YouTube potpourri XXVII.
The latest collection of videos from various corners of the Princeton basketball family. Above, ESPN's postgame package at Lavietes Pavilion. More clips, interviews and footage after the jump.
Wednesday News:
Richmond vs. St. Joe's - 7:00 pm ET
Minnesota vs. Northwestern - 8:30 pm ET - Big Ten Network
Princeton recruit Bobby Garbade recorded a double/double as Seton CC advanced to Friday's Section 4 Class B final.
The Princeton Packet has an article on the Tigers' win over Columbia.
Princeton Alumni Weekly digs into the archives and comes out with cover images and full articles on memorable Tiger tournament teams of the past 50 years.
The Yahoo! Sports team report for Princeton has been updated.
13 points for Mason Rocca as Armani Jeans Milano topped Dinamo Sassari.
It is the final regular season home game for Michael "Juice" Thompson and three other seniors as Northwestern hosts Minnesota.
Richmond needs a victory at St. Joseph's to clinch a bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
Here's an excerpt from the weekly press conference of Joe Scott.
YouTube potpourri XXIV.
The latest collection of videos from various corners of the Princeton basketball family. Above Hoya Hoops' debut episode of "Georgetown Breakdown." Game highlights and additional videos after the jump.
Items I've been meaning to scan.
A friend donated a stack of contributions for my Princeton basketball collection. While they've been sitting at the front of my home since before I drove down to James Madison, I didn't get a chance to scan them until today.
Click on any and all images to enlarge.
Visita giocatore di basket Mason Rocca.
Like he did in 2005 when he visited Naples, friend of the site and former Princeton manager Mike McDonnell was generous enough to share his Italian vacation photos.
McDonnell's overseas trip in the fall coincided with the New York Knicks' journey, where they played Armani Jeans Milano, captained by Mason Rocca.
Above, Rocca signs autographs at an outdoor NBA-sponsored pregame event next to the Duomo di Milano.
Sunday News:
Today's Game: St. Joe's (3-4 / 0-0) vs. Princeton (4-3 / 0-0)
Location: Jadwin Gym - Princeton, NJ
Time: 5:00 pm ET
Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB
TV: N/A
Internet: goprincetontigers.com
Series History: Princeton leads 7-6.
Last meeting: Princeton 70 St. Joe's 62 - 1/2/10
| St. Joe's | Princeton | |
| 1-1 | Home Record | 2-0 |
| 1-3 | Away Record | 1-2 |
| 1-0 | Neutral Record | 1-1 |
| 111 | RPI | 104 |
| 165 | Sagarin | 125 |
| 169 | Pomeroy | 129 |
| 63.3 | Points / Game | 71.9 |
| 69.0 | Points Allowed / Game | 71.4 |
| .404 | FG% | .473 |
| .708 | FT% | .698 |
| .271 | 3PT FG% | .398 |
| 33.9 | Rebounds / Game | 34.9 |
| 9.1 | Off. Rebounds / Game | 9.6 |
| -5.4 | Rebounding Margin | +3.2 |
| 11.9 | Assists / Game | 15.4 |
| 13.7 | Turnovers / Game | 14.4 |
| 5.7 | Blocks / Game | 3.4 |
| Jones: 16.6 | Points | Hummer: 15.9 |
| Galloway: 5.7 | Rebounds | Hummer: 6.9 |
| Galloway: 2.9 | Assists | Maddox: 3.1 |
| Jones, Galloway: 1.0 | Steals | Maddox: 1.1 |
| Aiken: 3.6 | Blocks | Maddox: 1.7 |
| Hilliard: .564 | FG% (Min: 5 FGM) | Hummer: .625 |
| Galloway: 1.000 | FT% (Min: 5 FTM) | Mavraides: .875 |
| Quarles: .538 | 3PT FG% (Min: 5 3FGM) | Mavraides .500 |
Richmond vs. Arizona State - 2:00 pm ET - FSN Arizona
The Trenton Times previews today's game.
Kareem Maddox is the subject of a piece in the Ventura County Star.
Georgetown (8-0) found a different way to win on Saturday against Utah State. HoyaHoops has postgame audio from John Thompson III, Chris Wright and Henry Sims.
Mercer (3-5) dropped a tough 68-62 decision to Delaware Tech Stanton.
A 66-63 win over Cal State Northridge returned Denver (2-6) to the win column.
Oregon State (3-4) was outclassed by Colorado, 83-57.
Richmond heads west to face Arizona State.
Rush The Court checks in on the Ivy League.
Chris Young and Will Venable comment on San Diego's decision to trade Adrian Gonzalez.
Mason Rocca scored six points and had nine rebounds in AJ Milano's 82-75 Euroleague loss to Union Olimpija.
