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Princeton University Athletics
2004-05 Princeton Men's Basketball Outlook
October 26, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 26, 2004
Are there high expectations for the Princeton men's basketball team in 2004-05?
Certainly.
Are there reasons to be confident that those expectations are realistic?
Absolutely.
What are those expectations as the Tigers head into their first season under new head coach Joe Scott? Honestly, they're no different than they've been since Scott first stepped onto the Jadwin Gym court as a freshman point guard 21 years ago. Scott and his teammates believed then that they could beat anyone, and the head coach believes now that his Tigers can do the same.
"We take the approach that no one on our schedule is better than we are," says Scott, who became Princeton's head coach in April after leading Air Force to its first NCAA tournament in 42 years last season. "That takes mental toughness and working hard every day to become better, and that's what it takes to win."
Princeton won plenty last season, getting back to the NCAA tournament for the 23rd time, and almost every player that had something to do with those 20 wins and that NCAA tournament berth is back. Just by the numbers, the Tigers return 81% of their scoring and 82% of their rebounding from a year ago. In seniors Judson Wallace and Will Venable, Princeton also returns two first-team All-Ivy League players for the first time since the 1996-97 season. Looking for more reasons? All five starters from last year's Ivy League stretch run return, as do the top two reserves in terms of minutes played. And don't forget this one--though the Tigers lost a coach who won three Ivy League titles in his four seasons, they were able to replace him with the man voted "Coach of the Year" in the Mountain West Conference, the eighth-highest ranked conference in the nation in terms of RPI by season's end.
DYNAMIC DUO
Any discussion of both last season's success and the likelihood of more of the same this year has to begin with Wallace and Venable, the first Princeton pair to earn first-team all-league honors in the same season since Brian Earl and Gabe Lewullis did it in 1999.
The 6-10, 240-lb. Wallace is, to put it simply, a player with athletic skills not often seen in players of his size. He can play off the dribble, taking bigger centers to the basket, helped out by a three-point shooting touch (35% in 2003-04) that demands honesty from his defender. He came into Princeton with more face-the-basket skills than post ability, but now uses his athleticism and size to excel with his back to the basket as well.
If Wallace demonstrated one thing more than any other last year, it was pure scoring ability. He had more than 20 points seven times in the last nine games of the regular season, often willing the Tigers to victory during their league title run. He was ranked among the top 10 nationally in scoring early in the year and, by season's end, became the first Princeton player since Bob Roma in 1979 to average 15 points and six rebounds in a single season. He also averaged nearly two assists per game.
If the Atlanta native can limit turnovers and stay out of foul trouble, a solid senior season certainly awaits. Wallace put up those numbers last season despite playing just 28 minutes per game.
Venable didn't win the league's Player of the Year award last season, but he was probably Princeton's most important player during last year's Ivy championship run. He averaged a team-high 36 minutes in Ivy games and shot nearly 60% from the field in those 14 games, and he led the Tigers in assists and steals overall. The 6-3 Venable was often spectacular defensively as well, with his ability to guard opponents' top scorers as important as his own offensive contributions.
The San Rafael, Calif. native, who also plays baseball for the Tigers and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles after a stellar season on the diamond, averaged 10.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and three assists as a junior. He scored a career-best 28 points at Cornell, led the Tigers with 16 points against Texas and, even though he didn't shoot many three-pointers, made those shots at a 36% clip for the season.
Venable and Wallace are also Princeton's team captains this season, though they're just two members of a solid Princeton senior class.
MORE SENIORS
If Princeton's offense tends to work well with a versatile, experienced center, it can work even better with two of them. In Mike Stephens, the Tigers are fortunate to have an experienced center who has improved immensely in the past two seasons.
The 6-10, 250-lb. Stephens is Princeton's biggest player, but he also has an excellent shooting touch, connecting on 53% of his attempts last season while playing around 13 minutes per game. Stephens can also make the three-point shot when asked, and occasionally has played at the same time as Wallace with Wallace's moving to a forward position. The Napa, Calif., native had 10 points and four rebounds at Duke last season.
Princeton returns four players who started at least 21 games a year ago, and senior Andre Logan is one of them. Not surprisingly, Logan, who missed much of both the 2002-03 and 2001-02 seasons with knee injuries, got better as the year progressed in 2003-04. He averaged 8.2 points by season's end and is one of Princeton's better rebounders.
Logan is also capable of being Princeton's leading scorer in any game. He had eight of his team-high 19 points in overtime when the Tigers won at Penn last year, and his 16 points led Princeton in games at Duke and Minnesota. The 6-6 Brooklyn native has the ability to hit the medium-range jumper and play in the post, causing matchup problems for opponents.
The team's other senior is Jon Berger, who won the program's Paul Richard Friedman Award last season as the member of the program who does his very best every day in every way. Berger, who played in six games last year, does a terrific job in practice day-in and day-out for the Tigers.
ON GUARDS
All five Princeton players who started last season's NCAA tournament game against Texas return this season, and two of them are unheralded guards whose contributions go far beyond the stat sheet.
