I had the chance this afternoon to (finally) watch a tape of Tuesday's 82-64 Princeton victory over Lafayette and I took a slew of notes about things that stood out in retrospect that might not have been noticeable live. Read on for these additional observations.
1. The activity of the team defense in the first half of the first half can not be overstated. Dan Mavraides in particular led by example with great hand work when needed and excellent use of his torso to guard on the perimeter while avoiding the temptation to reach in. He must have been a very annoying player to go up against in Easton, and I mean that as a high compliment.
2. I liked the job Brendan Connolly did to body Leopard center Jared Mintz more on the DVR than I did in the gym. Connolly really kept Mintz from getting comfortable early touches in the paint.
3. Mintz took himself out of the equation with a shove to the back of Mavraides trying to set a left baseline screen from behind for his first personal and a needless extra bit of muscle into Mavraides two minutes later on a right perimeter screen. Mavraides pumped his fist, knowing the Leopards' leading scorer was in trouble for the rest of the half.
4. The first time Lafayette switched from 2-3 to 1-3-1 on defense, Douglas Davis makes the right decision to find Mavraides on the other side of the arc for three. Great recognition, knowing exactly where the hole in the zone is going to be. In the second half, as soon as the Leopards showed an extended 1-3-1, Mavraides returned the favor to Davis for a similarly open outside wing jumper.
5. Ian Hummer's perimeter defense still needs work. I don't know enough about technique to assess what Hummer might be doing wrong but his delayed reactions when guarding smaller players outside led to a number of uncontested jump shots fired over his late-to-outstretch hands. Hummer sagged on consecutive first half possessions when he should have avoided the temptation pulling him to the basket. By my unofficial count, Lafayette was 3-7 in three pointers attempted when guarded by Hummer, 3-15 on all other outside attempts. That seems like a high number of shots versus someone primarily playing inside.
6. When Kareem Maddox made his full body save of a loose ball on the baseline, it was Davis who knocked the ball loose off of Mack Darrow's foot, a few seconds after Davis nearly came up with another steal slapping the ball free. A prone Maddox pushed the ball back into play with his right hand while lying face down in the paint. Davis' quick paws poked the ball loose again in the second half, stopping a Lafayette drive and giving the ball back to the Tigers. More active hands by Davis will hopefully increase the Tigers' Steal Percentage from 8.4%.
7. Is it possible that seven games in, T.J. Bray is already Princeton's best perimeter defender?
8. The ability to go inside for five straight buckets on five straight possessions to open the second half remains a thing of beauty. The touch passes in close quarters were lovely. To have so many different forwards with slightly different skill sets that can all turn a cut into a posting opportunity is a cornucopia of points in the paint riches.
9. Mavraides is the king of the long outlet pass. Every time he gets the ball off a rebound or a turnover he has his head up looking for the touchdown to a teammate ahead of the defense.
10. Following Sydney Johnson's tirade during the first media time out of the second half, Princeton's defensive intensity ratcheted up closer to where it was at the start of the game. Connolly forced Mintz into a tough shot as soon as play resumed,
11. Here's what I saw on the technical foul: Connolly fouls a posting Mintz from behind. Mintz falls to the ground. Maddox walks past as Darion Benbow comes over to help up his teammate. Benbow bumps Maddox, who starts to almost push back, then gets wise and raises his arms in the air - at which point Benbow gives Maddox a more forceful shove and a technical is called. How that became a double technical after the officials went to the monitor is vexing. When explained by the officials to the two head coaches, neither looked like they had strong objections. The offsetting Ts didn't effect the final outcome in any way.
12. Two times Maddox brought the ball up from the backcourt and turned it over in the final eight minutes - once on a high dribble that became a carry under pressure and once on a bad pass out of Davis' reach after nearly traveling when he stopped his dribble. If the staff was looking to give Maddox more experience bringing the ball up with a comfortable lead as a buffer, it didn't work.
