March 21, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Filed under Basketball, Know Your Foe, Princeton
For the latest installment of the site's popular Know! Your! Foe! series, I exchanged emails with Michael Hadley of the web site Student on Sports, who I first came into contact with in the frantic hours between the NIT selection show and the completion of the CIT and CBI brackets last Sunday. Better known as @RedZoneIUPUI on Twitter, Michael is a self-proclaimed "IUPUI Jaguar super-fan" and your point man for information on Princeton's College Basketball Invitational quarterfinal opponent.
How much of a home advantage is "The Jungle" (Division I's 342nd largest gym, holding but 1,215 souls) and why don't people call it the Palin-dome?!
This year, IUPUI is 10-0 at the Jungle [their losses to IPFW and Ohio were both at Conseco Fieldhouse - JS], including a 24-point STOMPING of Summit champ Oakland. True, The Jungle only holds 1,215, but that means its a much more intimate atmosphere. At a lot of D-I places, they might pack 20,000+ people in for every game. But the people at the top row can't even be heard by the people towards the middle. The Red Zone (our student section) is only about three feet from the out-of-bounds line, directly across from the opposing bench - so I personally stand only 55 feet away, and sometimes as close as 10 feet from any given play. We never stop yelling and screaming, using signs, chants, and everything in between to distract and inhibit opposing teams. We welcome all challengers. Also, Palin-dome sounds a lot better than "The Jungle at the IUPUI Natatorium."
As primarily a commuter school, is there any "buzz" on campus about this game? How hard has it been to build interest in this team?
We've been building the Red Zone from the ground up, culminating at the Oakland game (the last "big" home game of the year). Four of us traveling to UMKC earlier this season showed a lot of nay-sayers and on-the-fencers that we leaders are very serious about creating the most feared student section in the Summit League. Themed nights are important because they give semblance to the section, not everyone has the same IUPUI gear the rest of us have but everyone has a black t-shirt or hoodie around. The team this year helped us get people to the games, we've only been this good a few times in our history. Next year should be just as good - we're losing our best player but our biggest upside guy is back, along with three other starters.
It looks like the Jaguars do two things very, very well - shooting the ball - both in the paint and outside the arc - and creating steals. Confirm? Deny?
Our game is a lot more of an inside-inside-outside game than anything. We shoot well from the outside because we create mismatches inside. Three starters and two bench players can all bang inside, and are all different enough to exploit nearly every team we play. Once the inside presence is established, it forces double teams on at least one guy. That opens up the perimeter for four of the smoothest-shooting guys I've ever seen in person. (Notice the over-lap: We play eight guys regularly, three of them can both get inside and shoot from range. The more this can be exploited, the better IUPUI fares.)
Robert Glenn and Alex Young are both in the Top 500 nationally in over eight different statistical categories. How important are they to IUPUI's success? Are they as multi-faceted as these numbers indicate?
When one of them is off...the other better be on. The "Big Three" - Rob, Alex, and Leroy Nobles - have outscored opposing teams themselves multiple times this year. Rob is one of the most (if not THE most) athletic down-low players in the League, and Alex has the most upside of any player in the League (via: CollegeInsider.com). They are one of only two 18+ ppg tandems in the nation, the other coming from one of the New Mexicos (previously a Duke combo - shows you how consistent those two are). If a team doubles Rob inside, he can fire it out to Alex on the perimeter and then step back until he's needed again. Alex fouled out of the Oral Roberts game with about four minutes to play (semi-finals of the Summit League Championship), and Rob had all but (I think) two points from there on. Both are good for 2-3 highlight reel dunks a night, both are tough enough to play inside but smooth enough to shoot from outside.
Describe they way in which IUPUI beats Princeton.
IUPUI beats Princeton if: 1) Turnovers ratio is at least 1.75:1 in favor of IUPUI. 2) Robert and Alex shoot better than 45% each, and score at least 37 combined points. 3) Princeton has more than 20 points in the paint. 4) Princeton shoots worse than 35% from distance. 5) Play fast-tempo basketball/Score at least 70 points.
How does a Tiger victory come to be? What has to happen?
Well I suppose I sort of described it before. 1) Shoot well from range. 2) Have a presence inside on BOTH ends of the floor. 3) Hold on to the ball!! 4) Take us (students) out of the game. [That will be the hardest thing for them to do, but if we're not in it our guys will fall flat.]
What if Princeton wears their black road jerseys AND there's a "blackout" on Monday? Hasn't anyone considered this? Help!
Well that would be okay! We don't really care what jerseys the opposing teams wear (THOUGH the White Out was for Oakland's black road jerseys). When we play IUEast/IUSouth Bend/etc, their colors are close to ours (via the IU affiliation), but we don't really make any special concessions to be sure no one matches them.
Tell me more about Coach Ron Hunter's involvement with Samaritan's Feet.
