Seth Hauben ’05 was named a preseason First Team All-American by the basketball publication Street & Smith. Gabe Perez ’05 was named a preseason Honorable Mention All-American.

The Rochester men’s basketball team started the 2003–04 season with a 19-game winning streak, won the UAA title with a 13–1 record, and entered the NCAA tournament with a 24–1 record before finishing the season at 25–2.

But senior forward Seth Hauben ’05 sees room for improvement.

“I want the team to be better,” says Hauben, one of three returning starters. “Maybe the record won’t be as good, but if the team is better, that’s the important part.”

Hauben has been one of the important components in the Yellowjackets’ on-court success in the past few seasons. Over his career, he has averaged 16.8 points a game and 10.3 rebounds. He is 11th in career scoring with 1,156 points, fifth in career rebounding (750), and seventh in career blocked shots (69).

“Seth is strong, competitive, and a good teammate,” says head coach Mike Neer. “Some people are just physical players, which is fine, but a person who brings something intangible to the team, that’s someone special. For all his strength, there’s a compassionate side as well.”

With Hauben in the lineup, Rochester has qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament for three consecutive years. The Yellowjackets reached the Final Four in his freshman season and the Sweet 16 in his sophomore and junior years. The team’s cumulative three-year record is 72–12.

The Newton, Massachusetts, native accumulated 10 postseason honors last season, including being named a First Team All-American by Basketball Times and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, NABC’s East Region Player of the Year, the ECAC Upstate New York Player of the Year, and the UAA Player of the Year.

Still, he says, he has work to do on his own game.

“Maybe I can get the shooting percentage a little higher or shoot better at the foul line,” he says. Last year, Hauben made 55 percent of his shots from the field and 67 percent of his free throws and added 42 assists, 32 blocked shots, and 37 steals.

Those personal goals are secondary to the overall team effort, he says. He’ll gladly get the ball to teammates, if that helps the Yellowjackets win.

Neer says that the team has had to regroup after six players graduated last spring. But he says the Yellowjackets can shoot for the national championship, and he’s counting on Hauben to help.

“All we have to do is play well again,” Neer says. “We have a lot of talent to pull from. We’ve had good players in recent years—good players who were also good leaders—and Seth continues in that role. Players respect him.

“He lifts the team up and also challenges the team when they need it.”

—Jayne Denker