Congratulations to Princeton assistant coach Brian Earl, who will be inducted into the Al Carino Memorial South Jersey Basketball Hall of Fame on February 9th.
Judson Wallace had a near-"triple double" over the weekend, scoring 18 points, grabbing 13 boards and handing out nine assists as Benetton Treviso defeated Scavolini Spar Pesaro, 103-97.
Staying in Italy for a moment, Mason Rocca tallied seven points and snatched eight rebounds in Armani Jeans Milano's 85-78 decision over Snaidero Udine.
The Daily Princetonian talks to Nick Lake about Princeton's loss to St. Bonaventure.
For a different viewpoint pertaining to Saturday night's game, there's the BonaBlog.
Where in the world is Will Venable? Playing for Cibao in the Dominican-Puerto Rican Interleague. Venable, who is hitting .292 this winter, was 1-5 with a run scored on Saturday as Gigantes topped Carolina 4-2.
What's happening with Tiger alums in Europe? Noah Savage scored 17 points as SAM Massagno Basket lost 89-80 to the Lugano Tigers. Judson Wallace with 10 points and five rebounds for Benetton Treviso in a 84-65 victory against Eldo Caserta.
I wrote a piece for this week's Town Topics on Judson Wallace. Enjoy! - JS
Photo: Suns.com
After Success in NBA Summer League, PU Alum Wallace on a 5-Year Pro Plan Jon Solomon
For Judson Wallace, the "three-year plan" has become "the five-year plan."
Despite enduring a disappointing senior season for the Princeton University men’s basketball team in 2004-05, Wallace immediately set his sights on playing in the NBA by 2008.
The 6’10” Wallace, who has been playing pro ball in Italy since graduating from PU, took a step closer towards achieving his goal with a successful five-game campaign playing for the Phoenix Suns in the 2008 NBA Summer League.
Starting at forward for the Suns in a slate of games played on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas, Wallace averaged 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds a game as Phoenix posted a 2-3 record.
“I’m pretty happy,” said Wallace, reflecting from his parents’ home in Atlanta, where he was enjoying his very brief off-season among family and friends.
Wallace’s experience with Phoenix was more productive than his time as a Houston Rocket in the 2006 Summer League, where he was scoreless in 22 total minutes of play as the Rockets’ starters monopolized the available playing time.
“I think game-by-game [with Phoenix], as I got more experience I got better and better, and then in the last game I thought I played pretty well,” said Wallace, who scored 1,090 points in his Tiger career, the 16th-best total in program history
In Phoenix’s final game, against the Washington Wizards, Wallace connected on his first three three-point shots, scoring 15 points, snatching nine rebounds, and swiping four steals in a 88-69 victory.
With first round draft pick Robin Lopez away from the Suns for the afternoon, working out against Team USA, Wallace had space to move inside and more plays were called for him.
“Everybody knows going in that Summer League is about developing draft picks, so if you’re not one of the guys who was drafted, you’re not going to get a lot of shots,” said Wallace.
“Early on, I wasn’t even taking my open shots. I was trying to make the extra pass, stuff like that. I was a little tentative. I’ve never thought of myself as a selfish player, so I have no problem passing up shots and getting those guys the ball. D.J. [Strawberry], Alando [Tucker], and Robin, I knew they were going to get all the shots. That’s who we ran all the plays for. I just tried to go out there and play real good defense and rebound and score when I could.”
Wallace left Las Vegas with a better idea of what he needs to do between now and next summer to put himself in a position to join an NBA roster.
“[Suns assistant coach] Igor Kokoskov said I need to get to the point where my three pointer is just dead-eye and I need to work on closing out a little,” added Wallace. “Other than that he loved the way I play and my chemistry.[Assistant coach] Dan Majerle said I impressed him. He did not have many expectations for me and I showed him a lot.”
Wallace’s success this past season with Pierrel Capo d’Orlando of Italy’s Lega A caught the Suns’ attention. Wallace was the leading rebounder in top Italian league, averaging 10.7 boards to go along with 14.4 points per game.
“[The Suns] reached out to my agents during the season,” said Wallace. Towards the end of the season they said ‘’We’d like to take a look at Jud’ to my agent.”