Each season (three years running now) Ron and scores of other coaches across the US take off their shoes to help raise awareness for the organization Samaritan's Feet. This group helps raise awareness - and shoes - for children in countries who either can't afford shoes or have literally no access to shoes at all. In my time at IUPUI, we're 1-1 on No Shoe Day. The students all take off our shoes too (and don't allow anyone in the Red Zone WITH shoes on) to help create perspective and understanding. Last year I vividly remember watching Mike & Mike (ESPN2 & ESPN Radio) EARLY in the morning when Ron was going to be on. He explained the cause to the co-hosts, but then was surprised with an EXTREMELY generous donation from Crocs (the shoe company). Everyone at IUPUI loves the cause - in fact his involvement in a cause like that is one of the big things that drew me to the school and basketball program in general.
Also, each summer the basketball team (lead by Coach Hunter, of course) heads out to a far away land to help distribute shoes to those in need. The players all say what a humbling experience it is, and the Red Zone is hoping to help raise money and shoes for them as we grow and expand.
Plug time! Let people know about your site!
I started the site as a all-around blog site so I can get all my sports-related thoughts out (Why I wish Tim Tebow would go away, my predictions for the World Cup, etc). It quickly evolved into nothing - I really didn't have time for it with class and work and everything. Once I realized the potential of Twitter and my blog, I began using both to get the word out about IUPUI basketball. We are really proud of our guys and everything they've done and will do in the future!
Thanks for your time, Michael. I look forward to seeing the Red Zone in person on Monday night! Answers to your questions about Princeton should be in your inbox later tonight.
February 16, 2010 at 6:00 am
Filed under Basketball, Know Your Foe, Princeton
For the latest installment of the site's popular Know! Your! Foe! series, I exchanged emails with Mr. Jonathan Tannenwald (pictured above with a special friend), Sports Producer for Philly.com, editor of the top shelf Soft Pretzel Logic blog and an expert on Big 5 basketball. He was kind enough to provide some knowledge on tonight's opponent, the Penn Quakers.
Penn has only one home win this season (1-7), but it was a stunner against the then-nationally ranked Cornell Big Red on Friday night. What happened at the Palestra?
I still don't really know. I was there, and it definitely happened, and the students rushed the court, and all that. But it still astounds me. Penn played out of its mind. All those shots that have missed over the last two and a half years went in the basket, especially for Jack Eggleston. Penn shot 56.3 percent from the field.
Penn led at halftime even though Cornell shot 56.5 percent in the first 20 minutes. I figured it couldn't be sustained, but the Quakers uncorked a 15-0 run to start the second half.
Then I started getting IMs from Andy Glockner and a Tweet from Pat Forde. I looked across the floor and saw that the usually barren Palestra student section was at least double its regular size. And the crowd was much louder than it had been in a while.
I've been battling a cold for a week or so, and Friday was close to the worst of it. As the second half wound down, part of me honestly wondered if I was seeing things.
In a way, I wasn't absolutely convinced of what happened until Penn came out really sluggish against Columbia on Saturday. Then I - and everyone in the building - knew the team had truly given everything it had against the Big Red.
How have the Quakers changed, either in personality or performance, since Jerome Allen replaced Glen Miller on December 14?
The wins aside, it's hard for me to really quantify what's happened. It's clear though, that the psychological side of the team is way better than before.
Something was broken in the locker room, especially during the first half of the season. It's not that the players didn't play hard for Glen Miller. They wanted to win just as badly in November as they do now.
As soon as I and the other reporters walked into Weightman Hall on the morning of December 15, it was clear that things were different. Then we went to talk to Zack Rosen, and we were hit with the full effect of what had happened.
I asked Rosen whether things felt different than it did before Miller was dismissed.
Rosen paused for a moment, then quickly and quietly answered: "Yes."
It still took a long time for the team to build up to the point where it could win a game. But this team has made more progress since Allen took over than anyone could have reasonably expected. It all built up to last Friday.
Whether or not you think the court-storming Friday night was fair, the emotions that came from the players and coaches were certainly real.
The Penn team defensive numbers on the Pomeroy web site are dreadful. Have they improved on this side of the ball since Allen arrived?
Yes, but I'm not an expert at reading defenses. I'll leave that to Howard Gensler.
Sophomore guard Zack Rosen - as good as advertised?
Without question. He can score and distribute, but his leadership qualities are what has really come through lately. No one in the league that I know sees him as a sophomore, and it would not surprise me if he wins Ivy League Player of the Year. That is not to dimish Lin's incredible talent, but in my opinion, Rosen has done as much if not more with less help than Lin enjoys.
Off the court, the interview I referred to above is one of the most composed and perceptive I've ever seen an Ivy League athlete give, especially given the circumstances of that day.
The other thing I appreciate about Rosen is his understanding of Penn basketball history. I don't root for the team, but I have been concerned for some time now about the low attendances at the Palestra. You and your readers know full well what the place is like when it's full and rocking, and Penn hasn't had that for a few years now.
It's worth noting that Rosen has an op-ed in today's Daily Pennsylvanian encouraging the students to come to tonight's game. That's the first time I've ever seen something like that in the DP.
Rosen has spoken a number of times of wanting to experience the kind of atmosphere that Allen enjoyed when he played at Penn. For as far as Penn and Princeton have fallen in recent years, it would be great if tonight can be a step towards bringing the crowds back to 33rd Street.
Mike Howlett has grabbed a whole lot of rebounds when healthy. How much of a difference does he make?
