Several returning letterwinners who have not seen significant playing time in the past will be expected to participate in Harvard's game plan this season. Sophomore guards Beth Wambach and Dina Hadrick are ready to move their ball-handling and shooting skills into the spotlight. Delaney Smith must find a second three-point shooter among her group of guards (Kosh, Bluestone, Wambach and Hadrick) to complement Duncan's outside shooting accuracy.

"I'm really excited about the sophomores," Duncan said. "They have returned after this summer with infinitely more confidence. A lot of people still have to be tested in real games, though."

The most exciting addition to the Crimson's lineup may be sophomore Jen Mazanec, who is the likely starter opposite Duncan at the forward position. The 5-ft., 10-in. Minnesota native makes up for her lack of size with an explosive first step and an extremely tough defense. "Mazanec can be dominating," Delaney Smith said.

Juniors Melinda Nelson and Sandra Springer will add height and bulk up front just in case the Crimson's smallish lineup is physically outplayed by an opponent. Both can contribute offensively and on the boards if they can develop a more intimidating style of play.

Junior Jody Fink and freshmen Heather Harris, Maura Healy and Liz Resnick round out Delaney Smith's roster, which has suffered a number of minor injuries in the preseason.

"We have a lot of new faces and a new offense which has created a lot of frustration," Delaney Smith said. "The players hated the offense the first week and the small injuries and sicknesses have delayed our progress even further. I hope they are coming out of their frustration right now."

Harvard's early-season schedule will include competitive tournaments such as the Rice Classic in Houston over the Thanksgiving weekend, the Augusta Tournament hosted by Maine during the winter holidays and Harvard's own invitational tournament, which will be held at Briggs Cage on December 2-3 and include Lafayette, the University of Illinois-Chicago and Vanderbilt.

"We are going to lose more games this year, but we can't react to that, expecting to win as much and as easily as we did last year," Delaney Smith said. "We're going to take our lumps in December, but hopefully everything will be in place in time for the start of the Ivy schedule."

The defending-Ivy League champion Crimson will have to do a lot of rebuilding in order to overcome the challenges of Dartmouth and Yale and successfully repeat as champions in 1989. Luckily, it appears that Delaney Smith is following the blueprints of the $6 million man to perfection, trying to integrate bigger, faster, stronger and better parts to continue the winning tradition at Harvard established by the class of '88.