You also can't win if your big man is on the bench, as the 6-ft., 10-in. Trout was for the Merrimack contest. Currently plagued by a hand injury, Trout figures to platoon with Carrabino and the squad's other big man, Co-Captain Ken Plutnicki.

With that trio working the middle, the perimeters should be open for the outside shots of sophomore Greg Wildes and the Crimson's other former Rookie of the Year, Bob Ferry.

A standout guard his high school years at top-notch DeMatha High School in Washington, D.C. and his fist two years on the Harvard squad, Ferry should provide the consistent jump shot ability to complement the consistent inside ability of Carrabino.

So with the Carrabino-Trout-Plutnicki team sharing two spots on the court, and Wildes and Ferry taking two others, that leaves only the point guard position open.

And therein lies the Crimson's biggest question mark. Not so much because sophomore Pat Smith--the starter--and junior Kevin Boyle--the very able backup--don't have the talent to replace the graduated Calvin Dixon.

"The only problem I see there," McLaughlin says, "is inexperience."

Add sophomore Arne Duncan and freshman Keith Webster to that inexperienced but talented group and you come up with a Crimson squad that looks on paper like one of the best ever.

The Crimson will get a preview of just how good all that talent is tonight in its Ivy opener against Dartmouth, at 7:30 p.m. in Briggs Cage.