I suspect Steve Donahue and Joe Jones can answer that question better than I. Howlett's impact was certainly a big reason why Penn won Friday. The offense flows much better with him (and Dan Monckton) on the floor.
Howlett is a better rebounder and ballhandler than Conor Turley, and Howlett's movement around the floor forces opposing defenses to account for him. That frees up more space for Jack Eggleston, and it also gives Rosen another receiver of the ball in the post.
You were at the Penn/Brown buzzer-beater. What did you see?
I saw Dan Monckton release his shot after the light went on. I can't tell you when the horn sounded. It was all very fast, of course. But I also saw Matt Mullery release his buzzer-beating layup before the light went off at the end of the first half, and a few people told me afterwards the basket was fair.
So don't take my word for it.
Describe how Penn beats Princeton tonight.
They could shoot 56.5 percent from the field again, and Princeton could play rather like St. Joe's did when the Tigers went to Hagan Arena. A big student turnout would also probably give the players a boost.
There isn't much else I can think of. Even the ghosts (if you believe in them) can only do so much with how well Princeton has been playing lately.
What occurs for the Tigers to trip the Quakers?
I was really impressed by how Princeton played at Harvard. The defense was strong, the passing was crisp and the scoring was efficient. Most importantly, though, I felt like Princeton could easily continue to play at that level. It seems that they have, save for the hiccups against Columbia.
I also don't think Penn's defense is ready for the Princeton offense's cuts and movement, especially given how young many of the regular players are. Fran Dunphy rarely played underclassmen against Princeton because of the amount of work that is required to follow the movements for all 35 seconds of the shot clock.
Sydney Johnson's interpretation of the system seems more liberal to me than the interpretations of some of his predecessors, Joe Scott in particular. But the Tigers' discipline has really impressed me, and if they play to their capability tonight I expect them to win.
You've seen a lot of Penn basketball and a fair amount of Princeton over the past decade. Is there a single moment that stands out, either on the court or in the stands?
If I may, I'd like to offer one of each. My moment on the court was the Big 5's 50th Anniversary celebration in 2006. Every living City Series player and coach was invited, and many turned out. I got to meet such legends as Bob Weinhauer, Corky Calhoun and Bill Melchionni. It was a really amazing experience.
My moment in the stands was the first Penn-Princeton game I ever attended, in 2003. It remains near the top of the list of the loudest atmospheres I've heard in the Palestra. Only the 2006 and 2008 Villanova-St. Joe's games have matched it.
Plug time! Let people know about your web sites!
As long as your readers are still awake, I'd be happy to. My primary job is overnight editor of the sports page of Philly.com, the shared website of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News.
I write two blogs for Philly.com: Soft Pretzel Logic, covering college sports, and The Goalkeeper, covering soccer. The latter blog launched in January of this year to coincide with the arrival of Philadelphia's new Major League Soccer and Women's Professional Soccer teams.
Both blogs have their own Twitter feeds: @pretzel_logic and @thegoalkeeper, respectively.
My personal Twitter handle is @jtannenwald. My favorite use of it is requesting songs on WPRB's 24-Hour Holiday Radio Show.
Aw. Thanks for your time, Jon! We'll share a couple slices of completely average pizza before tipoff under the Palestra bleachers, I'm sure.
If you cover a team the Tigers will face down the line, let us know. We'd love to talk with you.
February 4, 2010 at 6:00 am
Filed under Basketball, Know Your Foe, Princeton
Two games this weekend and a double shot installment of the popular Know! Your! Foe! series. First up is writer Bruce Wood (above left), founder of Big Green Alert, who has been covering Dartmouth athletics for as long as I can remember.
Just another quiet, uneventful season in Hanover, Bruce. What the heck is going on up there?!
Good question. The word of the day is interim. Interim head coach. Interim athletic director. Interim dean of the college. All under a new president of the college.
I can't speak to the specifics of what happened with Terry Dunn (because I don't really know), but I can tell you he's a good man who sent me a thank you note for the writing I did about his team over the years. The note was tremendously thoughtful and greatly appreciated.
How has the team looked under interim head coach Mark Graupe compared to when they were playing for Terry Dunn?
They seem more relaxed and not as afraid of making mistakes. They are less likely to be yanked after a miscue, and that has led to a little more aggressive and inventive play at the offensive end.
Dartmouth is nearly last in the entire nation in Adjusted Efficiency and Effective FG%. What do the Big Green do well on offense?
The sample of games under Mark Graupe is small, so it's hard to get a read on where this team is offensively with Mark at the helm. Suffice it to say that apart from a couple of breakout games from Robby Pride, outside shooting has not been a strength. On the plus side, Pride is fearless going to the hole. Ronnie Dixon and freshman RJ Griffin can both slash and knock down the occasional jumper. Griffin is hitting 43 percent from outside the arc but needs to shoot more. Jabari Trotter can also knock down the occasional three. Clive Weeden is a terrific offensive rebounder who gets them second chances. While the pessimist might point out that no one is averaging double figures, the optimist would argue that there's a certain value to having four players averaging between 7.6 and 8.1 points. Who do you put your best defender on?
Two things stand out looking at Dartmouth's defensive numbers - their ability to force turnovers and their ability to guard the three point line.
