Despite being offered a long-term contract, Mariaschin decided to leave basketball, change his last name to Marsch, and move out west to California. Had he signed the deal, he would have been under contract through 1951. In 1950, the Celtics hired Red Auerbach as coach, and Auerbach would lead the Celtics to 16 NBA championships.

Mariaschin was inducted into the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1980.

Ed Smith ’53 and Jeremy Lin ‘10 are the only Harvard graduates since Mariaschin to play in an NBA game.

A SHORT-LIVED LEGACY

In the 65 years since the Crimson’s last NCAA appearance, it has had just 16 winning seasons. Last year, Harvard was a Douglas Davis jumper away from breaking the NCAA drought. Despite there being more than half a century of frustration looming over the program, Crimson coach Tommy Amaker doesn’t think the pressure of the ’46 campaign effects today’s players.

“They’re anywhere from 18 to 22 [years old], and they’re still trying to figure out Expos, Psych class, Economics, and represent Harvard and play games here,” Amaker said. “I doubt very seriously that it has an impact on them. I’m sure they know that it’s been a long time since [Harvard has] been able to do that. They’re aware of that, they’ve been told that many times.”

But Harvard is a place very much dedicated to tradition, a place that just celebrated its 375th birthday and where there are no classes before 9 a.m. to accommodate students attending chapel seven days a week. As Amaker looks to establish his own unconventional basketball tradition, he need only look to the Crimson’s past for inspiration.

“I was in contact with one of the players from that team,” Amaker said. “That was a neat thing, a neat experience for me. It was great to hear how excited he was with where we’re going as a program. The heights we’ve reached and hope to reach.”

—Staff writer Alexander Koenig can be reached at akoenig@college.harvard.edu.