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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Basketball Gets Early Start on 2004-05 Season at Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
November 08, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2004
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Just 27 days after the beginning of practice, the Princeton men's basketball team has the honor of taking part in yet another beginning.
Princeton's matchup with Bucknell Thursday evening in Syracuse, in the first round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, will be the first official regular season game on the 2004-05 Division I men's basketball schedule. There are also games at the three other CVC sites around the country Thursday night, but the Princeton-Bucknell game will begin the earliest (5:30 p.m. EST).
There is also another new beginning Thursday night, though that one involves an old friend. Joe Scott coaches his first game as Princeton's head coach after four years at Air Force, but Scott is no stranger to Princeton basketball or playing at Syracuse. In fact, Scott was in his final year as an assistant coach at Princeton the last time the Tigers headed to the Carrier Dome for the 1999 NABC Classic.
The Princeton-Bucknell game pits two teams chosen to win their respective conferences in recent preseason polls. The Tigers were picked to be repeat champions after finishing 13-1 in the Ivy League last year and winning the league by three games over Brown and Penn. The Bison, 14-15 overall last year, finished tied for second in the Patriot League last season with a 9-5 league record.
Northern Colorado visits sixth-ranked Syracuse in Thursday's other semifinal, with consolation and championship games Friday night. The winner of the Syracuse site will advance to the CVC final four at Madison Square Garden Nov. 18-19. Mississippi State, Memphis and California are also hosting CVC regionals.
The winner of the Syracuse site will play the Birmingham (Mississippi State) site winner, while the Memphis and Cal winners will play each other in the Nov. 18 semifinals.
NOTE OF THE DAY
Great Scott! Head coach Joe Scott leads the Tigers for the first time tonight. A former Princeton player and assistant coach, Scott was named the Mountain West Conference "Coach of the Year" last season after leading Air Force to its first NCAA tournament in 42 years.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
We Were Here First The Princeton-Bucknell matchup at the Carrier Dome Thursday is the first official regular-season game of the 2004-05 NCAA Division I basketball season.
Chart Toppers Both Princeton (Ivy League) and Bucknell (Patriot League) were picked to win their respective leagues in preseason polls.
In Case You Forgot...Princeton won the Ivy League last season and reached the NCAA tournament for the 23rd time. Only 16 other schools in Division I have reached the tournament more often.
Good News Princeton returns 81% of its scoring and 82% of its rebounding from a year ago.
More Good News Princeton returns two first-team All-Ivy League selections (Will Venable, Judson Wallace) for the first time since the 1996-97 season, when Steve Goodrich and Sydney Johnson returned.
Even More Good News All five Princeton players that started the final seven games last season, including the NCAA tournament game against Texas, return in 2004-05.
Been Here Before Princeton won the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in 1997, defeating Texas and N.C. State in a four-team tournament at the Meadowlands.
Let's Experiment The Coaches vs. Cancer Classic will be played with the international three-point line (20' 6"), a wider free-throw lane and a block/charge circle underneath each basket.
TEAM NOTES & ANECDOTES
Election Year Princeton was among 46 teams receiving at least one vote in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll released two weeks ago.
Numbers Game Princeton needs just five victories to reach the 1,500-win mark as a program. Only 13 other schools in Division I have reached 1,500 wins.
I'm Honored Joe Scott finished fourth nationally in last season's Associated Press "National Coach of the Year" balloting. UConn's Jim Calhoun won the award in 2003-04.
Welcoming All Comers In Joe Scott's last five seasons as an assistant coach at Princeton (1995-2000), the Tigers had a 37-19 record against schools that offer athletic scholarships.
On Both Ends Last season, Princeton finished third nationally in points allowed per game and 14th nationally in field-goal percentage. Air Force led the nation in scoring defense and tied for 14th with Princeton in field-goal percentage.
Who's Back? Princeton returns 12 letterwinners from a year ago, including seven players who played in at least 26 games last year. All seven of those players averaged at least 12 minutes per game.
Who's Not Back? Princeton lost sharpshooting guard Ed Persia to graduation, while sophomore forward Harrison Schaen is taking the year off from school for personal reasons.
Senior Moments Princeton has five seniors this season (Berger, Logan, Stephens, Venable, Wallace), its largest senior class since the 1997-98 season.
The Early Days Today's game marks just the second time Princeton has started its season this early. The Tigers' last appearance in the CVC Classic also started on Nov. 11 in 1997.