That's what they have to do. David Rufful doesn't look as if he'd be a great defender but he leads the team in steals, and while they don't keep deflections, he's probably the team leader there as well. The defense up top, however, comes to an extent at the cost of defending inside.
Tell people about Robby Pride, Dartmouth's leading scorer and one of just two seniors on the roster.
Pride is a two-sport athlete who switches over to lacrosse when basketball is over. He wasn't recruited to Dartmouth for lacrosse and his lax didn't know what to expect when he came out, but he quickly became a key player for the Big Green, in no small part because of his toughness. He showed that toughness in the last home game against Harvard when he drove the paint three or four times in the final couple of minutes for layups in among the trees. He showed his shooting ability when he went 6-for-7 (including 3-for-3 from outside the arc and 6-for-6 from the line) while scoring 21 points in the win over St. Francis.
What needs to occur for Dartmouth to surprise the Tigers?
Pride or Griffin has to heat up outside and the Big Green has to do a better job defending the post.
What has to happen for Princeton to beat Dartmouth?
First, the Tigers can't let Dartmouth jump out to a lead and get any momentum. They've got to take care of the basketball and not let a team that is offensively challenged get easy baskets.
Take a moment to tell people about your web site, Big Green Alert!
It's the poor man's princetonbasketball.com. Actually, it's a full-time job from early August until the end of football season. I attend every practice, have a story every night, seven days a week, and write at least 8-10 stories a week during the year, all for a $65 subscription fee. I also cover spring football and recruiting. Glutton for punishment, I guess.
You spent time near central New Jersey before you found your way up north. Any good Princeton basketball anecdotes to close with?
I went to the Rutgers-Princeton NCAA game in Providence in 1976 when the undefeated Scarlet Knights slipped by Princeton, 54-53. These were different times for the NCAA Tournament. A friend who went to Rutgers had extra tickets he asked if we wanted to go. Imagine that today!
Anyway, I drove up to Providence in a car loaded with Rutgers fans - and one Princeton fan. Me.
Flash forward a couple of decades to the press conference that followed Dartmouth's last game at Princeton in Pete Carril's final year. I made a point after the press conference of thanking Pete for everything he meant to basketball (and to me as a fan). As a parting shot I told him I was at the '76 Rutgers game and that given how the bracket fell I've always believed the Tigers would have been in the Final Four that year if they could have just picked off Rutgers. He gave me his best Pete Carril hang-dog look and said something along the lines of, "I know. I know."
How much have things changed since then? I got free tickets for the game against Rutgers in '76. Or maybe they cost me $5. I forget. What I can't forget is that in 1998 I spent $100 for nosebleed tickets to watch Princeton knock off UNLV in Hartford. And I thought it was worth every penny!
Thanks so much, Bruce! I'll catch you at halftime in Hanover.
Let's move from Saturday night's opponent to the team Princeton will play to start the weekend and bring in Michael James, editor of Basketball-U, the finest Ivy League message board around.
The Crimson are coming off a deflating 36 point loss at Cornell in THE BIGGEST IVY GAME OF ALL TIME EMOTICON EXCLAMATION POINT FONT SIZE=5. Besides the Big Red being very good at basketball, went wrong in Ithaca?
Harvard got burnt by a combination of its Achilles heel from this year (turnovers) and last year (defensive rebounding). The Crimson turned the ball over on 38 percent of its possessions, essentially handing Cornell 17 free possessions over the course of the contest. Add to that the Big Red's 14 offensive rebounds (to Harvard's six), and it's pretty clear how Cornell managed 30 more shots than the Crimson over the course of the contest, despite both teams shooting an equal number of free throws.
It was almost a carbon copy of the Army game earlier this year, where Harvard coughed it up 30 times, except the Black Knights were bad enough that the Crimson could hang around.
Is there concern about what that game might do to the team's psyche?
Let's see. The last time a competitive Harvard team lost a crushing game in Ithaca (2006), they bounced back nicely with a six-or-so point win over Princeton at home the following Friday. (You'll have to pardon me. I don't remember the exact score because I left to study for an Econ midterm with about a minute left to go that night. Let me look it up. Give me a second. OH. MY. GOD.)
Despite being an incredibly young team (almost 70 percent of the team's minutes come from freshmen and sophomores), Harvard has handled adversity well this year. I don't think you'll see any ill effects on Friday. Now, if the Crimson drops the game to Princeton, that could really test this team's mental makeup.
Harvard in a nutshell - they shoot the ball well, especially from inside the arc, when they can hold onto the ball. Is that fair to say?
The Crimson gets a ton of easy buckets because it has guards who can create and posts who can finish. This isn't a team that happens to shoot the lights out from 12 to 18 feet (or beyond for that matter, but we're only focusing on two-pointers for the moment). Harvard takes the ball to the basket and dares you to foul or find a way to rack up some blocks.
As I just mentioned, however, this team shoots horribly from behind the arc, meaning it's imperative for it to attack the rim, but that helter-skelter approach to offense is often what leaves the Crimson vulnerable to huge turnover nights. The best defensive strategy is to get really physical with Harvard and hope the referees let you play. Georgetown did this to great success in the Verizon Center in December, and Dartmouth almost sprung the upset at Leede taking quite the same approach.