Around the Ivy League: Penn (4-3) pulled away from Army in the second half for a 68-52 victory. Yale (3-4) lost by four at Vermont. A 19-1 second half run helped Michigan achieve a 65-62 win over Harvard (5-2). Brown (4-3) scored the last eight points of a 62-54 decision versus Maine. A John Daniels free throw broke a tie with 2.7 seconds left as Columbia (4-4) rallied to beat Stony Brook, 73-72. Cornell (2-6) fell 71-66 at Minnesota.
Friday News:
Today's Game: Rutgers (0-0 / 0-0) vs. Princeton (0-0 / 0-0)
Location: Jadwin Gym - Princeton, NJ
Time: 7:00 pm ET
Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB
TV: N/A
Internet: goprincetontigers.com
Series History: Princeton leads 72-44.
Last meeting: Rutgers 58 Princeton 44 - 12/3/09.
| Rutgers | Princeton | |
| 0-0 | Home Record | 0-0 |
| 0-0 | Away Record | 0-0 |
| 0-0 | Neutral Record | 0-0 |
| 170 | RPI | 98 |
| 150 | Sagarin | 181 |
| 149 | Pomeroy | 138 |
| 67.5 | Points / Game | 60.4 |
| 71.7 | Points Allowed / Game | 53.3 |
| .424 | FG% | .441 |
| .666 | FT% | .718 |
| .332 | 3PT FG% | .359 |
| 35.8 | Rebounds / Game | 30.6 |
| 11.9 | Off. Rebounds / Game | 8.9 |
| -3.0 | Rebounding Margin | +1.1 |
| 13.7 | Assists / Game | 11.7 |
| 14.6 | Turnovers / Game | 13.1 |
| 7.1 | Blocks / Game | 3.3 |
| Mitchell: 11.8 | Points | Davis: 12.7 |
| Mitchell: 6.1 | Rebounds | Mavriades: 4.3 |
| Coburn: 3.3 | Assists | Mavraides: 1.4 |
| Miller: 1.0 | Steals | Mavriades: 1.2 |
| Miller: 1.1 | Blocks | Maddox: 0.9 |
| Johnson: .519 | FG% (Min: 10 FGM) | Connolly: .571 |
| Mitchell: .894 | FT% (Min: 10 FTM) | Saunders: .947 |
| Coburn: .367 | 3PT FG% (Min: 10 3PTM) | Davis: .428 |
Team stats are from last season.
Player stats include returning players only.
Georgetown vs. Old Dominion - 7:00 pm ET - Comcast SportsNet Plus
The Citadel vs. Richmond - 7:00 pm ET
Denver vs. UC Santa Barbara - 7:30 pm ET - BTI Invitational
Northwestern vs. Northern Illinois - 9:00 pm ET - bigtennetwork.com
Columbia vs. La Salle - 7:00 pm ET
Cornell vs. Albany - 7:30 pm ET
Brown vs. Fordham - 8:00 pm ET
Previews of tonight's game can be found in the Trentonian, the Star Ledger, the Princeton Packet and the Daily Princetonian.
I don't think any of these pieces have correctly guessed the Tigers' starting lineup.
The 14-Game Tournament has great analysis as to why Princeton will trump Harvard for this season's Ivy crown.
The Home News Tribune says this could be the last season for Rutgers/Princeton. Didn't they run the same article last year? There's also a game preview and three keys to victory as part of their coverage.
Former Princeton guard Pete Hegseth wrote an essay for Veteran's Day.
The Washington Post discusses how a guard-heavy Georgetown squad means the Hoyas are no longer "Big Man U."
One of the toughest non-conference schedules in Division I starts with a season-opening trip to Old Dominion for Georgetown.
Floor general Michael "Juice" Thompson and Northwestern begin on the road at Northern Illinois.
Richmond hosts The Citadel.
UC Santa Barbara and Denver open up day one of the BTI Invitational in Eugene, Oregon.
Mason Rocca scored three points off the bench as A.J. Milano won a Group D Euroleague match against Power Electronics Valencia.
Eleven years of season openers.
Above, the Jadwin Jungle waits for the opening tip of the 2005-06 season.
This post was originally penned on November 7, 2009 as "A Decade of Season Openers." I've added last season's game against Central Michigan and revamped these essays for the upcoming season.
Many of these pieces come from the listserv that predated this web site.
Read on for the stories of the past 11 Tiger tipoffs in sequential order...
November 12, 1999 - Syracuse 60 Princeton 43 - NABC Classic
Sophomore center Chris Young led three Princeton players in double figures, but the Tigers fell in an early 17 point hole at Syracuse and never closed within single digits. Here's what I wrote at the time:
Went to the usual sports bar to watch the game and was there 30 minutes before the dish guy told me the game was "blacked out" on their system [even though I called to confirm earlier in the day]. Jumped in the car and drove frantic across Chicago to another sports bar who had been phoned by the first sports bar to make sure they had the game. Listened to the five of the first seven minutes on WHWH over the car phone [thanks, dad!]. It was 5-2 Syracuse when I got in the car. What started as "first game of the season jitters" steamrolled into a 34-11 Syracuse halftime lead. For the record, I made it into the second sports bar at 23-6. Oy.