Despite averaging just 4.8 rebounds a game during his Princeton career, Wallace had confidence in his ability to go to the glass.
“I think I’ve always been a good rebounder,” Wallace asserted. “In the Princeton system, offensive rebounds were tough to come by. A lot of times as center I was out at the top of the key.”
In Italy, Wallace has made the most out of the more freewheeling style of play.
“I think I have a pretty good motor,” said Wallace. “Rebounding is all about creating opportunities. I try to go after every rebound, which is creating the most opportunities for me. I’m not the most athletic guy. I am not the strongest guy. I think I just have a pretty good nose for the ball and I never stop. I won’t compare myself to Dennis Rodman, but it is a similar mentality.”
This season, Wallace will suit up in Italy for Benetton Treviso, where he has signed a two-year contract. Wallace will be joined by two fellow Americans - former Towson University guard Gary Neal and Wright State guard DaShaun Wood.
“[Benetton] has a whole new team this season. I think the town is going to be really excited. My expectations are to win. I think we’re going to have a good year,” Wallace said.
Wallace will line up against another Princeton product in Lega A, center Mason Rocca ‘00, who is in his eighth season playing professionally in Italy. Rocca is making his debut with Armani Jeans Milano this year.
“Mason is a warrior,” said Wallace. “Thankfully [as a forward], I don’t really have to guard him, but I always tell the people that guard him, ‘you have to box that dude out’ because he’s got an unbelievable motor and he goes so hard. He’s given me a couple little pointers here and there.”
Next year at this time, Wallace hopes to still be building off his professional successes, setting his plan for its fifth and final stage.
“It started out as a three-year plan,” admitted Wallace. “I went to Vegas because I wanted to open some eyes and show some people that I could play on any level, just to set it up for next year. I am going to put some money in my pocket, try and get as good as I can possibly be for next summer and that’s my summer to make it in the NBA. Now it is a five-year plan, but as long as I get to the NBA, the plan is successful. We’ll see how it goes.”
Highlights from the Phoenix Suns' final game of the 2008 NBA Summer League, plus some behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the Suns' coaching staff. Judson Wallace is wearing #3 in the clips.
C. Young (4-4) - 5.0 IP 2 H 0 ER 2 BB 8 K 4.12 ERA. 88 pitches, 53 strikes.
Chris Young struck out six of the first seven batters he faced in his return to the Padres rotation, but his performance was overshadowed by Diamondbacks starter Doug Davis' flirtation with a perfect game. Young left with the scoreboard blank and Arizona went on to win 3-0.
Before the game, Young spoke to the North County Times about the 'perks' of being hit in the face with a line drive.
The Princeton Packet interviewed Judson Wallace after the NBA Summer League had wrapped up.
Princeton coach Sydney Johnson was on hand to watch Session IV of The Hoop Group Elite Camp in Ewing.
The Old Spice Classic bracket has been released. Georgetown will play Wichita State on Thursday, November 27th at 2:00 pm ET.
The fourth of five Summer Suns games will be played tonight against Portland at 10:00 pm ET. It will be broadcast on NBAtv.
Chris Young was encouraged after his first rehab start, throwing 59 pitches over 3 2/3 innings for Single-A Lake Elsnore on Wednesday.
The USA U18 national team, with John Thompson III serving as an assistant coach, fell in the gold medal game of the 2008 FIBA Americas to Argentina, 77-64.
Is Chris Mooney about to sign an extension at Richmond?
Noah Savage was a guest speaker at Montgomery High School's basketball camp.
Princeton Summer League Hall of Fame inductee Rick Simkus reflects on 18 seasons of games at Community Park.
In NBA Summer League action, Judson Wallace started at forward for the Phoenix Suns, scoring two points. Wallace made his only field goal attempt in 18 minutes of play, a lefty jump hook in traffic. The Suns blew a late lead and fell 100-97 to Houston.
Will Venable is hitting .393 with runners in scoring position for the Portland Beavers.
Judson Wallace is stateside - appearing on the Phoenix Suns' roster for the 2008 NBA Summer League. Games start July 14th in Las Vegas.