Jeremy Lin gets most of the media attention, but who is a player people should be watching on Friday night?
I'll go a little off the radar here and throw out both point guards - Oliver McNally and Brandyn Curry. While neither is going to light up the scoreboard with points, both players are steady ball handlers who can burn you if given the option, convert free throws at a nice clip and rebound well defensively. Both struggle with turnovers (who doesn't on this Harvard team), but for a sophomore and a freshman, they do an admirable job running an up-tempo offense that demands quick, smart decision making.
Freshman Kyle Casey has come off the bench to record a couple of impressive scoring performances in the last five games. Is he as good as advertised?
I think you'd have to go back to Ugonna Onyekwe to find someone in this league with Casey's combination of athleticism and basketball ability. But he just can't stay on the floor. He has a certain magnetism for fouls (7.1 per 40 minutes which leads Ivy regulars by a mile), primarily due to his youthful exuberance, which pushes him to make plays on the defensive end of the floor. Sometimes it helps - he drew a key charge in the waning moments against BC - and sometimes it hurts - he picked up two fouls in a minute at Cornell and his third before the end of the half to be an utter non-factor.
He should be the Ivy Rookie of the Year. If he keeps fouling and chopping his playing time into bits, however, he won't be.
I know Keith Wright was someone the Princeton coaching staff coveted. Tell readers about his progress from his freshman year to his sophomore year.
At the midway point of the 2008 recruiting season, Wright was no better than the third-best forward in the class behind Andrew Van Nest and Frank Ben-Eze, according to the ratings agencies. Ben-Eze backed out to go to Davidson and Van Nest was never really a true post to begin with, so Wright went from a depth player to necessary starter for the Crimson. His primary faults which dogged him last season were his physical shape and his absolutely terrible hands. He also wasn't the best finisher, a problem which was compounded by the fact that he didn't draw all that many fouls.
He addressed the conditioning and the hands this year. He's much more agile and gets better lift, especially for blocks, though on the flip side, it's possible that being a slightly less massive body on the interior has hurt his rebounding numbers marginally. His hands are much improved in terms of corralling and maintaining possession of loose balls, and he has become an excellent finisher under the basket. Wright still doesn't draw many fouls, which severely impacts his value on nights when he can't get shots to drop.
What needs to occur for Harvard to get by the Tigers?
The Crimson must turn Princeton over and create points off those giveaways. This will do two things. First and most obviously, it will give Harvard easy points against a stout Tigers defense. Second and more importantly, it will push the tempo of the game to where the Crimson feels more comfortable (70+ plus possessions) and where Princeton does not (Tigers are 1-3 against Division I opponents in games with more than 62 possessions).
On the offensive end of the floor, Harvard has to limit its own turnovers. The Crimson is 3-3 when giving the ball up on 27 percent or more of its possessions and 10-1 (against D-I foes) when keeping its turnover rate under that mark. It will be extremely difficult for Harvard to get into any sort of an offensive rhythm if they go quick turnover, 30-35 seconds of defense, quick turnover, more extended periods of defense.
What has to happen for Princeton to get the "W" in Cambridge?
Make a bunch of goofy passes while running the three-man weave out near mid-court for 25 seconds and hit some timely shots in the final 10 seconds of the shot clock.
In all seriousness, Princeton's ceiling for points in this game is roughly equal to the total number of possessions and its floor isn't too far below that. The Tigers will win this game on the defensive end. They need to coax Harvard into settling for threes, which it can't hit consistently, and not hand the Crimson free passes to the line. Add some Harvard turnovers and Princeton could be halfway to the weekend sweep.
You are a man who loves his numbers. What individual and team numbers stand out when you compare Harvard and Princeton?
The pace disparity is the most severe, as the Crimson is the fastest tempo team in the Ivies by a significant margin and the Tigers are the slowest by a significant margin. I have a gut feeling that the team that keeps the pace closest to its comfort level will win the game.
I'm stunned by the defensive turnarounds for both teams from last year. Harvard is over 16 points per 100 possessions stingier defensively, while Princeton has improved its defensive over 11 points per 100 possessions. Both teams have improved slightly on the offensive end, but the improved defensive is almost entirely responsible for both teams' abrupt transformation.
Another huge difference between these two teams is in floor percentage (the percentage of a player's total possessions which wind up resulting in at least a point). Harvard has four of the 12 Ivy regulars with floor percentages above 50 percent (Lin, Casey, Wright and Magnarelli, who will not play). Princeton has zero. Yet, Princeton has almost as many guys with above average offensive ratings as Harvard (four to five, respectively). This indicates a strong contrast in styles - the Crimson likes to pick up its points one or two at a time more consistently, while the Tigers like to tally them two or three at a time on a less consistent basis.
Before you go, take a moment to tell people about the resurgent Basketball-U!
I'd definitely encourage your readers to stop by the revamped site. We cover the Ivy League with original commentary, statistical analysis, recruiting and commitment updates and have a message board to keep you connected with other Ivy fans.
Excellent stuff. Thanks, Mr. James! Do you cover a team the Tigers will face down the line? Let us know. We'd love to talk with you.
