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By
Jon Teitel
jonteitel@hotmail.com
October, 2004
2004-05
Princeton Basketball Preview
The Veterans: The
Tigers return six seniors from their NCAA Tournament team of last year,
including two 1st-team All-Ivy members (Judson Wallace and
Will Venable). This team is built to win it all this year, and they
will not get rattled under any circumstances.
The Youngsters:
Princeton’s six freshmen are quite diverse. 6’10” Robert Bruesewitz is
spending the fall as the tallest member of Princeton’s football team,
while Zach Woolridge hopes that he can someday follow his father
Orlando’s footsteps into the NBA.
The Departed: The
Tigers lost three integral components from last season due to three
separate reasons. Ed Persia graduated as one of the most prolific free
throw and three-point shooters in school history. Harrison Schaen
decided to take the year off due to “family-related circumstances.” The
key loss will be the one man who did not play a single minute last year:
Coach John Thompson III, who moved onto Georgetown after winning three
Ivy titles in a four-year span.
The Strengths and
weaknesses: Princeton’s big men stack up well to an NBA team, with four
players standing over 6’9”. One of Princeton’s hallmarks is its
defense, and the Tigers only allowed opponents to score 56.8 PPG last
year (#3 in the nation). However, the Tigers could have conducted a
shooting clinic themselves, as they led the Ivy League in shooting with
48.6 FG%. Additionally, there is no better team in the clutch: the
Tigers played in six conference games that came down to the final
minute…and won all six of them.
The Star: Wallace and
Venable were the only teammates to be selected 1st-team
All-Ivy last year, and they are poised to join that select group again
this spring. Wallace became the first Tiger in 27 years to score at
least 20 points in five consecutive games, shot a conference-high 91.7%
(11-12 FG) against Yale on February 20, and made a conference-high 12-12
free throws against Dartmouth on March 6. Venable almost followed his
father Max’s path into baseball after being picked by the Baltimore
Orioles in the 15th round of the June baseball draft, but
decided to return to New Jersey and try to improve on his astonishing
59.5 FG% in 14 Ivy League games last season.
The Schedule: As
usual, Princeton will prepare for their Ivy League opponents with a
difficult non-conference road schedule, including eight of its first
nine on the road. Princeton plays two decent teams from last year’s NCAA Tournament (Monmouth and either UTEP or Alabama State), but the two
big tests come in a tournament hosted by Syracuse in November and a trip
to Final Four participant Duke in January. February is not much easier,
with seven of nine Ivy League games on the road.
The Imports:
Princeton has players from across the United States, but not a single
player from a foreign country. However, it ain’t broke, so there is no
need to fix it.
The Coach: The
Tigers’ prize recruit is new coach Joe Scott, the former Air Force coach
who led that school to its best season in school history and a berth in
the NCAA Tournament. Scott is a 1987 Princeton graduate who played for
and was an assistant coach under the legendary Pete Carril. Thompson
set the bar very high, but Scott has a decent chance of matching him.
The Prediction: You
wanted the best, you got the best: Princeton has won at least ten Ivy
League games during each of the past eleven years, and are favored to
make it an even dozen this season. Look for the Tigers to make their 24th
appearance in the NCAA Tournament this March, and if not, then the rest
of the NIT field is in for a world of hurt.
Learn
more about the author Jon Teitel and how to contact him here
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