Nobody said it was going to be easy for Taurus Samuels to take over as the point guard of the Dartmouth men’s basketball team, especially stepping into the role in which Brendan Barry has shined the last two seasons.
But through 12 games the sophomore has taken the responsibilities with ease, and now he’s starting to see the hard work and meaningful minutes pay off.
Last season as a freshman, Samuels averaged 16.3 minutes per game and started once. Now, he’s started 11 of the Big Green’s games and is playing more than 27 minutes on average. With the rise in minutes, his point production has grown to 9.4.
He’s also managed the ball well, too, dishing out 23 assists and only turning the ball over 14 times.
“As a point guard, you have to be an extension of the coaching staff,” Dartmouth coach Dave McLaughlin said on Wednesday. “I think Taurus takes pride in that. When you’re an extension of the coaching staff and you do things the right way, people have to respect you on the court. And I think that makes him as a true leader on the court for us.”
In Wednesday’s 76-60 win over Central Connecticut, Samuels showed his first signs of the wear and tear that happens in any player’s first season of playing college basketball. It’s almost an unwritten rule that any athlete playing his first full season will hit a wall at some point given the amount of minutes, expectations and school piled on top.
While that might be his toughest test to overcome this season, there’s been glimpses of Samuels’ potential. In Saturday’s loss to Boston University, he scored a career-high 22 points and almost helped the Big Green pull off a comeback win.
“Brendan was a big loss for us,” Samuels said. “I was trying to come in and do my best to contribute in whatever way I could for the team. Now I’m kind of defining my role a little bit more, so it feels good.”
Point production: Entering this season, Dartmouth had an idea where most of its point production would be coming from: Chris Knight.
The junior has delivered, averaging 12.7 points a game. But that can only get the Big Green so far. Add in the absence of Barry, who scored 13.2 a year ago, and it was unknown who else would have a major contribution.
Enter James Foye and Aaryn Rai. The two starters are both averaging 10.8 points per game, but in much different ways.
Foye’s been the best 3-point threat on Dartmouth’s roster. Shooting 51.7% from beyond the arc, he is ranked third in the country in 3-pointer field goal percentage. Along with his shooting prowess, Foye has been helpful in bringing Samuels along at point guard.
Rai was three assists shy of a triple-double in Wednesday’s victory, but that’s just one example of his ability to contribute. One of the Big Green’s inside threats along with Knight, the 6-foot-6 swingman can drive to the hoop and get to the foul line fast.
He’s 23-of-31 from the charity stripe and has also hauled down 30 offensive rebounds.
“He’s (Knight) definitely been a been a great presence inside for us. When we need a bucket, we go to him and he always delivers,” Rai said. “But we love to share the juices and it gets us going when everybody gets going. We’re not like a selfish team.”
Ivy League lurking: Dartmouth is 7-5 with three games remaining in nonconference play. It’s no secret that a strong record in the first half of the season is nice, but it doesn’t matter as a mid-major team. All that matters is conference play, which means a strong Ivy League record.
The Big Green has not qualified for the conference tournament since its inception in 2017, and it hasn’t qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 1959. It’s the longest drought in the nation next to five teams that have never qualified for the tournament at all.
By no means does the Ivy League do Dartmouth any favors, however, as the conference tournament only includes four teams. It is the only league in the country whose tournament features only four schools, making the regular season more important than the tournament.
Most conferences take between eight to 12 teams for the conference tourney. Instead, if Dartmouth has a couple bad weekends, odds of making the tournament is almost impossible.
The Big Green visits Harvard on Jan. 18 to open Ivy play.
Pete Nakos can be reached at pnakos@vnews.com.