Harvard Basketball Coach Pete Roby is a really nice guy, but he sure has a funny way of showing it to his players.

The Crimson cagers opened the season in the Lapchick Tourmanent--a tourney Big East power St. John's has won 13 consecutive years--and were easily defeated by the Redmen, 105-60.

Then Harvard met Boston College two weeks ago, and the high-flying Eagles with star Dana Barros crushed the Crimson, 121-80.

And this weekend Harvard will hit the road to take on a pair of national powers in Stanford, Friday in California, and Duke Monday in Durham, N.C.

"I think its a learning experience, a reward for our guys putting time and effort in," Roby said.

"We're all really excited about it," forward Kevin Collins said. "Now that we have [the Brandeis] game behind us, we can just look ahead to playing against two top-20 caliber teams. We have the athletes to play with them and we're going to go out and try to knock one of them off."

That may not be so easy to do, especially against the Blue Devils. In addition to being one of the best teams in the nation, Duke--ranked fourth in the current issue of Sports Illustrated--is especially tough at home.

The Blue Devils fans are infamous for their mean and nasty treatment of visiting players. In fact, the Blue Meanies may be even worse hosts than, gasp, Cornell hockey fans.

"I don't know what it's like since I've never played down there," Collins said, "but I like playing in front of a mean crowd. It pumps me up."

In the last meeting at Durham, Duke pounded Harvard 89-52, and last year at Briggs Cage, the Blue Devils triumphed, 98-86.

It is unlikely the young Crimson squad will defeat Stanford or Duke. Harvard never has beaten either team, losing five times to each squad.

"But that doesn't mean we're not going there to win," Roby said. "We're going to Stanford to win the game. We're going to Duke to win the game, but you have got to be more realistic about the Duke game, obviously. Very few people beat them there."

Why Mikey Can't Shoot: Tri-Captain Mike Gielen can shoot the ball. He really can.

Last year, the junior averaged 10.2 points per game for the Crimson, while shooting a solid 47.4 percent from the field.

But this season, Gielen is struggling. Sure, the point guard is averaging 13.8 p.p.g., but his shooting percentage is a frigid 34.5 percent.

Worse still, Gielen has hit only 9 of his 36 three-point attempts--a 25 percent rate. And Gielen takes a majority of his shots from three-point range.

Fortunately for the Crimson, Gielen's cold hand hasn't had as bad an effect as most people would have expected. The emergence of freshman Ralph James, Collins, and Tedd Evers as legitimate scoring threats has taken some of the heat off the point guard.

Still, Gielen's slow start has been very frustrating. "I don't think I've hit the rim more and not made a shot in my entire life," Gielen said.

Shot...And A Save!

But Gielen's shooting woes haven't affected the rest of his game. He clearly has established himself as the floor leader on offense--dishing out 33 assists at a clip of 6.6 per game--and leading the full-court press with his hawking style, averaging 2.8 steals per game.

Against Brandeis Sunday, Gielen played the role of the playmaker well, getting eight assists, including one on a fancy between-the-legs bounce pass for a Collins layup. But Gielen also appeared tenative to take open shots, not firing up his first shot until there was only 1:25 left in the first half.

"I don't want to get worried about my shooting, because I know I can shoot the ball," Gielen said. "If I keep putting it up its going to go in eventually."

"I think most of it is confidence," Roby said. "He needs to be patient, and he needs to be confident that the shots are going to drop."

Triple Sect: The closer you are to the basket, the easier it is to score, right?

Wrong! It doesn't seem to be easier for James.

The Crimson's top scorer is 6-for-11 from three-point range--a sizzling 54.5 percent rate. However, James is only shooting at a 40.8 percent clip on his two-point attempts.

Collins and Evers. Harvard's third and fourth leading scorers, are also shooting slightly better from behind the triple line.

Sentenced to Death: The 1987 Worst-Looking Mascot Award goes to the Brandeis Judge--who attended Sunday's game wearing a gown and judicial wig.

The winner will be presented with a razor blade and several cartons of Nair to remove the bristles from his legs before he dons his short robe again.

Stats The Way It Goes: In every game the Crimson has played so far, the team which held the lead at halftime eventually won the game.

Despite its 4-2 record, Harvard has been outscored by its opponents, 519-473, averaging 78.8 points a game while giving up 86.5 points.

Musical Chairs: At the beginning of the season, Roby promised that he would take advantage of his squad's depth, and so far, the coach has been true to his word.

Every Harvard player has seen time in at least two games, while nine cagers have played in every game this year. In addition, ten Crimson players have played an average of ten minutes in each of the six games.

Freshman File: James is currently leading the Crimson in scoring, pouring in 15.5 points per game. Although the freshman is shooting only 42 percent from the field, his take-it-to-the-hoop style creates openings for Harvard's big men.