January 1, 2005 at 4:13 pm
Filed under Basketball, Catching up with..., Princeton
Sydney Johnson was the only three-time captain in the history of Princeton basketball, and was named the Ivy League's Player of the Year in 1997. Since graduating from Princeton in 1997 he has been playing basketball professionally in Italy. In 1998 he started for Gorizia Pallacanestro, the team that won the Italian Second Division championship. He was kind enough to answer some questions from princetonbasketball.com list members last month and give us an update as to what he is doing now. Here are your questions, and his responses.
This interview originally ran in June 1998.
How long have you been in Italy?
This is my second full season in Italy after graduating in 1997.
How did you end up there? Did you have any offers to play elsewhere?
Near the end of my senior year at Princeton, I was in contact with several agents and when I finally chose one to represent me he recommeded that I play in a mini-tournament in Treviso, Italy. That tournament was held in May of 1997 so immediately after turning in my thesis and finishing my final exams, I flew over to Italy, participated in the Treviso tournament and then flew back the day before graduation. Several teams in Italy saw me play and the one that I eventually signed with gave me the best offer. I had one or two offers from French teams (my father played professionally in France in the 60s) but I had my heart set on Italy because it is considered by many as having the best basketball in Europe.
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January 1, 2005 at 3:44 pm
Filed under Basketball, Catching up with..., Princeton
Mitch Henderson was co-captain of the 1997-98 Princeton Tigers. He finished his career at Princeton in the Tiger top ten for career three-point field goals made and in the top five for career assists and steals. During his senior year Princeton set team records for wins [27], longest winning streak [20 games], fewest losses [2] and highest winning percentage in a season [.931]. Mitch took the time to field some of your questions about his time at Princeton and his first year away from the team. Here are his responses.
This interview originally ran in July 1999.
What have you been doing in the year since your graduation?
Since graduation, I have been all over the map. I went to the pre-draft camp in Chicago with Steve Goodrich in early June. I had workouts for two days with the Sacramento Kings-run mostly by Coach Carrll-and then I attended the Atlanta Hawks mini-camp the last week in June. When the lockout started on July 1st, I was lost. Fast forward to late September. . .I took an offer to play in Ireland for a few months knowing that I would return to the States when the lockout ended. In January when the dust settled, I played in one game in the CBA before being invited to the Hawks training camp for five days. I've been in limbo since then-playing as much as I can and getting ready for a good summer of playing basketball. That's it in a nutshell.
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January 1, 2005 at 3:19 pm
Filed under Basketball, Butch van Breda Kolff, Catching up with..., Jamie Mastaglio, Princeton
Former Princeton Tiger James Mastaglio was a crucial part of a senior class that won three Ivy League titles and two NCAA tournament games. He was a starter on the 1997-1998 Princeton team that finished the season 27-2. James has been playing in Europe and coaching high school basketball since his graduation in 1998. James took the time to answer a wide variety of questions questions from princetonbasketball.com list members. Here are his responses.
This interview originally ran in August 1999.
What have you been doing in the year since your graduation?
Following graduation I was invited to attend a free agent combine in Treviso, Italy. I played very well there, making the All-Star team, and I was able to attract some interest from some of the top clubs in Europe, specifically Italy (they loved the last name). I signed a deal with a second division Italian team in Montecatini, Italy, in the same conference as Sydney Johnson. Unfortunately, the contract required me to obtain dual citizenship from Ireland, similar to what Syd has from France, and Jesse from Israel. I wasn't able to obtain that, so after about 6 weeks the contract was basically terminated and I came home.
Following my release I decided try my hand as a varsity basketball coach at my high school in Garden City, Long Island, about 30 minutes from NY. The experience turned out better than expected, as the team jumped from 5-13 the previous year to 15-3 this year, including a 12-0 conference record and a conference championship. The season ended abruptly with a first round playoff loss, but personally it was a great success.
Since the end of the season in March I've basically been trying to keep myself in shape in the hope that I get another shot in Europe, but at this point it doesn't look like that's going to happen. I've been down to school a number of times to work out with the coaches and current players, and I've tried to keep playing in spring and summer league games several times a week as well. However, the rigors of the real world seem to be on the horizon.
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January 1, 2005 at 2:57 pm
Filed under Basketball, Catching up with..., Princeton
princetonbasketball.com list member Phil Pallette interviewed Princeton recruit Mike Stephens and his high school coach, Denny Lewis in June 2001. Thanks to Phil for his work.
Napa High School - Napa, California. Tuesday, June 5, 2001.
