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Princeton University Athletics
2002-03 Men's Basketball: Q&A
November 21, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2002
How many Ivy League championships has Princeton won in the last 14 years?
Nine.
How many consecutive years has Princeton played in the postseason?
Seven.
How many of the other 316 Division I teams have played in the postseason each of the last seven years?
Sixteen.
How many ESPN and CBS appearances has Princeton made in the last seven seasons?
Twenty-five.
What has John Thompson done as head coach, matching the accomplishment of the three coaches (Butch van Breda Kolff, Pete Carril, Bill Carmody) in the last 40 years who preceded him?
Won an Ivy League championship each of his first two years.
What is John Thompson's two-year Ivy record?
22-6.
What was the big news from the summer?
Princeton spent 12 days in August in Spain, where it played seven games against local professional teams. The Tigers, who made a similar trip to Italy in 1997, went 6-1; along the way, Princeton had five different leading scorers in seven games. In addition, Princeton had the floor in Jadwin Gym replaced.
Who is gone from last year's team?
Princeton graduated two second-team All-Ivy League selections, point guard Ahmed El-Nokali and forward Mike Bechtold. El-Nokali was a four-year starter who led the Tigers in minutes played each of the last three years; Bechtold was the team's leading scorer a year ago and is among the career leaders in three-pointers made at Princeton. Center Dominick Martin and guard Tom McLaughlin transferred after the season. Conor Neu, who won the Paul Friedman Award as the member of the program "who does his best every day in every way," also graduated. Chris Krug decided not to continue playing.
Who is this year's captain?
Senior Kyle Wente, a two-time honorable mention All-Ivy selection. Wente started all 28 games a year ago and has started 44 straight games the last two years. A strong all-around player, Wente can score, make three-pointers, handle the ball, play defense and rebound. He has been a forward and guard at different points in his career, and he is comfortable playing huge minutes, having played all 40 twice and at least 35 minutes 10 times a year ago. Wente was Princeton's leading rebounder in Ivy games, and he averaged more than five rebounds per game for the second half of the year.
Who is Princeton's other returning starter from a year ago?
Senior Ray Robins, now a senior, started 17 games a year ago, including the last 16. Robins is an explosive scorer who scored 28 against Monmouth and 20 at home against Cornell a year ago. He also had a 17-point, 10-rebound game at home against Brown, and he finished the season with a 15-point, four-rebound, three-assist performance in the Tigers' 66-65 loss to Louisville in the NIT. Robins is a better-than-40% three-point shooter, and he is a nearly 90% career foul shooter.
Is Spencer Gloger back?
Yes. Gloger made his return to the basketball team during its trip to Spain during the summer. Prior to that, it had been two seasons since Gloger had played college basketball. He is back this year as a junior. To those who don't remember, Gloger had one of the great freshman years in Princeton basketball history. He averaged nearly 13 points per game and set Princeton freshman records with 65 three-pointers in a season and 34 points in a game. He also tied the Ivy League record with 10 three-pointers in a game (against UAB). Gloger was Princeton's leading scorer on the Spanish trip, but he is more than a scorer. He played guard as a freshman, but at 6' 7" he can play in the frontcourt as well. He is also a very good rebounder and gives the Tigers another quality ballhandler.
In addition to Spencer Gloger, who else made his return in Spain?
Junior Andre Logan was arguably Princeton's best player in the first half of last year until a torn ACL 17 minutes into the first Ivy game (at Harvard) ended his season. Like Gloger, Logan also made a return in Spain, and he showed that he is still a high quality player. Prior to his injury, Logan was shooting 56.2% from the field and 43% from three-point range while averaging nearly 10 points and four rebounds per game en route to what appeared to be a sure-fire All-Ivy season. Logan's injury last year may have cost Princeton the outright Ivy title, as he is also an outstanding interior defender. His return to good health is a huge plus.
Who will be Princeton's starting center?
Good question. The Tigers have three prime candidates, led by junior Konrad Wysocki, the 2001 Ivy Rookie of the Year. Wysocki is a career 52% shooter from the field, and he brings the type of fire to the game that reminds you of former Tiger Mason Rocca. His emotional style of play makes him a strong rebounder (nearly four per game) and defender. He has by far the most experience of any current Tiger center, but he has also been a much more valuable player coming off the bench than starting in his first two seasons. An intriguing possibility is the emergence of sophomore Judson Wallace. At 6' 9" Wallace is slightly taller than Wysocki. Wallace, in limited action last year, shot 62% on two-point shots (5 for 22 on three-pointers) and proved that he was also an active big man. He is an excellent passer and offensive rebounder. Wallace made huge strides forward on the Spanish trip and is primed to be a major contributor, whether as a starter or off the bench. Mike Stephens, another sophomore, played 43 minutes as a freshman, but he is the truest center in the program.
How many backcourt options does John Thompson have?
In many ways, they're limitless. Given Thompson's proven love of riding the hot combination on any given night, that's probably the way he wants it. The first decision he has to make is who is a guard and who isn't. Kyle Wente has played both positions in his career. Spencer Gloger was a guard as a freshman, but he clearly has the size (6-7) to play forward. Junior Ed Persia and sophomore Will Venable are true guards, and they played extremely well together at times last year. Persia has established himself as a big-game player, with 16 points as a freshman against North Carolina in the NCAA tournament, 16 in the win at home against Yale last year and 11 points in just 10 minutes in the one-point NIT loss to Louisville this past year. Persia shot 36.1% from three-point range last year, but he made 2 of his first 16 before shooting 42% the rest of the way. He was 3 for 3 against Louisville. Venable, a sophomore, is quick, an excellent penetrator, the best one-on-one defender on the team and a developing scorer. Like Persia, Venable started the season in a three-point shooting slump (2 for 15), but he finished by making eight of his final 15 (53%). He had seven double-figure scoring games as a freshman, including 11 against Kansas, 10 at Penn and 18 against Lafayette. Pete Hegseth, a senior, is a program veteran who is an excellent three-point shooter.
Who are the newcomers?
Princeton's freshman class features two players, Scott Greenman of Richland, N.J., and Michael Kawalek of Flower Mound, Texas. Greenman, 5-11, is a pure point guard who played at N.J. power St. Augustine, where he was a third-team all-state selection. Kawalek, 6-5, is a strong shooter and an excellent passer.
What's up on the schedule?
Princeton has played the eventual national champion each of John Thompson's first two years (Duke in 2001; Maryland, whom Princeton led by 13 at halftime before falling by eight, a year ago). That fact bodes well for Oklahoma, a 2002 Final Four team, and Texas, both of which were preseason Top 5 teams. The Tigers, who also played Final Four participant Kansas last year, open at Oklahoma's tournament, facing Western Michigan with a possible date with the Sooners looming. Among the other non-league highlights are the Dec. 22 ESPN game at Texas, a home game Dec. 14 against local rival Rutgers, and Princeton's first appearance ever at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton (Dec. 18 against Rider, the 2002 MAAC regular season champion). Princeton also plays at defending Patriot League champion Holy Cross and has its traditional dates with Monmouth and Lafayette (both away this year). On the non-traditional front, Princeton plays home games against both Florida International and UMBC; it will be the second meeting in both series. There is also a trip to Santa Clara for the Cable Car Classic.