January 28, 2010 at 10:00 am
Filed under Basketball, Know Your Foe, Princeton
For the third installment of the popular Know! Your! Foe! series, I exchanged emails with David "Bruno" Wise (pictured above), the biggest only Brown basketball fan I know. May his answers bring you insight about the Tigers' first Ivy foe of the season. This year's Bears have a 7-12 record, recently splitting their home-and-home series with Yale.
How did the Bears' non-conference performance exceeded your expectations from October? What do you wish had gone differently?
Brown played very well in my home of New York City. After a season-opening win at St. Francis (NY), they played a very good St. John's team tight for 40 minutes, and missed a game-tying three at the buzzer. The play of three freshmen had been the positive surprise of the pre-season, with Matt Sullivan, Tucker Halpern and Andrew McCarthy all stepping up and making significant contributions to each of Brown's six non-conference wins. On the flip side, the play from Adrian Williams has also been a surprise. He's a unique player for these Bears because he's one of the few players that can shoot from the outside as well as penetrate and draw defenders, but his shooting struggles have taken them out of a few games they should have had. Brown will not get on a roll if Williams isn't clicking on most, if not all, cylinders.
Senior forward Matt Mullery puts up big numbers (15.3 ppg / 5.8 rpg / 3.1 apg - shooting 56.5% from the floor) that are overshadowed this season by the likes of Jeremy Lin and Ryan Wittman. Tell me about the problems he presents opponents.
I think Matt is the most talented big man in the Ivies, and that statement is intended to include [Cornell center] Jeff Foote. It's his offensive and defensive versatility that tends to catch opponents off-guard. He had led the Bears in either scoring, rebounding, assists, steals or blocks in several games this season. He can shoot the three, post you up, drive by you, and feed it to a back-door cutter. He has better big man fundamentals than anyone in the Ivies has had in a long time; wonderful back to the basket moves, strong and crisp drop-steps, a right and left hand jump hook - the works. The offense runs through him; he touches the ball on most possessions, and a lot of times that's at the top of the key. On the defensive end, he's deceptive; while he's not particularly quick, strong or a great jumper, he is very quick off the floor and his timing and positioning on blocking shots is exceptional.
Three of Brown's top five scorers are freshmen. What can you share about the trio of Tucker Halpern, Andrew McCarthy and Matt Sullivan?
I like all three of these kids a lot. Halpern is a real favorite of mine because he actually wants the ball in crunch time - rare in a freshman. In several of Brown's close games, he's taken (and made) big shots down the stretch. He does a little of everything from shooting the three, to getting inside to pull-ups to getting steals and blocked shots to passing beautifully. He may have the most raw talent of any player on the team. But lately, he's taking too many threes, and he can't limit his game in that way if he's going to be consistently effective.
McCarthy is a hard-nosed player who isn't afraid of contact. He's got nice skills and touch down low, and has had some terrific performances against both strong and weak competition. He stepped in nicely for Mullery when he went down, and doesn't seem to get rattled very easily. A future All-Ivy big man.
Sullivan has by far the toughest job of any of the freshmen - to not only transition from high school to college basketball, but to a new position at point guard. Matt's handled it well, and has contributed both points and assists. He'll only get better at handling the ball and running the offense; he's not there yet, and he'll probably never be a natural point guard, but you can see how smart a player he is just by watching how he maintains composure and handles himself on the court.
I was surprised to see how poorly the Bears have rebounded. Does this surprise you as well?
This has surprised me a little bit. Brown has never been a strong rebounding team, but they run a pretty big lineup for the Ivies, with guys like Mullery and Peter Sullivan, and three freshmen who are all good-sized for their positions. What we don't have is a bruiser, a guy that can clear space in the middle. We also don't box out particularly well; we give up a lot of offensive rebounds to opponents, and a disproportionate number of those seem to come from opposing guards.
Princeton has lost their last four trips to Providence. What do the Bears need to do to make it five in a row?
I don't know Princeton well enough this season, but I know they're much better than they've been in recent years. But for Brown to beat any potential top-half Ivy, three things need to happen: Mullery needs to get the ball in some space, Brown needs to be crisp offensively, and has to shoot reasonably well from three. Brown plays an inside-out game, with some side-to-side, but it all starts with Mullery and being crisp with passes, cuts and picks that lead to open shots. Brown also needs Peter Sullivan back healthy from his ankle injury in the first Yale game. Princeton isn't a team that will kill Brown on the boards, but they're a tight defensive group, and Brown will have to really execute.
What has to happen for the Tigers to trump the Bears?
The Bears don't win when Mullery doesn't play (shoot, distribute) well. That's why he's the focus of so many opposing defenses. Brown doesn't gamble much on defense - they force very few turnovers - which means they stay at home on defense a lot and are less susceptible to some of the strengths of the Princeton offense. One way to offset that is with second chance points, and Princeton should uncharacteristically look to crash the offensive boards.
As someone who grew up in the Princeton area, two closing questions...
Any good Princeton basketball anecdotes you've always wanted to share with the Internet?
