Harvard's Kyle Casey played last season on a broken foot

Harvard has a chance to be scary-good next season.

This isn't a secret, mind you. Everyone that follows college hoops should be well aware of the fact that the Crimson, who were able to keep Tommy Amaker from succumbing to the overtures of Miami earlier this spring, bring back everyone -- literally everyone -- from a team that finished tied for first in the Ivy League, coming within a buzzer-beating jumper from Douglas Davis of the NCAA Tournament.

Harvard played their way into the at-large conversation last season, something that is unheard of for a team from the Ivy League, which is why is should concern you that the Crimson were able to do that despite having the guy that was supposed to be their best player coming into the season battling a broken foot all year long. Jeff Goodman explains:

Casey broke his right foot in a workout last October -- just about a week before the official start of practice.

Six weeks on the mend -- and when he came back, he struggled, both emotionally and physically.

Nine games into his return, he looked like a shell of himself in Harvard's win at Boston College, finishing with just five points in 25 minutes. However, he had his moments, such as a 17-point, 13-rebound effort against Columbia at home on Jan. 28.

Then it happened again against Cornell in late January.

In an identical manner, as he began to explode off his foot, Casey felt it.

"I didn't say anything right away," Casey admitted. "I finished the game and got X-rays a few days later. They said I broke it again."

Exact same break, exact same bone.

Imagine trying to play on a foot that you broke twice in the span of five months? Imagine playing on that foot if the surgery you went under to repair didn't prevent you from re-breaking the bone? That's tough.

Casey had another surgery on the foot immediately after the season ended and has recently been cleared to get back out on the court. With Harvard's leading scorer Keith Wright, a burly, 6'8" post presence, joining Casey -- an athletic, 6'7" forward -- along the in the front court, the Crimson have a couple of forwards that should be able to matchup with just about any front court in the country. Throw in the talented perimeter quartet of Oliver McNally, Christan Webster, Brandyn Curry, and Laurent Rivard, and the Crimson are a safe bet as the favorite to win the Ivy this year.

Harvard will get a crack at UConn in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.

That will be a much better game than you expect when the defending champs take on a team from the Ivy League.