Injury Report...Andre Logan had surgery on his left knee for the third time since 2002 this past Friday and will be out several weeks. Logan started 21 games a year ago and averaged 8.2 points per game.
Test Run Princeton did not play an exhibition game, but did participate in a closed scrimmage with Division II Kutztown Oct. 31.
We Meet Again Princeton and Bucknell played four consecutive years from 1996-97 through 1999-2000 but haven't played since. The Tigers won three of those four games in that stretch.
Patriot Games The Tigers will play three games in the next three weeks against Patriot League teams. The Tigers play at Lafayette Nov. 27 and at Holy Cross Dec. 1.
Back to the Dome Princeton last played in the Carrier Dome in Joe Scott's last season as an assistant coach. The Tigers fell to Syracuse and Missouri at the 1999 NABC Classic.
Let's Keep it Going Princeton won 14 of its final 15 regular-season games last year. Besides Princeton's lone Ivy loss to Penn, the Tigers lost only to Oklahoma, Minnesota and Texas after Jan. 1.
Conference Call Princeton finished its 2003-04 conference season with at least a .500 record for the 51st straight year, a current streak more than twice as long as any other team in NCAA Division I.
Arc de Triomphe Princeton, along with Vanderbilt and UNLV, are the only teams to have made at least one three-point shot in every game since the rule came into effect for the 1986-87 season. The Tigers' streak currently stands at 494 games.
Road Warriors Princeton will play just one game (Dec. 8 vs. Rutgers) at home prior to Dec. 31. The Tigers could play as many as 11 games away from home before their second home game.
More New Faces Tony Newsom is in his first year as a Princeton assistant coach after three seasons at Holy Cross. John Fitzgerald is in his first year in the new position of Director of Basketball Operations.
On Schedule Princeton has played a team that eventually reached the Final Four in each of the last four seasons (Duke in 2001, Maryland in 2002, Texas in 2003 and Duke in 2004).
PLAYER NOTES & ANECDOTES
Center of Attention Judson Wallace averaged 15.3 points and 6.4 rebounds last year. He was the first Princeton player since Bob Roma in 1978-79 to average 15 points and six rebounds for a single season.
20-20 Vision Judson Wallace scored 26 or more points four times last season. Prior to last year, Princeton players had scored 26 or more points 15 times total in 14 years.
Milestone Year? Judson Wallace needs 251 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Playing the Percentages Will Venable shot 56.8% from the field last season. He shot 63% on two-point shots.
Mr. Versatility Will Venable led Princeton in assists (81, 2.9 apg) and steals (1.5 spg) last season.
O-R-I-O-L-E-S Will Venable was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 15th round (439th overall pick) of the June 2004 MLB Free Agent draft.
Back on Court Andre Logan played in 26 of 28 games last year after missing 40 of the previous 43 Princeton games due to knee injuries
Logan's Run Andre Logan is in his fifth year of eligibility. He was awarded a fifth year after missing all but three games in 2002-03 due to injury.
From Way Downtown Scott Greenman led the Tigers with 42 three-point shots last season. Greenman had at least two three-pointers in 15 of Princeton's 28 games last year.
Taking Care of It Scott Greenman had just 26 turnovers in 28 games last season despite averaging nearly 31 minutes per game.
On Center Stage Mike Stephens shot 53% from the field as a junior. He had 107 points last season after scoring 37 points combined in his first two years.
Playing the Best Mike Stephens scored 10 points at Duke last season while helping hold Duke's Shelden Williams to just six points.
Shooting Star Luke Owings led Princeton in three-point shooting percentage (15-35, 42.9%) last season. Owings shot 53% (34-64) overall from the field.
It's About Connections Luke Owings attended the same high school (Washington, D.C.'s Gonzaga) as former Princeton coach and current Georgetown coach John Thompson III.
The Emperor Maximilian Max Schafer started the final six games for Princeton last season and averaged nearly 25 minutes per game in those six games.
Shot Chart Max Schafer shot 44% from three-point range in Ivy League games last year (12 for 27).
Savage Garden Princeton native Noah Savage may start for the Tigers Thursday against Bucknell. Savage played at The Hun School, just a mile or so down the road from the Princeton campus.
More Honors Senior Jon Berger won the team's Paul Richard Friedman Memorial Award as a junior. The award is given to the member of the program "who has done his very best every day in every way."
I'm Lovin' It Freshman guard Matt Sargeant and freshman forward Kyle Koncz were each McDonald's All-America nominees during their senior year of high school.