April 1, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Filed under Basketball, PAW Article, Princeton
My latest (and longest) Princeton Alumni Weekly article covering Princeton's final four games of the season is now available. Past pieces for PAW can be found here. Enjoy! - JS
Men's basketball drops a heartbreaker to Kentucky
By Jon Solomon
When the Princeton men's basketball season ended, one basket shy of all the Tigers had worked for, Sydney Johnson '97 — who profoundly despised losing as both a player and a coach — did something unexpected: He allowed his team to say goodbye.
Before heading back into the depths of the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa after a 59–57 NCAA Tournament defeat against Kentucky March 17, Johnson motioned his players not to the locker room but toward the Tiger faithful sitting across from his team's bench.
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January 14, 2011 at 10:15 am
Filed under Basketball, PAW Article, Princeton
I wrote a profile for the latest Princeton Alumni Weekly about junior guard Douglas Davis. Longer versions of quotes from Davis, Tiger head coach Sydney Johnson and Hun head man Jonathan Stone that were cut from the print version due to space constrictions are included at the conclusion. - JS
Davis ’12, Tigers aim to be ‘unforgettable’
By Jon Solomon
On an early December walk to Jadwin Gym before the men’s basketball game against St. Joseph’s, junior guard Douglas Davis had time to listen to one song. He selected “Unforgettable,” by the Canadian rapper Drake. The chorus repeated confidently:
“And when you get to talkin’ ’bout the greatest, I just really hope that you’d think of me / ’cause I’m tryin’ to be unforgettable.”
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November 12, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Filed under Basketball, PAW Article, Princeton
I wrote a short piece for the latest Princeton Alumni Weekly previewing Princeton's prospects for this about-to-tip season. Enjoy! - JS
Men's basketball banks on experience
By Jon Solomon
Princeton men's basketball is prepared to take aim at an Ivy League title, returning its five top scorers from a team that won 22 games and finished second in the league behind Cornell for the second straight year. With the Big Red graduating five starters from a team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16, a versatile Tiger squad could climb to the top of the Ivies for the first time since 2004.
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February 3, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Filed under Basketball, PAW Article, Princeton
I wrote a piece for the latest Princeton Alumni Weekly reviewing Princeton's non-conference results. You can access all my archived stories from this magazine using the site's new PAW article category - JS
Davis '12, Mavraides '11 Lead Men's Basketball
By Jon Solomon
Winner of six of its last seven games before the exam break, the Princeton men's basketball team headed into Ivy League competition with the most nonconference victories since the Tigers' 2006-07 season.
"Relative to where we've been the last couple of years, we've gotten some road wins that I think are important," head coach Sydney Johnson '97 said. "We've had some uneven performances at home, and we've got to fix that. We've slightly improved defensively from start to finish."
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November 15, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Filed under Basketball, PAW Article, Princeton
I wrote a piece for the latest Princeton Alumni Weekly previewing Princeton's prospects this season. Enjoy! - JS
Basketball Seniors Shoot For Ivy Title
By Jon Solomon
Last year was a good year - but not a great one - for the Princeton men's basketball team, according to head coach Sydney Johnson '97.
"We were pleased with the forward progress that we made, but we want to keep things in perspective," Johnson said. "To truly be considered great here on the basketball floor - I think that comes with a championship."
Expectations are raised for the Tigers, who return their top nine scorers from a team that went 8-6 in the Ivy League and finished tied for second behind Cornell.
Unseating the two-time defending champion Big Red will be a challenge, according to Johnson. "[Cornell] has talented players who have played several years, and then they have transfers that have been exposed to a bigger-game environment and can add a year or two of experience," he said.
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March 31, 2009 at 10:10 am
Filed under Basketball, PAW Article, Princeton
I wrote a piece for the latest Princeton Alumni Weekly covering Princeton's final three Ivy games of the season. Enjoy! - JS
Success at the Palestra - No Ivy title, but the Tigers beat Penn
By Jon Solomon
Heading into the final weekend of Ivy play, the Princeton men's basketball team controlled its own destiny. With victories in the final three games - a difficult road stretch at Columbia, conference-leader Cornell, and Penn - the Tigers could, at the least, share the Ivy League title.
Those hopes were erased March 6 in Morningside Heights as Columbia extinguished Princeton's dream with a 58-44 victory. Sharp-shooting Columbia senior K.J. Matsui scored 17 points, including five shots from outside the three-point arc. His back-to-back three-pointers turned a tenuous five-point Columbia lead into an 11-point cushion with 6:15 remaining.
"We weren't focused [on Matsui]," coach Sydney Johnson '97 said. "I felt like he is a player that we can limit, and he has been held in check in the past, but we just weren't focused enough to do it."
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March 2, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Filed under Basketball, PAW Article, Princeton
I wrote a piece for the latest Princeton Alumni Weekly covering Princeton's Ivy play through the first Brown game. Enjoy! - JS
February surprise - Tigers return to the Ivy's top two
By Jon Solomon
Picked to finish last in the Ivy League by the conference's coaches and writers, the Princeton men's basketball team proved prognosticators wrong in the first half of the season, winning four of its first six Ivy games to move into second place.
The Tigers (9-10 overall) took an unexpected path to an unexpected record, winning their first four Ivy contests before being swept at Yale and Brown Feb. 13 and 14.
Part of Princeton's turnaround can be traced to late December, when freshman forward Patrick Saunders had to leave the team for a week to return home and deal with a family matter. In Saunders' absence, head coach Sydney Johnson '97 adjusted his starting lineup, adding Marcus Schroeder '10 and Dan Mavraides '11, and the two players provided a much-needed spark. Princeton ran off seven consecutive wins, its longest winning streak in five years. (Saunders returned as a reserve, contributing to six of the wins.)
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