It's baseball weather in the wine country; hot, sunny and a high blue sky. I arrive at the school shortly before mid-day. Final exams are taking place this week each day until noon, Thursday. Then it's graduation. There is ongoing remodeling taking place at this single-level school. I guess if you're going to have an earthquake, what's the fun of being on the second or third floor? Besides, real estate is relatively cheap out here; that is to say, relative to Manhattan, or San Francisco. With the exception of the tiny sandstone relic set back from the corner, the place looks like ultra modern 1970. An unemployed aroma of oak or jasmine forces exotic inhalations as I make my way to an administration office. All those hopeful trees that were planted thirty years ago now belong to high and shady rows. I ask an administrator what that wonderful scent from the trees might be. She is not sure, but she interprets it as the announcement of allergy season. When I mention my purpose in being there, I am told what a fine young man Mike Stephens is.
I meet with Coach Denny Lewis at his office, which is being remodeled. Coach Lewis played at San Francisco's Lincoln High School and is a San Francisco Hall of Fame guard. He could really play and was recruited to go to Cal by Pete Newell, who had recently won an NCAA Championship. So, no matter how modest Coach Lewis might be, Michael Stephens is lucky to have had a coach with big time playing experience that has been through the Pac 10 wars (even if it wasn't the Pac 10 back then - it fluctuated between being a five and eight team league in those days).
Coach Lewis states that his Napa High teams were not blessed with a lot of big players over the years and that he as a coach could not pass on the experience of working with a lot of big players to Mike. But I look at it a different way. Lewis has taught Mike how to play defense, team defense all over the court, and has seen Mike pick up the concepts of help defense when an opponent penetrates into the scoring area. Lewis is also an excellent teacher of shooting. In sum, Mike may be 6-10, but he has picked up small man skills like long-range shooting, a passing game and a defensive floor game that most big guys don't have. Coach Lewis now feels that it is time for Mike to start growing into his body and pick up some of the big man skills he will use in college.
While I am chatting with Coach Lewis, a 6-10 clean-cut lad quietly comes into the room. We shake hands and he sits down. This kid is blonder and taller than Wally Szerbiak, but somehow, this is who comes to mind. His facial features are not as severe. Maybe Gonzaga's Casey Calvary is a better comparison. Somewhere between a youthful version of those two guys. He weighs probably 220 plus. I forget to ask.
How much do you know about the Princeton offense?
How much do I know... They like to run the back door. It's something we do here sometimes. It's a very sophisticated offense. I've seen it first hand. They like to set screens and help their centers step out and take shots and things like that.
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January 1, 2005 at 2:03 pm
Filed under Basketball, Catching up with..., Princeton
Sean Jackson came to Princeton in 1989 as a transfer from Ohio University. He played three seasons for the Tigers. Sean was named All-Ivy in 1990-1991 and was voted the 1991-1992 Ivy League Player of the Year.
Princeton won the Ivy League title all three years Sean was on the team. When he graduated, Sean was Princeton's all-time leading three-point shooter, connecting on 235 of 501 attempts (.469) in his three seasons.
Jackson also held/holds the Ivy (56) and school (95) records for most treys in a season. A decade later, many of Sean's records still stand, including most consecutive games with a three-point field goal (56) and most three-point field goals made per game (3.1). Sean ranks behind only Brian Earl '99 for most three-point field goals in a career at Princeton, despite only playing three years for the orange and black. Sean recently took the time to answer your questions about his time at Princeton. Here are his responses.
This interview originally ran in September 2002.
After your freshman year at Ohio University, how did you end up transferring to Princeton?
My thought process during my freshman year at Ohio U. was not so much "Man, I got to get out of here" as much as it was "I wonder what it would be like to be involved in a setting that prioritized academics." Coming out high school, my only thought process was to go to a school that paid for college. I applied for transfer to Princeton shortly after the season ended and found out I was accepted in August - one month before classes started. I entered Princeton as a freshman because the school didn't accept any OU credits. Princeton was the only school I inquired about.
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January 1, 2005 at 1:50 pm
Filed under Basketball, Catching up with..., Princeton
Frank Sowinski, also known as "The Polish Rifle," was the 1976-1977 Ivy League Player of the Year and a two time All-Ivy selection. While at Princeton his teams won two Ivy League titles. Sowinski is, as of this interview, 12th on Princeton's all-time points list, despite playing just three seasons and playing without a three point line. For his collegiate career Sowinski averaged 15.3 ppg, shooting .556% from the field. Frank took the time to answer your questions about his time at Princeton. Here are his responses.
This interview originally ran in June 2003.
What have you been doing since you graduated from Princeton?
After graduating with an engineering degree in 1978, I played basketball in Europe after trying out for the New Jersey Nets. In Europe, I played on a touring team of American All-Stars in Italy and later I played in Madrid, Spain. I then came back to the states and received my MBA from the University of Virginia.
After receiving my MBA, I worked at an oil company, Amerada Hess, for three years and then spent 17 years with Dun & Bradstreet, eventually becoming President of the company. Most recently, I joined the Price Waterhouse Coopers consulting business as Chief Financial Officer to take them public, but ultimately helped sell the business to IBM late last year. Currently, I sit on the board of a pipeline company and I'm looking at several business opportunities in addition to coaching a lot of youth athletics.
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