All spring, head coach Larry Anderson talked up Noel Hollingsworth. He talked about his size, his Division I experience and everything he could bring to the basketball team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

But Billy Johnson, a fifth-year senior, just didn’t see it.

As the team gathered on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Mass. to play pick up basketball during the summer, Johnson had his doubts about the transfer from Brown University. The new guy had a strange looking shot and lumbered up down the court.

‘My first impression was that his style of play was unorthodox,’ said Johnson, who graduated in May, but is using his final year of eligibility. ‘He is not the most fluid player running down the court and doesn’t look like a tremendous athlete, but he has this funny-looking jump hook that goes in every time. I realized he was the real deal quickly.’

The rest of the Division III college basketball world is only now finding out what Johnson discovered over the summer. A 6-foot-9-inch native of Salt Lake City, Hollingsworth leads the No. 14 Engineers in scoring at 20.2 points per game and grabs 9.1 rebounds per contest.

On Dec. 3, Hollingsworth started a weeklong tear, scoring 30 points and corralling 11 boards against Newbury College, followed by a 28-and-7 performance, then a 23-and-13 game, followed by two more where he scored 30 and 34, respectively.

After making their first NCAA Division III tournament last season, the team is off to a fast start, as they are 17-2, with one loss coming against Division I Harvard. The Engineers sit atop the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference, something Anderson gives Hollingsworth a lot of credit for.

‘Noel is a very talented guy who plays his role extremely well and is one of the hardest workers I have ever coached in this business,’ said Anderson, who is in his 15th season as MIT’s head coach. ‘I would hate to see where we might be as a program without Noel.’

The truth is, Anderson was almost forced to see where the program would be without his star center.

After recruiting him fervently out of high school, Hollingsworth’s college decision came down to Brown, Lafayette and MIT. After visits to Brown and MIT, Hollingsworth was torn, but decided to take advantage of the opportunity to play Division I basketball.

Anderson was crushed when Hollingsworth called with the news.

After a coaching change and a rough freshman year, Hollingsworth decided Brown was not the best fit. He contacted Anderson and this time, the conversation went much better.

‘I called coach and told him about my situation and basically he told him I had to decide pretty soon,’ Hollingsworth said. ‘A week later I said if I can get in, I am coming to MIT and he was pretty happy.’

That was a pretty big ‘if,’ given MIT is one of the top academic institutes in the country. Unlike several schools, the basketball coach finds out from the admissions office if his recruits are accepted.

While the MIT squad is more than committed in the classroom, they put the same amount of passion and effort into basketball – but the Engineers are not exactly your typical basketball team.

While most teams discuss X’s and O’s before a game, Hollingsworth can recall walking into the locker room and hearing his teammates talk about class. Opposing crowds yell things such as, ‘That was the nerdiest high-five I have ever seen,’ and the team spends any time away from the court in labs and classrooms studying electrical engineering and magnetism, to name a few.

‘I used to tell people where I played basketball, and they would always say ‘Oh, MIT has a basketball team?” Johnson said. ‘Our goal is to change that perception and what people do not realize is that for everyone on this team, school is very important, but basketball is a very close second, if not right up there with school.’

The perception is certainly changing, as Jimmy Bartolotta, MIT’s top scorer a year ago, now plays overseas in Italy.

Johnson, having witnessed Bartolotta’s transformation and what it takes to get to the professional level, sees another Engineer with the potential to continue the MIT tradition.

A tradition of athletics, that is.

‘The biggest thing with Jimmy was that he wasn’t the fastest, tallest or most athletic, but his work ethic set him apart,’ Johnson said. ‘I never thought I would see a harder worker, but Noel has that same drive. He is only a sophomore, and if he continues his development he definitely has the potential to play overseas.’

No. 2 Kansas at No. 11 Kansas State

Saturday, 7 p.m., ESPN

Kansas State has already knocked off one of the nation’s top teams when it gave Texas its first lost of the season. They will have another chance Saturday night when the Jayhawks come to Manhattan, Kan.

Kansas 80, Kansas State 78

No. 8 Duke at No. 7 Georgetown

Saturday, 1 p.m., CBS

Duke’s big three, Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith, are carrying the Blue Devils. But the Hoyas’ big man, Greg Monroe, will be too much for Duke’s lack of an inside presence.

Georgetown 74, Duke 68

Northwestern at No. 5 Michigan State

Saturday, 7 p.m.

Northwestern has surprised a lot of people this season with wins against Purdue, Notre Dame and Illinois. But, Tom Izzo has his team playing great basketball, as the Spartans have reeled off nine-straight wins.

Michigan State 81, Northwestern 70

Marquette at No. 19 Connecticut

Saturday, 12 p.m.

Marquette has caught bad break after bad break. The Golden Eagles have lost a flurry of games by two or less points, including tough losses to West Virginia, Villanova (twice) and DePaul. Connecticut and Jerome Dyson have really stepped up since their coach left for medical reasons, including an impressive win against Texas.

Connecticut 80, Marquette 75

No. 4 Syracuse at DePaul

Saturday, 2 p.m.

Syracuse is 7-1 in the Big East and one of the top teams in the nation. DePaul was just happy to get its first regular season conference win since 2008 against Marquette, as they sit at the bottom of the Big East at 1-7.

Syracuse 84, DePaul 68

restern@syr.edu