For the third straight season, Mercer County Community College scrimmaged the Princeton JV at Jadwin Gym. This game remains an enjoyable opportunity to watch two teams that run similar offenses face off and is also a chance to observe several Tigers in action that have seen limited playing time this season.
The game tipped in front of single digits on Friday afternoon four hours before the varsity and Harvard would do battle.
Postgame audio - Coach Howie Levy:
On January 15th Mercer County Community College (9-13) lost 70-67 at Manor, the Blue Jays' first and only win this season.
10 days later the Vikings weren't going to let what transpired in Jenkintown happen again on their home floor.
Holding a four point lead five minutes into the first half, Mercer set out on a methodical, well-executed zone offense clinic as Manor (1-14) switched away from man.
It was the opposite of what transpired in the teams' first meeting, where MCCC's execution versus man-to-man forced Manor into a zone and the Vikings moved the ball well but did not make any of their open shots.
Seeing 2-3 defense, Mercer teased the Blue Jays with swift, precise perimeter passes but did not solely settle for outside jumpers, working the ball to a player overloading the defense at the free throw line or slipping inside on the baseline to mix the palette up with a layup.
A four point lead quickly became 21-12 and then rapidly 30-17 on an open three by Rodney Walters, one of six triples for Mercer in the first half.
"It is nice that we came back and played well," said head coach Howie Levy. "The ball really moved and our defense was good. It is what we're trying to get to. This is one of the few games where we have a little margin for error."
Pitt vs. Georgetown - 7:00 pm ET - ESPN2
Northwestern vs. Iowa - 8:30 pm ET - Big Ten Network
Penn vs. La Salle - 7:00 pm ET - Comcast
Needing to improve rebounding and cut down on turnovers, #19 Georgetown hosts #5 Pitt.
Northwestern visits Iowa.
Princeton recruiting target Desmond Hubert is waiting to see if North Carolina will make him an offer.
Lior Levy, the son of former Tiger Howie Levy, is a starting big man at Princeton High School.
If Oregon State were a stock, Craig Robinson suggests you buy now.
"Hard Work!"
Supplemental photos from today's Mercer game courtesy of Stephen Goldsmith.
Coach Howie Levy:
A day after their four point loss to CCRI, the Mercer Vikings (0-1) were back home Sunday for the second afternoon of the Mercer/Burlington Classic against the Suffolk N.Y. Clippers.
Flat on defense and repeatedly missing open three point shots from the same space on the far right side of the Suffolk zone, the Vikings found themselves in an early 15-4 hole.
"I don't mind them taking the right threes but I think the threes tend to go in after some more ball movement," said Mercer County C.C. head coach Howie Levy. "They were open but the weren't necessarily the greatest shots - that's part of the learning process to know you're always going to get that shot, let's see if we can do a bit better."
While the season openers for Division I members of the "Carril Cradle" won't come until a week from tonight, former Princeton center Howie Levy's Mercer County Community College Vikings kick off 2010-11 with a pair of games at their home gym on Saturday and Sunday afternoon as part of the Mercer/Burlington Classic.
If you're eager for a basketball fix before Princeton hosts Rutgers, this pair of 2:00 pm ET tipoffs for the defending Region XIX champions versus CCRI and Suffolk-Seldon NY should tide local basketball fans over nicely.
I caught up with Levy briefly on the phone this evening to find out how preparations are going and to preview his team's opening weekend.
I haven't had a chance to come see you guys practice during the preseason. How has the team been looking?
Of the three years, this group is probably the most talented top-to-bottom. We may not have anybody as good as our guy Uros [Kovacevic] last year, but I think as a group we're more talented and probably less stubborn for the most part. They've picked up things pretty quickly and we looked pretty good in our scrimmages.
Despite knowing the dangers of being optimistic about your team's prospects I'm somewhat optimistic.
There's a lot of turnover in Junior College basketball. Who are some players on the Vikings people should keep their eyes out for this season?
