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.
I completely forgot that I shot and edited this montage for the Friends of Princeton Basketball from Reunions 2003 of the alumni basketball games at Jadwin Gym.
Pictured at different junctures: John Thompson III, Kyle Wente, Ray Robins, Pete Hegseth, Steve Goodrich (with platinum blonde hair!), Jerry Price, Ahmed El-Nokali, Chris Doyal, Jim Lane, Frank Sowinski, Nate Walton, Stu Orefice, Jason Osier, Stan Adleston, Sean Gregory, Gabe Lewullis, Rich Simkus, John Trubee, Christopher Kilburn-Peterson, Jamie Mastaglio, Brian Earl and many others I can't as easily ID.
A handful of videos I haven't had found the right moment to post that have been collected over this week, starting with one of 30+ brief clips from Princeton's 1998 win over UAB. Brian Earl receives a nifty left-handed Chris Young backdoor bounce pass and scores between two defenders.
I realized this morning that Princeton's Brian Earl has been involved in each of the Tigers' last six postseason victories. Four as a player, two as assistant.
Also offering articles on the CBI quarterfinal from people who were not in attendance are the Daily Princetonian and the Trentonian.
Princeton's next opponent is a depleted St. Louis team who is down to just eight scholarship players after guard Justin Jordan broke his thumb in Monday's double overtime comeback versus UW-Green Bay.
Richmond's Chris Mooney may interest Seton Hall, among other institutions.
A Tennessee senior forward who had been considering Princeton and Cornell has opted for the Big Red.
Cornell center Jeff Foote had the following to say about the Tigers' defense: "Princeton is one of the best defensive teams I've ever played against...Princeton - not taking anything away from Wisconsin or Temple - is a better defensive team than them. We're used to that style of play and we're ready to play that kind of game."
Will Venable has taken a circuitous route to the major leagues.
Here's a Trenton Times preview of last night's action that I initially missed.
Penn State won its first Big Ten game of the season, 81-70 at Northwestern (17-9). The Wildcats' only hope to make the NCAA tournament is to claim their conference's automatic bid. Doesn't look good.
Two Town Topics articles went live yesterday, one on the Cornell/Princeton game and the other profiling Tiger assistant Brian Earl.
The Daily Princetonian has an article on Ian Hummer .
Princeton recruit T.J. Bray scored his 1,000th point in Catholic Memorial's 84-57 win over Brookfield Academy.
Mercer has clinched first place in the Garden State Athletic Conference. Tonight they have a make-up game against top-ranked and undefeated NJCAA Division I Juco powerhouse Harcum.
Former Tiger Mike Bechtold will participate in an all star game featuring Lancaster-Lebanon League greats on July 16th.
Princeton moves up to the fifth slot in this week's Schuylkill 16. Serves me right for voting Penn State last. Ugh.
The Harvard Crimson reports that Andrew Van Nest and Keith Wright will not play this weekend.
Today's Game:Princeton (12-5 / 3-0) vs. Dartmouth (4-15 / 0-5) Location: Leede Arena - Hanover, NH Time: 7:00 pm ET Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB TV: N/A Internet: goprincetontigers.com Series History: Princeton leads 136-61. Last meeting:Dartmouth 66 Princeton 63 - 2/21/09.
Princeton
Dartmouth
5-1
Home Record
4-6
7-4
Away Record
0-9
0-0
Neutral Record
0-0
111
RPI
326
130
Sagarin
334
119
Pomeroy
332
59.9
Points / Game
54.1
53.8
Points Allowed / Game
64.5
.429
FG%
.385
.740
FT%
.625
.364
3PT FG%
.283
29.7
Rebounds / Game
29.9
8.5
Off. Rebounds / Game
10.5
-0.9
Rebounding Margin
-7.2
12.0
Assists / Game
10.5
13.8
Turnovers / Game
14.1
3.2
Blocks / Game
2.5
Davis: 13.7
Points
Dixon: 8.3
Mavraides: 4.8
Rebounds
LaBove: 4.8
Schroeder: 3.5
Assists
Pride: 2.2
Schroeder: 2.1
Steals
Rufful: 1.6
Buczak: 0.8
Blocks
Weeden: 0.6
Finley: .583
FG% (Min: 10 FGM)
Pride: .429
Schroeder: .875
FT% (Min: 10 FTM)
Dixon: .767
Saunders: .486
3PT FG% (Min: 10 3PTM)
Trotter: .341
Villanova vs. Georgetown - 12:00 pm ET - ESPN
Temple vs. Richmond - 2:00 pm ET - ESPNU
Harcum vs. MCCC - 3:00 pm ET
Florida Atlantic vs. Denver - 6:00 pm ET
Oregon vs. Oregon State - 6:00 pm ET - FSN NW
Brown vs. Cornell - 7:00 pm ET
Yale vs. Columbia - 7:00 pm ET
Penn vs. Harvard - 7:00 pm ET
Denver is back at home for a game against Florida Atlantic.
