Surprise! I've inched out of college basketball reporting retirement to join Coach Sydney Johnson & Lawrence Schuler as a correspondent for THE Ivy League Hoops Hour, a weekly podcast which is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and everywhere else you get your shows! If you liked this site you'll enjoy their show greatly and I highly recommend subscribing.
My friend Stan Adelson died earlier this year. He was 94.
Stan was someone who was always around the Princeton basketball program, and he cared about the Tigers to a degree that few I’ve known could match.
With his passing we’ve lost one of the last connective tissues that rode team busses with Butch van Breda Kolff during the Bill Bradley era and was also present straight through to the modern day.
Though it was clear this moment was coming, I’ve had a hard time collecting my thoughts since I learned the news. The following may not be entirely linear I still wanted to write down my fond memories of Stan in one location.
Milton basketball coach Lamar Reddicks served as an assistant at Harvard from 2000-2007, so he knows first-hand what it takes to excel in the Ivy League.
Reddicks thinks his 6'10" senior big man Alec Brennan has the skill set to be a very good player in the conference from jump with the potential to eventually be truly outstanding.
After taking the lone official visit of his recruitment at Princeton the weekend before last, Brennan himself was visited by Tigers head coach Mitch Henderson seven days ago and on the Milton Academy campus Brennan informed Henderson that he would be bypassing myriad high major offers to join the orange and black's 2014 recruiting class.
Brennan narrowed his list of suitors earlier in the summer to eight programs: Brown, Davidson, Harvard, Princeton, Purdue, Stanford, Wake Forest and Yale.
I subsequently had a chance to talk by phone with Reddicks about Brennan's decision and how it came to pass. Exclusive quotes and analysis plus links to numerous player evaluations and videos can all be found after the jump.
Links to our exclusive profiles and news on the Princeton class of 2014. That's Amir Bell above.
Amir Bell - 6'4" : 170 lbs - East Brunswick High School
Alec Brennan - 6'10" : 215 lbs - Milton Academy
Mike LeBlanc - 6'6"+ : New Hampton School
Aaron Young - 6'1" : 170 lbs - Virginia Episcopal School
Point guard Aaron Young was the third player to join Princeton's 2014 recruiting class, committing in late August. The Virginia Episcopal School senior reportedly chose the Tigers over interest from Brown, Fairfield and Loyola of Maryland.
Yesterday I had a chance to talk with Young's current coach, former University of Virginia standout Curtis Staples. Exclusive quotes and analysis from Staples plus links to player evaluations and videos featuring Young as a both scorer and a distributor can all be found after the jump.
After making an official visit to Princeton over the weekend, sources are reporting that highly regarded 6'10" Milton Academy power forward Alec Brennan verbally committed to join the Tigers' 2014 class. According to ESPN, Brennan held offers from Iowa State, Kansas State, Maryland and several other major conference schools.
Previously Brennan had narrowed his list to eight programs: Brown, Davidson, Harvard, Princeton, Purdue, Stanford, Wake Forest and Yale.
Brennan is the second three star prospect coming to Princeton next season, joining guard Amir Bell.
Learn more about Brennan at his Yahoo!, 247 Sports and Scout profiles.
Several highlight packages and interviews can be found after the jump.
The re-invention of Will Venable continues, and no one is enjoying Venable's breakout season as much as Princeton baseball coach Scott Bradley.
Here's video of Venable taking Roy Halladay deep for his 22nd home run of the season.
John Thompson III was elected to the National Association Basketball Coaches' board of directors.
Thompson's Hoyas added a highly touted power forward to their 2014 recruiting class.
Speaking of recruits, Alec Brennan made an official visit to Princeton over the weekend.
Fairfield is hosting their second-annual day-long coaching clinic on October 20. Sydney Johnson has again put together an impressive list of guest instructors, as Bill Carmody, Seth Greenberg and Mitch Buonaguro with all be joining him. That's over 800 NCAA victories combined by the guests!
Johnson appears on a David Aldridge list titled "College Basketball Coaches Who Were Studs as Players."
You can watch Johnson discuss integrating many new faces into his program for 2013-14.
Judson Wallace talks about what he'll bring to Olimpia Milano.
It seems that Chris Young pitched for the first time since late May, throwing a pair of innings for the Nationals' Gulf Coast League team last month and going three innings for the Auburn Doubledays on September 3rd.
Richard Stengel is leaving Time Magazine for a job with the State Department.
Several of you sent me this piece about the declining Academic Progress Rate at Harvard.
Princeton picked up a commitment from 6'6"+ small forward Mike LeBlanc last month. Earlier this week I was able to finally catch up with LeBlanc's high school coach Pete Hutchins to talk about the second member of the Tigers' 2014 recruiting class.
LeBlanc - who will play his second season at New Hampton School in 2013-14 after arriving from Dover - reportedly decided on Princeton over offers from Rice, Yale, Brown, New Hampshire and Binghamton.
Exclusive quotes and analysis plus links to player evaluations, photographs and videos featuring LeBlanc can all be found after the jump.
Gary Walters will step down as Princeton's athletic director at the close of the 2013-14 academic year.
The complete Georgetown schedule for the upcoming season has been released.
August was a career month for Will Venable, who compares rhythm at the plate with shooting a free throw. Home run number 21 (video) for Venable gave him both the San Diego season records for most HRs at Petco Park and most lead-off homers in a Padres career. Venable's slugging percentage tops the National League since the All-Star break.
Dave Winfield, Ken Caminiti, Phil Nevin and Will Venable. Those are the only four San Diego Padres to have at least 40 hits and at least eight home runs in a single month. Venable finished August 40-for-109 at the plate with the National League's top slugging percentage. Then yesterday Venable was rewarded with a two year deal worth $8.5 million dollars.
Richmond, Oregon State, Fairfield and Denver all announced their 2013-14 schedules.
The Stags got word that Pitt transfer Malcolm Gilbert will be eligible to play this season.
USA Today has Joe Scott's Pioneers ranked 51st nationally.
Yesterday Aaron Young held a press conference to announce he was heading to Princeton. Look for profiles on Young and Mike LeBlanc coming to the site soon.
Italian top division team Cantu is reportedly interested in signing Ian Hummer.
With Hummer's graduation, Princeton is sixth in the Ivy League in returning player minutes.
Judson Wallace is out of action following hernia surgery.
Will Venable continued his amazing August, swatting home run number 20 (video) in a San Diego Padres victory. A statistical analysis of Venable's season shows that he may finally have found his groove
Craig Robinson addressed myriad topics at an informal Oregon State press conference.
A combination guard/forward has committed to Fairfield.
Fresh on the heels of Mike LeBlanc committing to Princeton comes word that 6'0" point guard Aaron Young from Virginia Episcopal School has pledged to the Tigers. Young reportedly chose Princeton over Brown, Fairfield and Loyola of Maryland.
While I'm emailing his high school coach for quotes, watch a full game video here.
Full 2012-13 season highlights for VES includes plenty of Young's work. He's wearing #2 in the clips. More videos after the jump.
