Playing against Carrabino in practice, the Chevy Chase, Md. native has impressed his weightlifting partner. "Bill Mohler brings a new air of excitement to the team," says last year's Ivy Player of the Year. "He's improved 100 percent.
"He's learning the intricacies of the game--he's learning the little things that will make a big difference."
The Boy Wonder is also picking up a thing or two, and not just on the court, where he says he still feels a bit nervous.
Dodson's adjustment from West Orange (N.J.) High School and its athletics--football as well as basketball--to college, he says, has been made easier by support from his mates, both team and room.
"I love my room--we have a good time," he says of life in Pennypacker. And as for the team. "They're very helpful, very supportive. It seems like they're looking out for you and want you to do well."
On a team that has more freshmen than members of any other class, that's not surprising. Dodson's level of interest in what some would consider his greatest field of expertise, however, is.
"I'm not a sports fan," he says. "I don't know anything [about professional or college sports]--I'd rather do something different" Like play tennis. Or read.
"I've always liked reading," offers the prospective Literature or English concentrator, who's enjoying Literature of the Outsider, Justice and Spanish, but not overjoyed with Ec 10.
Mohler, while he certainly seems to enjoy reading, is also devoted to other pursuits For one thing, he's a big fan of the Washington Redskins, Capitals and Bullets, the Chicago Cubs and the Baltimore Orioles.
He's also a longtime supporter of the Georgetown University Hovas, the defending national champs in basketball. "Even before they were good."
And in his spare time, he's enjoyed summer work in a molecular biology lab at the National Institute of Health That certainly fits into a schedule that includes French Calculus, Shakespeare and Organic Chemistry.
He may even turn out to be a Biochemistry concentrator. "I'm pretty interested in this DNA thing," remarks the University of Maryland and Wake Forest recruit, who says he's enjoying a friendly rivalry with his Yale graduate parents and sister.
Long Looks
Dodson, who got long looks from recruiters at Stanford, Princeton, Vanderbilt, William and Mary, and Holy Cross, is pretty interested, in basketball for right now, and says he and Mohler will "just have to get acclimated a little."
They seem to be acclimating to everything except life without gets and siblings. Mohler misses his mutt Stanley, Dodson his younger brother Michael - especially Harvard basketball.
"I think it's a tough experience for freshmen in general," McLaughlin says of the adjustment to college life, adding that the dynamic duo is "coming along."
"They add a lot to our team," says Ferry. And Carrabino offers the most encouraging thought. "It's only a matter of time.