We've got a kid named Amir Bell who is 6'5" and transferred from Delaware State. There are two freshmen from Philly - Rodney Walters and Dave Melton. Rodney looks amazingly like Michael Jordan. They're really good.
A couple guys from last year - this kid Gary Carthan who was a backup center is going to play a lot of minutes. Anthony Obery, who was the third guard last year is going to play a lot and we have a kid Jon Jernigan who played two years ago and took time off and is back in school again.
There are probably 10 guys I could put in a game. I don't know if I will, but there are probably 10 guys I would be comfortable playing.
Is prepping for this year noticeably different than year one or year two?
I think we're further advanced - maybe not knowing more but I think they're more willing to play together and pass the ball, so it has been somewhat easier to teach stuff. I think last year we had some guys that were very good at a couple of things so you almost had to change the way you played to play into different guys' strengths and weaknesses.
I think this team, we can sort of play what I would consider "normally," where the ball goes where it goes and the shot is going to be taken by the guy that is open and not necessarily trying to orchestrate things quite as much.
Do you sense your guys are eager to start playing against faces they don't recognize?
We've had three scrimmages which were pretty good but I think they're excited. They seem to have some good feelings for each other. They're actually a pretty pleasant group to be around for the most part. When you have a team that's willing to pass the ball and willing to play defense, they're likely the kind of guys you want to be around.
Finally, tell me about this weekend's games.
We've opened up with this little "mixer," they call it. Us and Burlington play two teams. We don't play each other because we play twice during the regular season. We open with CCRI, Community College of Rhode Island, who is always a really tough team. We split with them last year. They're always picked as one of the top teams in Division II.
I don't know much about Suffolk-Seldon NY. They're going to play at noon tomorrow so I'll know more about them before they play on Sunday!
A benefit for Derek's Dreams is being held on Wednesday night at Nanina’s in Belleville. There will be silent auction items provided by John Thompson III, Armond Hill, Pete Carril, Bill Bradley, Joe Scott and more.
The Trenton Times ran an article about Howie Levy's involvement with Derek DiGregorio's family and his work helping put on this gala.
You can walk alongside the Georgetown basketball coach and Troop Thompson at the 2010 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Washington, DC on May 1st.
Will the shoulder of Chris Young be ok? At this point, nobody is sure.
Will Venable (video) hit a sacrifice fly that scored a run as San Diego won its fourth straight, 3-2 over San Francisco.
Richmond junior guard and Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Kevin Anderson has put his name in for the NBA draft, but will not hire an agent.
There's a short Craig Robinson Q&A in the Chicago Tribune.
Hoopdirt mentions some potential names in the Columbia coaching search.
A story from the Princeton Athletic Department about the basketball team's involvement in the Friends of Jaclyn program.
Uh oh. Here we go again? Chris Young will miss the Padres' home opener with tightness in his right shoulder.
Postgame video of Princeton recruit T.J. Bray after his team won the WIAA Division 2 state title and he was named Wisconsin's "Mr. Basketball."
Bray will play in a Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association all-state game on June 19.
Here's a season-ending feature on Howie Levy's Mercer County Community College squad.
Joe Scott thinks the basketball is beginning to bounce Denver's way.
As anticipated, Columbia coach Joe Jones officially resigned yesterday to become the Associate Head Coach at Boston College.
I pride myself on many things, one of which is my status as "king of the $0.99 eBay purchase." Here's the latest find, a program from Princeton's game against Penn at Jadwin Gym in the 1981-82 season.
Highlights from this 46 page booklet are scanned after the jump. Click on any image to enlarge.
