At men's varsity basketball practice, the message is emblazoned on the back of every red and white reversible jersey: "HARD WORK." And Sunday night that's just what assistant coach Rick Duckett had in mind for guards Bob Ferry and Kyle Standley.

The only freshmen on a squad picked by some experts to sneak away with this year's Ivy title. Ferry and Standley were struggling against a full-court press drill, while Duckett cajoled from the sideline, "You can be a hero, if you only use your head."

For this pair of rookies, the comment seemed particularly appropriate; they are what coaches call "thinking" ballplayers: precise, poised, clever. And there's a little natural dazzle thrown in too, enough so that both were recruited doggedly by major basketball powers before choosing Harvard.

Sunday night, Duckett's needling eventually had its effect. Weaving his way up court, Ferry broke free for an instant, faked right and nailed Donald Fleming in the left corner for an easy jumper. Seconds later, Standley launched a perfect inbounds bomb toward Monroe Trout, who cleanly sank the lay-up.

"See, you can be a hero," Duckett noted with a broad smile.

Happy Surprises

Full-time heroism may be a year away for the freshmen, but head coach Frank McLaughlin is more than a little tickled by the results of his backcourt talent search. Looking for a replacement for sharpshooter Tom Mannix, McLaughlin grabbed Ferry--the number-four all-time scorer from legendary DeMatha High in Maryland--and Standley--an all-state standout from Marion, Ohio.

"We knew they'd be good, but they're really even better than we expected," says the usually understated McLaughlin, who plans to use the duo as fill-ins for veterans Calvin Dixon and Donald Fleming.

Harvard's academic reputation and a flexible, improving basketball program drew both players to Cambridge, though they were initially promised posh lodgings at a renovated Briggs Cage, not the fifth-floor high school gym at the IAB. In making his choice. Ferry--the more highly touted of the pair--benefited from the guidance of two fairly well-educated basketball men: his father, Bob Ferry Sr., general manager of the Washington Bullets, and Celtic guru Red Auerbach, a family friend.

On the court, Ferry remains a notch ahead of his classmate, but they are already learning to take advantage of each other's strengths. Standley is an outstanding passer and steady dribbler with a startling knack for finding the open man. Ferry--often the beneficiary of Standley bullets--is the more confident shooter. "The one thing about having both of these guys around is that underneath you have to keep your eyes and hands open at all times," says forward Joe Carrabino.

Playing less than a half each in Harvard's warm-up against the Irish national squad. Ferry and Standley combined for 14 points and displayed a fair amount of flashy ball handling. "It felt good," says Ferry, "because we already seem to know where each other is on the court."

From the start, the two have worked together, running, practicing and building a friendship that will no doubt pay off when McLaughlin turns to them to lead the team two and three years from now.

Standley recalls their September pick-up games with law students at Hemenway Gym: "Even when we were definitely in competition--I was even more than Bob--we got along, and learned to appreciate each other's game."

McLaughlin has already begun to fine tune his two hot rods to fit into the Crimson attack. He has Ferry working on his ball handling as a point guard and Standley circling in from the wings as more of a swing man. Both players are over 6'4" and neither need fear being physically overpowered in the Ivy League.

"It's always great to have tall guards who can move around well," says Carrabino, who is well-known for moving opposing players around from time to time.

As if things weren't rosy enough already for this dynamic duo, they say they've both found non-athletic life at Harvard as smooth as a swishing 20-footer and as exciting as a behind-the-back assist.

Ferry, in particular, has gotten star treatment from his dormmates. They cheered his every move against the Irish and afterwards presented him with a placard which said. "Go Playboy Kid--Pride of Weld North," referring to Ferry's mention in a college round-up compiled by the ever-popular soft-porn magazine.

The Playboy Kid concedes. "Yeah. it's been fun so far."