Princeton recruit T.J. Bray scored 23 as Catholic Memorial bested Waukesha West by six.
Here's a Princeton Packet article published prior to the Harvard/Dartmouth weekend.
Around the Ivy League: Cornell (19-3 / 5-0) stayed perfect in the conference, beating Yale (8-14 / 2-3) by a 90-71 score. Columbia (8-11 / 2-3) rallied for a 65-54 win over Brown (7-15 / 1-4). Penn (3-14 / 2-1) survived four shots by Dartmouth (3-15 / 0-5) in the final 15 seconds of a 53-51 Quaker win.
Coach Earl talks about his job responsibilities, his days as a Tiger and his fellow assistants. I would have pegged Coach Newsom for more of a "My Super Sweet 16" fan, myself...
For the second straight year, Mercer County Community College scrimmaged the Princeton JV at Jadwin Gym. It was a great opportunity to watch two teams who run similar offenses face off and also a chance to observe several Tigers in action that have seen very limited playing time this season.
While the scrimmage was scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm ET, the two teams started early. Mercer had opened with a 10-0 and Princeton had answered with 10 straight by the time I arrived.
Someone I had not seen play previously was freshman forward Mack Darrow - who showed a quick first step to the basket and scored 17 points. Darrow wore #34 on Monday night instead of his varsity jersey number of #41. The Tiger JV was outfitted with Princeton's 2008-09 uniforms, complete with VBK memorial patches.
Scott Greenman is coaching the Princeton JV this year. Greenman sported a shirt from a Princeton summer camp with the mantra "One Goal. Make Shots" printed on the chest.
Greenman's offensive strategy was to put four players around the perimeter and repeatedly lob the ball inside to Brendan Connolly (#45). The Tigers' freshman center showed why he scored so many points back in Tennessee, finishing well when surrounded and making all three of his free throw tries.
Connolly ended the exhibition with 20 points.
Junior guard Bobby Foley, who hit seven three pointers the last time these two teams met, scored 11 for the Tigers. Foley was a surprising 1-5 at the free throw line.
John Comfort (#15, shooting) scored 13 points in the first half and 16 points in the second half, including six three pointers. His 29 led all scorers.
Comfort also had...
...an explosive breakaway dunk.
Back-to-back Comfort triples made it a 73-57 Tiger lead late in the second half.
Coach Levy joked that Greenman's strategy to play man on defense after missed Tiger shots and zone on defense after made Princeton baskets threw his team off.
The Vikings went on a 22-6 run to close within two in the final minute.
Javis Williams had a pair of impressive dunks during the run...
...plus a ridiculous 360 move to score inside.
Two Darrow free throws iced the win for the Princeton JV.
Greenman, assistant coach/shot clock operator Brian Earl, Levy and Roger Gordon talk after the scrimmage's conclusion.
Scott Greenman's heroics at Cornell in double OT (27 points on 10-15 shooting) and versus Yale (27 points on 8-11 shooting) during his senior year.
Brian Earl and Princeton close down William Neal Reynolds Coliseum and silence the 12,000+ in attendance with a 61-58 win in the second round of the 1999 NIT followed by footage from the Tigers' improbable comeback at the Palestra earlier in the same season. That hesitation dribble is a thing of beauty.
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