You mean like in my first televised game in high school (on CN8), playing for Princeton Day School when I dropped 16 and 7 on Princeton High in our annual cross-town matchup, and one of the announcers said I had a "good stroke"? Or like when I hit the game winner against defending champion Rutgers Prep (and future Brown star Brian Lloyd), and the headline in the Trenton Times was "PDS Gets Wise in Overtime"? You mean anecdotes like that?
In 9th grade (1989), I got to be a ball boy for a New York Knicks fantasy basketball camp in Atlantic City, and for whatever reason, Bob Scrabis and Kit Mueller were invited to participate, fresh off their near upset of Georgetown in the first round of the NCAAs. - I teamed with them for a 3-on-3 game and did not touch the ball once. Just went to show that once out of the confines of the Princeton offense, Princeton players aren't any different than the rest of us.
What's your favorite option at Hoagie Haven?
I'm a little unusual in this, but every time I go, I get the same thing: half of a tuna (the best tuna I've ever had), fries with saltpepperketchup, and butterscotch krumpets. One of my favorite meals whenever I'm home.
Thanks for your time, David! Hope to see you at Jadwin when the Bears visit in a couple weeks.
If you cover a team the Tigers will face down the line, let us know. We'd love to talk with you.
December 11, 2009 at 8:00 am
Filed under Basketball, Know Your Foe, Princeton
For the second installment of the popular Know! Your! Foe! series, I exchanged emails with Brad from the self-explanatory blog UNCG Basketball Fan. Brad was kind enough to answer my many questions about Princeton's next opponent - the University of North Carolina Greensboro Spartans.
How does this year's UNC Greensboro team differ from the one that visited Jadwin Gym last season?
This team really doesn't resemble the one that played Princeton last season. Even though there were no seniors on the roster, UNCG lost three players in the off season to transfer. However, they have been replaced by freshmen that are very talented. ECU transfer Brandon Evans is also eligible after sitting out last year. So, basically the entire UNCG back court rotation is different from last season.
The Spartans are coming off a 67-64 Southern Conference loss to the College of Charleston on Monday night. UNCG had two chances to tie in the final 13 seconds. Tell me about the game.
I hate to admit that this game wasn't quite as close as the score would make it seem. UNCG had two chances to tie, but that was only after a furious comeback over the last few minutes. Charleston led by 8-10 points through most of the game. With about 6 minutes to go, UNCG went to a half court trapping defense and Charleston looked stunned. They turned it over on something like six of their next eight possessions and let the Spartans trim a 13 point deficit down to three. Both shots to tie were pretty good looks taken by good shooters. They just didn't fall.
Greensboro outrebounded CoC by 20 (49-29). How in/out of character was this performance on the glass?
Well this particular rebound effort was extraordinary. However, the Spartans have been doing a very good job job on the boards all year. Even though they have been undersized in every game (minus maybe Samford), only Duke has dominated the Spartans on the glass. The main reason for this is that UNCG guards are going for rebounds a lot harder than recent years. Also, power forward Ben Stywall's 6'-5" frame seems to fool opponents into thinking he's too small to rebound. However, he just seems to be in the right position every time.
While 2-5 so far this season, Greensboro has played a very tough non-conference schedule, starting their season at Duke, at Virginia Tech and opening their new arena against Clemson. How has the team exceeded your expectations and how has the team struggled in areas you did not expect?
This team has played better than most of fans would have expected. Granted, when you go 5-25, there's really not many expectations. However, this team has had some success in the really tough schedule. It took a late run for Virginia Tech to defeat the Spartans. In six of the seven games (Va Tech excluded), UNCG has gone on big second half runs. Last year's team had a problem with hanging their heads when facing a big deficit. It's good to see it's not a problem this year.
This team has really struggled at getting off to good starts. Other than the two wins, UNCG seems to dig itself big holes right off the bat. I'm not sure if it's nerves or inexperience, but for some reason the Spartans just can't seem to make a basket the first five minutes of games.
Last year UNCG struggled to a 5-25 record. How has the team improved from a year ago?
The guard play is light years ahead of where it was all last season. Last year, UNCG lacked a guard that could drive to the basket or a PG that could score when left open. All three new guards (Evans, Kyle Randall & Korey VanDussen) have the ability to not only hit open shots, but to score 15+ points a night if needed. Also, several role players (Pete Brown & Kendall Toney) have stepped up and taking leadership roles.
What do the Spartans need to do to beat Princeton?
It's funny how my answer to the next two questions is the exact same. UNCG just needs to hit shots. Both of the Spartans wins have came on good shooting nights. Unfortunately, the Spartans haven't shot the ball particularly well at home. When playing a team like Princeton, it's important to make every possession count. I don't think UNCG can shoot less than 40% and have any chance to win.
What needs to happen for the Tigers to defeat UNC Greensboro?
Again, hit shots. UNCG will probably use a similar strategy to the one they used against Samford. Which means a combination of 2-3 and 1-3-1 zone. The strategy worked because Samford couldn't make enough three point attempts to force Coach Dement out of the zone. If Princeton can hit enough threes to force UNCG into going to the man-to-man defense, the Tigers will probably have success against the young Spartan guards.
The Spartans are still looking for their first win in their new building. How is the Greensboro Coliseum?