When I closed my eyes at the half, my nightmares were filled with an endless series of filled passing lanes and defenders with arms spread wide. Syracuse had played very good defense, Princeton had made some forced choices and missed any type of shot they had. It was not looking good. Then, as the second half started, you could see a bit of fire in this year's model of the Princeton Tigers.
Players cut harder.
Passes were smarter.
Defense was tighter.
By the middle of the second half, I was wondering how this game would have gone had Mason Rocca not had to sit out [with what I assume is a groin problem, even though I did not see him on the bench]. Sure, Etan Thomas missed the game for Syracuse as well, but I never thought any sort of "what ifs"would be close to crossing my mind at halftime. The Tigers dug a "Penn game hole" but could not climb all the way out of it.
This is what young teams do. They grow up. They make mistakes. Then they hit shots. They cut Syracuse leads to 49-36 with 6:15 left and don't get any closer, even with some good chances to do so. They throw the ball away and give up easy second chances at the other end. I think this team will grow up at a rate that pleases many. Sure, they will lose a good number of games, but by the time Ivy season rolls around, the schedule will have been worth it. I have been known to take a loss pretty hard in my day, but I feel better than I expected about a seventeen point opening night loss.
Watching Chris Young, who is now HUGE [esp. in his torso], be the stable force in the middle, kicking the ball out to players that will learn what to do with it in time, made me feel good about this coming season. Hell, Lafayette blew Princeton out to start last year, and if this season could mimic that one I'd be more than happy.
Some other thoughts:
Decent touch-passes on occasion from Young [drawing the double team] to Walton, including one pass that lead to a lay-up I'm pretty sure was goaltending. Nice play to create points working off of the attention Young draws. Young also hit two DEEP three-pointers. As predicted, it will take some outside shots and some hard cuts from the guards to keep Young from being double/triple teamed. By the time Princeton hit several three-pointers it was just too late.
Baah provided decent spark and a quick step to the basket, even if he still did look out-of-control from time to time. He caused several second chances and hit some nice shots however. Like the cornrows.
Chapman showed decent touch and great range. I hope his "practice shot" is back.
Tiger court spacing needs some work.
As does the speed in which they swing their passes around the arc.
Princeton will play Missouri @ 7:00 pm EST on Saturday night in Syracuse, NY.
I'll be back at this new sportsbar watching progress happen quickly.
Friday News:
After this year's Ivy Media Poll was released, I received a few questions from readers about preseason perception versus end of season reality.
Looking at the past 25 years of Ivy polls (minus 1991, 1995 and 1997, which are unavailable), I concluded that the media has not accurately predicted the top three finishers once in that time frame!
Last year was the first year since 1999-00 that the top two turned out as projected.
However, the prior five Ivy champs have all been properly prognosticated.
The Princeton athletic department, the Ivy League office, the Trentonian and the Trenton Times have more on the Tigers' new role as frontrunner for the 2010-11 Ivy crown.
This season's full Ivy League Basketball Media Guide is available on-line.
The Columbia Spectator shares what order they think this year's poll should have been in.
Here's a transcript of Bill Carmody's remarks from Big 10 Media Day.
Sports Illustrated's Luke Winn stopped by Northwestern practice and filed a report.
The Pac-10 also held their Media Day yesterday. Here are select quotes from Oregon State's Craig Robinson.
Mason Rocca had six points and 10 rebounds as Armani Jeans Milano fell to Union Olimpija in Euroleague Group D action.
The Denver Post reports on the Pioneers' budget battle as they attempt to upgrade their basketball program while remaining Division I in all of their sports.
Following up on a story from last week, the NCAA elected to conduct yearlong study into the summer recruiting period instead of following the Collegiate Commissioners Association's recommendation to abolish the July recruiting period.
Friday News:
Richmond was projected to finish third in the Atlantic 10 by the conference's coaches and media.
In Euroleague Group D play, Mason Rocca scored 10 points as Armani Jeans Milano upset CSKA Moscow in Russia.
The Oregonian reports from Thursday's Oregon State practice at Gill Coliseum, one that even a fire alarm couldn't stop.
Thursday News:
Today's articles primarily follow up on stories from Wednesday. The Press & Sun-Bulletin has a piece about the verbal commitment to Princeton of Bobby Garbade.
Who Runs Gov gives you five things to know about John Rogers.
The Stateman Journal offers more from Oregon State media day.
Mason Rocca scored 17 points in Armani Jeans Milano's Euroleague loss to BC Khimki Moscow Region.
Mason Rocca against the Knicks.
Sunday was a rare chance to see Mason Rocca play on American television, probably my first time watching Rocca in action since the 2006 FIBA World Championships. I just finished the New York Knicks vs. Armani Jeans Milano game on my DVR and I've posted a running commentary after the jump. - JS