What is it like to watch the NBA draft at your home with two future draft picks? John Thompson III tells the Washington Post. Thompson was also honored last week with a caricature on the walls of the Alumni House.
While no dates have been set, Georgetown's 18 Big East conference matchups have been announced.
Chris Young threw 45 pitches over three simulated innings last Saturday.
Two recruiting tidbits - a 6'9" Georgia center says he has heard from Princeton (among others) and there are details about two brothers who attended the Princeton Elite Camp earlier this summer.
A Georgetown press release revealed that a NCAA waiver will allow Florida State transfer Julian Vaughn to play for the Hoyas in 2008-09.
Konrad Wysocki scored 12 points as Germany defeated Poland in a warm-up for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
The Eurobasket All-Italian SerieA Awards are out and Judson Wallace received Honorary Mention recognition while Mason Rocca is on the All-Domestic Players Team.
Konrad Wysocki will suit up for Germany at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament later this month.
Will Venable had two hits and two walks as Portland defeated Sacramento 6-1.
Chris Young has been cleared to start playing catch again.
Jeff Goodman at Fox Sports reports that Brown will hire Jesse Agel as their new head coach.
princetonbasketball.com was founded on April 28th, 1998 in an attempt to provide fans of the Princeton Tigers and Ivy League basketball with the best on-line source for up-to-date news and information. We have since expanded to launch a companion site, Georgetown Basketball News.
As these sites have continued to grow we have increased our coverage to include additional teams with Princeton connections - the Richmond Spiders, Denver Pioneers, Oregon State Beavers, Fairfield Stags and Mercer County Community College Vikings - plus former Tigers playing professional baseball and basketball all over the world. This site is not directly affiliated with the Friends of Princeton Basketball, Princeton University or the Princeton athletic department.
Sun. 11/10 vs. Florida A&M
Sat. 11/16 at Butler
Wed. 11/20 vs. Lafayette
Sat. 11/23 at Rice
Tue. 11/26 vs. George Mason
Sat. 11/30 at Bucknell
Sat. 12/7 vs. FDU
Wed. 12/11 at Rutgers
Sat. 12/14 at Penn State
Fri. 12/20 vs. Portland*
Sat. 12/21 vs. Pacific*
Tue. 12/31 vs. Kent State
Sat. 1/4 at Liberty
Sat. 1/11 at Penn
Sun. 1/26 vs. Kean
Fri. 1/31 at Harvard
Sat. 2/1 at Dartmouth
Fri. 2/7 vs. Columbia
Sat. 2/8 vs. Cornell
Fri. 2/14 at Brown
Sat. 2/15 at Yale
Fri. 2/21 vs. Dartmouth
Sat. 2/22 vs. Harvard
Fri. 2/28 vs. Yale
Sat. 3/1 vs. Brown
Fri. 3/7 at Cornell
Sat. 3/8 at Columbia
Tue. 3/11 vs. Penn
2,503 - B. Bradley, 1962-65
1,625 - I. Hummer, 2009-13
1,550 - D. Davis, 2008-12
1,546 - K. Mueller, 1987-91
1,451 - P. Campbell, 1959-62
1,441 - C. Robinson, 1979-83
1,428 - B. Earl, 1995-99
1,365 - B. Scrabis, 1985-89
1,321 - G. Petrie, 1967-70
1,292 - H. Haabestad, 1952-55
1,277 - G. Lewullis, 1995-99
1,239 - B. Taylor, 1970-72
1,207 - S. Goodrich 1994-98
1,133 - F. Sowinski, 1975-78
1,130 - R. Hielscher, 1991-95
1,122 - C. Thomforde, 1966-69
1,099 - T. Manakas, 1970-73
1,090 - J. Wallace, 2001-05
1,088 - C. Belz, 1956-59
1,079 - B. Hauptfuhrer, 1973-76
1,076 - B. Roma, 1976-79
1,071 - C. Mooney, 1990-94
1,064 - A. Hyland, Jr., 1960-63
1,062 - L. Brangan, 1957-60
1,057 - A. Hill, 1973-76
1,054 - D. Mavraides, 2007-11
1,044 - S. Johnson, 1993-1997
1,031 - J. Hummer, 1967-70
1,010 - W. Venable, 2001-05