Wow. It's been an awesome experience for the UNCG fans who have been on board with the program for a while. Coliseum officials are really pulling out all of the stops with promotions to make this move work. The move was the first major decision by Dr. Linda Brady when she became chancellor last fall. She basically has made men's basketball our new athletic flagship (previously soccer). There are a lot of positives so far. UNCG sold over 1,300 season tickets this year. Last year, I believe they sold 300-400. Also, it seems to be helping with recruiting as G has signed four players for next season. The big problem now is wins. It seems like the players haven't became comfortable playing the building yet. That should get better with time.
Greensboro recently played Samford, a team that runs several "Princeton" sets, and UNCG recorded their biggest win over a DI school in program history, a 73-40 rout. It was a close game before a 40-9 run. What went right this time out?
It was the "perfect storm" for UNCG. The Spartans led by 4 early in the second half when they hit a three pointer, got a steal and then a three point play. After that Samford really just seemed to hang their heads and quit. The Spartans spent the rest of the game in a 2-3 zone and Samford was content to just shoot (and miss) three. Add that to the fact that UNCG was really shooting well and you can see the results.
Thanks for your time, Brad! Princeton and UNC Greensboro tip off at 1:00 pm ET on Sunday afternoon in North Carolina. If you cover a team the Tigers will face down the line, let us know. We'd love to talk with you.
November 23, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Filed under Basketball, Know Your Foe, Princeton
For the first installment of what will hopefully become an ongoing series, I exchanged emails with Andrew from Colonial Hoops, who was kind enough to answer my questions about Princeton's next opponent - the George Washington Colonials. If you cover a team the Tigers will face down the line, let us know. We'd love to talk with you.
Aaron Ware leads the team in scoring coming off the bench. What sort of player is he?
Ware is a fast, high energy, slashing guy, and is kind of a do-it-all - defense, rebounding, etc. However, with this team there isn't much difference between starters and bench players, as [head coach Karl] Hobbs substitutes a lot and the team goes very deep.
How much of a factor is youth for this year's George Washington squad? Going into Saturday's game versus UMBC, the team's top three scorers are two sophomore and a freshman.
It's pretty big. There's a lot of contributions from the newcomers, but some returnees are having surprisingly big roles. Big man Jabari Edwards was virtually absent last year, but he's playing great as a defensive stopper and rebounder. The freshman are led by Lasan Kromah, who's been a big time scorer so far - 21 points in about 11 minutes against UMBC, while the other freshman have had important roles. Senior Damian Hollis was thought to be the star going into the season, but hasn't had to do too much thanks to contributions by the frosh. I expect Hollis to lead the team in rebounding and maybe scoring by the end of the season.
What does George Washington need to do to beat Princeton?
Play the Hobbs game: play strong trapping defense, force turnovers, get easy baskets off breaks and alley-oops and hit open looks from outside. The Colonials also hit the boards very well as a team against UMBC, outrebounding them 57-27. That's a key.
What does Princeton need to do to defeat GW?
If the Colonials got stuck in a half-court offense in the last two seasons, they were pretty easy to beat. The half-court offense often seemed to consist of passing it around the perimeter lazily and hoping somebody got open. Against UMBC the half-court seemed to have more energy and there were better entry passes, but if Princeton can stop that, it could get ugly for GW. GW also can struggle against wide bodies down low and free throw shooting has been an issue.
The Colonials have not shot the ball well two games in, yet they're 2-0. What's been the difference in these games?
Depth is a big factor - GW can go 12 deep and just wear out other teams. If one guy's off, another guy has stepped up - a lot of times a player will score in double figures one game but not another. I would guess that makes it hard to plan against the team.
What sort of expectations are there for George Washington this year, both from local media and fans?
Not much! The team missed the A-10 tournament for two years in a row, so hopes were not high at all. There was a lot of anger from GW fans after last season, with some demanding Hobbs be fired, but after the recruiting class came out that's died down. The local media basically forgot about the team, what with Georgetown, Maryland and even George Mason doing well lately (though a lack of outreach during GW's good seasons didn't help). I'd be happy if the team finised the year at .500, though after these three games, there's a bit more optimism. The athletic department has also done a great job getting fans excited, too.
While Princeton is coming off a disappointing loss to Army, GW had a convincing win over UMBC on Saturday. Tell me about the game.
A great game! GW played the Hobbs style well, forcing 15 UMBC turnovers and scoring 27 points off them, and freshman Lasan Kromah was nasty, scoring 20 points in the first half, hitting four threes in a row over less than two minutes. Pretty much the entire team contributed and as I mentioned before, they crushed UMBC on the boards. The crowd was really into it, ten players had at least 5 points and every non-walk on scored. As an example of stepping up when somebody else is down, Aaron Ware only had two!
Any memories of the last time these two teams met eight years ago?
I was at the game at the MCI Center [a 60-57 Princeton loss in the consolation round of the 2001 BB&T tournament - JS], and I remember that Greg Collucci, one of our shooters, had a monster game. Collucci is now an assistant for the team. All-time leading scorer Chris Monroe was on that team too. I think that was Karl Hobbs' first year.
Thanks for your time, Andrew! Princeton and George Washington tip off at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday night at the Charles E. Smith Center.
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