"No one plays Princeton unless you're a psycho or a drug addict...I'm not a drug addict, so I must be a psycho." - John Calipari, March 1995.
Sydney Johnson has not gone up against Kentucky’s John Calipari during his four seasons as Princeton head man, but the two met under different circumstances during Johnson’s sophomore year – when the Tigers (3-3) visited fifth-ranked, Calipari-coached UMass (3-1).
Playing the daunting middle game of a week-long stretch that saw Princeton visit powerhouses Illinois (a 59-37 drubbing), Massachusetts and Syracuse (a two point defeat in overtime) the Tigers were overmatched inside by Minutemen center Marcus Camby.
The now-16 year NBA veteran was nine of 10 from the floor in the second half on December 14, 1994 as he scored a season high 30.
UMass held a 50-41 second half lead prior to a 14-3 Minutemen run that began with a Camby layup and dunk separated by just nine seconds.
Tigers' head coach Carril was ejected from the game late in the second half with his team behind by 23.
"You don't expect a Princeton team to beat the No. 5 team in the country, do you?," Carril told the Associated Press after the 36th consecutive on-campus win for UMass. "That's like our football team going in to play Florida State."
Senior center Rick Hielscher scored 20 off the bench for the Tigers. Jamie Mastaglio added 15.
Johnson can only hope Thursday's NCAA Tournament reunion with John Calipari and his Kentucky Wildcats is personally a more memorable one than this 16+ year old non-conference game. In 35 minutes of play the Tigers' captain scored four points on 1-7 shooting with six assists, five turnovers, five rebounds and three steals.