Junior Scott Greenman is a terrific three-point shooter--he led the Tigers with 42 "threes" last season and had at least two three-pointers in 15 of 28 games--but his contributions went way beyond long-range shooting. The 5-9 Greenman played 854 minutes last season, second on the team, yet committed just 26 turnovers, an average of fewer than one per game. He also made key shots all season, including a late "three" in a tie game at Harvard, and shot 84% from the free-throw line.
Sophomore Max Schafer played in every game as a freshman, coming off the bench until late in the season when an Ed Persia injury forced him into the starting lineup. It was Schafer who hit one of Princeton's biggest shots of the season, a three-pointer against Brown that put the Tigers ahead late in the second half, and the Dover, N.J., native came on offensively after struggling early in the season. Schafer shot 44% from three-point range in Ivy League play and finished the season averaging nearly 17 minutes per game.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
More often than not, Princeton's first player off the bench by the end of last season was Luke Owings, a versatile 6-6 forward capable of doing many things well. Owings finished his freshman year as Princeton's top three-point shooter by percentage among regulars, connecting on 15 of 35 (43%) three-point shots, and he shot better than 53% overall for the season. Owings played in 27 games last year and averaged 3.4 points and 12 minutes per game, numbers that should increase in 2004-05.
There are other sophomore returnees who have all improved from their first season at Princeton. Patrick Ekeruo, a versatile 6-8 player who can play in the post and facing the basket, played significant minutes early last year while Logan was out and saw action in 10 games overall. Edwin Buffmire, a tough 6-4 guard, played key minutes in several late-season games last year and is an excellent rebounder for his size. John Reynolds, a 6-10 center, has added strength as he looks to contribute during his sophomore season, while 6-7 swingman Michael Rudoy is an excellent outside shooter and athlete.
WHO'S NEW?
Princeton's incoming class is perimeter-oriented and has players with an excellent chance to contribute in 2004-05, even with the return of such an experienced core group.
Both Matt Sargeant and Kyle Koncz were McDonald's All-America nominees prior to their senior season in high school, and each will have a chance to contribute as a freshman at Princeton. Sargeant, a 6-4 combo guard from Huntington Beach, Calif., was a first-team all-state selection twice and a two-time league Most Valuable Player at Ocean View High School . He is an excellent ballhander and floor leader with scoring ability. Koncz, a 6-7 swingman, finished his career at Strongsville High School outside Cleveland as the school's all-time leading scorer. An outstanding three-point shooter, Koncz was an All-Ohio pick as a senior who averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds per game last year.
The Tigers also bring in a local product in 6-5 Noah Savage, who starred at The Hun School. Savage, named the area "Player of the Year" by The Princeton Packet, is a terrific athlete who has skills both facing the basket and playing in the post.
The Tigers also bring in shooting guard Zach Woolridge, who played for the powerful Harvard-Westlake program in Southern California, and guard Kevin Steuerer, who's father Mickey was a star player for the Tigers in the 1970's. Woolridge is the son of former NBA and Notre Dame star Orlando Woolridge.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Princeton's schedule in 2004-05 is one befitting an experienced team. The Tigers will spend much of the early season on the road against quality competition, beginning earlier than usual with an appearance in the 16-team Coaches vs. Cancer Classic that starts Nov. 11 at four sites.
The Tigers will also play at least twice on national television during their non-conference season. Princeton's first game against Temple since 1975 is an ESPN2 game at the Liacouras Center Dec. 20, while the Tigers' trip to Duke marks a return to Cameron Indoor Stadium for the second straight year and will be televised by ESPN Jan. 5.
The Tigers could play as many as eight teams that reached postseason play a year ago, beginning with a possible matchup against Syracuse Nov. 12. Princeton would need to get by Bucknell in its season opener a day earlier to set up that potential matchup.
Winners at the four CVC sites advance to the tournament final four the following week at Madison Square Garden. In addition to Syracuse, Mississippi State, Memphis and California are all serving as tournament hosts. All four games from Madison Square Garden Nov. 18 and 19 will be televised by ESPN2.
Princeton also plays Wyoming for the first time, Nov. 22 in Laramie. The Tigers also play in the Mountain Time Zone Dec. 27-28 when they participate in UTEP's Sun Bowl Tournament. Princeton won that tournament in 1996.
The home schedule begins Dec. 8, when the Tigers face Rutgers for the 111th time in a game that will be televised by CSTV. Princeton also has a unique New Year's weekend pair of games at Jadwin Gym, hosting Loyola (Md.) Dec. 31 in the afternoon and then returning to Jadwin two days later to face Davidson on a Sunday afternoon. The annual post-exam break game against an NCAA Division III opponent is Mon., Jan. 24, when Haverford visits Jadwin Gym.
The Ivy League schedule begins at home in 2005, with Brown and Yale coming to Jadwin Gym to open the league season Jan. 28-29. Princeton plays seven of its nine February league games on the road but finishes the season with three straight home games.
Princeton plays at Penn Feb. 8 in a game that will be televised by CN8, while the regular-season finale against the Quakers at Jadwin Gym March 8 will be broadcast on CSTV. Princeton's game at Cornell Feb. 26, as well as a home game against Harvard March 4, will be televised by the YES Network.