Tuesday, March 16th
MCCC vs. (6) Kishwaukee - 7:30 pm ET
NJCAA Division II Tournament
Wednesday, March 17th
Duquesne vs. Princeton - 7:00 pm ET - HDNet
CBI Tournament
(7) Northwestern vs. (2) Rhode Island - 7:00 pm ET - ESPNU
NIT
Boston vs. Oregon State - 10:00 pm ET - HDNet
CBI Tournament
Harvard vs. Appalachian State - TBA pm ET
collegeinsider.com Tournament
Thursday, March 18th
(10) Saint Mary’s vs. (7) Richmond - 2:50 pm ET - CBS
NCAA Tournament
(14) Ohio vs. (3) Georgetown - 7:25 pm ET - CBS
NCAA Tournament
Friday, March 19th
(12) Cornell vs. (5) Temple - 12:30 pm ET - CBS
NCAA Tournament
As you know by now, the Tigers are in the CBI. Read official press releases about Wednesday's home game on the Princeton and Duquesne web sites.
Richmond (26-8) missed a chance to tie with seven seconds left and Temple won their third straight Atlantic 10 Tournament championship, 56-52. The Spiders drew a seven seed and will play St. Mary's in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Providence, RI.
Joining them in the Ocean State is three seed Georgetown, who will play Ohio on Thursday night. The Hoyas are the three seed out of the Midwest region.
One day earlier and a few miles down the road, Northwestern visits the Rhode Island Rams in the first round of the NIT.
Defending champion Oregon State will get a chance to defend their CBI crown. The Beavers host Boston University on Wednesday night.
Steve Donahue and Cornell were paired against mentor Fran Dunphy's team and Temple in the NCAA Tournament.
Harvard grabbed a CIT bid and will play at Appalachian State.
Today's Trenton Times has a Mark Eckel column on Howie Levy and the Mercer men's basketball team.
A bit more detail about Catholic Memorial's WIAA Division 2 sectional final victory. In the game, Princeton recruit T.J. Bray had 16 points, 15 rebounds, plus five assists and two steals.
Chris Young pitched three solid innings versus the Indians.
The two HLs are both winners.
That was the message Mercer coach Howie Levy received from former Vikings head man Howie Landa on the way back to central New Jersey from Scranton this evening.
The veteran Landa, who coached the Mercer County Community College men's basketball team for over 20 years, winning two national titles, called to congratulate Levy after the Vikings defeated Lackawanna 79-69 to win the Region XIX Tournament.
Mercer advances to the 16 team round robin NJCAA Division II Championship Tournament starting March 16th in Danville, Illinois.
Sophomore sharpshooter Uros Kovacevic scored 24 points and was named tournament MVP. Paco Boussougou added 14 for the Vikings, who claimed the Region XIX title for the first time since 1998.
"The last three games have been pretty similar. Three tough teams," an elated Levy said over the phone while his team watched Bad Boys II on the bus home. "Our defense was terrific. We've just been playing great."
"They became a team about a week ago," Levy added. "We've been working hard all year but it has been sort of up and down. After Harcum beat us and we had a couple bad practices it sort of all came together."
The Vikings and the Falcons split their regular season series, with Lackawanna winning at home by 16 and Mercer picking up a three point decision in West Windsor for their first victory over the Falcons in nine years.
The rubber game went to Mercer, who has won 10 of their last 11. The Vikings head to Danville with a 20-12 record. "We got down early by eight points and the played a little too fast," Levy said of how the championship game unfolded. "We ended up taking four point lead at halftime."
"Early in the second half we got a lead and managed to extend it to 10-12 points and kept it there."
"They were so happy. It was really nice," Levy added when asked to describe the scene after the final buzzer. "They were jumping around, truly happy."
"It is quite an accomplishment for these guys. They came a long way."
After the game Levy was honored as Region XIX DII Coach of the Year.
On the heels of last week's discovery of 1980s Princeton basketball highlights comes another unexpected treat - nine short clips from earlier in the decade documenting a variety of successful Princeton basketball plays.
My educated guess is that this clip and several others after the jump come from the second game of the 1984-85 season, a 51-48 loss at Delaware, as Joe Scott (who would have been a sophomore) and Howie Levy (who would have been a senior) are on the same team. That's Levy scoring inside above.
I've tried to add details where I could figure them out, but if you can contribute additional notes, please share in the comments!
