Princeton’s annual Reunions bacchanalia begins today and it is doubtful anyone returning for their fifth reunion will have as strong a conversation starter as Luke Owings.
Owings spent the better part of 2012 training for his first boxing match, a bout that was part of the charity event Haymakers For Hope, which raised money up in Boston for research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
His first fight behind him, Owings and I talked extensively last week and you can read Owings' words and watch video of all three rounds after the jump.
Before you dive into the piece, I recommend reviewing this previous interview from last month which provides a great deal of additional build-up detail and background.
Less than two years after he was hired, Princeton Director of Basketball Operations Kendrick Saunders is leaving the program to accept an assistant coach position at Navy. I'm sorry to see him go but I wish him the best of luck with this hands-on opportunity. The job description for the now-open DOBO position can be found here.
The Princeton Varsity Club will honor Stu Orefice with the Marvin Bressler Award at their annual banquet.
Batting well over .400 for his career versus St. Louis coming into last night, Will Venable was a triple short of San Diego's first cycle against the Cardinals.
Bill Bradley talks about his new book as well as his days with the Knicks.
Craig Robinson is taking Oregon State to Spain and France this August.
There was a report yesterday that Brown was hiring Penn assistant and former Bears standout Mike Martin as their next head coach but a different report paints the situation as more up in the air.
Here’s the latest collection of videos from various corners of the Princeton basketball family. Above, Judson Wallace highlights in the first round of the ACB playoffs - including one ridiculous behind the back pass.
Tonight is Luke Owings' charity bout. Read our interview with Owings about his training and motivation to step in the ring here and consider making a donation to support Haymakers For Hope.
Chris Young pitched into the sixth inning during yesterday's second rehab start down in Florida. Young's next stop is likely AAA Buffalo.
Georgetown's Jeff Green will graduate this weekend, five years after leaving school for the NBA. A great story.
Will Venable had four hits (video) in a San Diego victory at Washington. Venable is third on the Padres with a .278 batting average.
On the recruiting front a guard from New Jersey lists Princeton as one of his four Ivy League suitors.
FC Barcelona fell to eventual champion Olympiacos in the Euroleague Final Four on Friday. In the game Judson Wallace scored three points off the bench.
Wallace received extended playing time during his team's subsequent third place game victory versus Panathinaikos, tallying 12 and grabbing four rebounds. Highlights are streaming here.
He might not have made it into a varsity game last season, but Princeton's Tom Noonan is succeeding off the court writing about music and culture, including this thoughtful piece on Tom Gabel from the band Against Me!.
See how Jadwin Gym and other Ivy venues stand up in the NCAA's 2012 Men's Basketball Attendance report.
A few recruiting tidbits for today...
There's a wing from Florida who has interest from Princeton as well as other Ivy programs.
Tiger head coach Mitch Henderson is scheduled to participate in the New York Yankees/New Era Pinstripe Bowl Charity Golf Tournament on Tuesday.
It was a successful minor league start for Chris Young down in Florida. The former Princeton two sport standout pitched five shutout innings for the St. Lucie Mets.
Judson Wallace is interviewed as FC Barcelona arrived in Turkey for their Eurocup Final Four matchup with Olympiacos. The game takes place at 2:00 pm ET today and can be streamed on ESPN3.
A big man from Florida is a late signee for Georgetown's 2012 recruiting class.
While I was out watching The Avengers save the planet, the Ivy League issued the following statement...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 10, 2012
RED BANK, N.J. -- The Ivy League announced today that its directors of athletics have decided not to move forward with proposals for postseason tournaments in men's and women's basketball.
"After careful consideration of these proposals, the athletics directors decided that our current method of determining the Ivy League Champion and our automatic bid recipient to the NCAA Championship is the best model moving forward," said Robin Harris, Ivy League Executive Director.
In men's and women's basketball, the Ivy League plays a 14-game, double round-robin schedule where each team plays each other home and away. The team with the best conference record in each sport is awarded the Ivy title and the League's NCAA Tournament automatic bid.
The Ivy League athletics directors discussed the proposals at their annual meetings, which concluded Thursday afternoon in Red Bank, N.J.
The Ivy League Office will not comment further on this matter.
The big news from yesterday was the Ivy League's announcement that NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus) would be carrying between six and 10 men's basketball games in 2012-13 and 2013-14. As Soft Pretzel Logic states, these broadcasts can include non-conference matchups.
In addition, Princeton's separate agreement with the ESPN family of networks, which seems to always mean two Ivy contests at Jadwin Gym are broadcast nationally, remains in effect and continues beyond this two year deal with NBC Sports Network.
Whether that means fewer Princeton games will be part of this new package or that you'll see more Tiger action than ever before with greater ease remains to be seen.
This new partnership also includes Ivy League football and men's lacrosse games.
John Rogers recommends some "great stocks for sports lovers."
More blogging by Judson Wallace as FC Barcelona preps for the Euroleague Final Four.
Chris Young is scheduled to make his first rehab start on Thursday with the Mets' Class A-Advanced affiliate in St. Lucie.
If the Portland Trail Blazers call about their open General Manager position, the Sacramento Bee feels Geoff Petrie should listen.
Bill Bradley shares his concerns about the influence of money in politics.
On this day in 1967, Pete Carril was hired at Princeton.
Sydney Johnson feels Tony Newsom is "ready to be a head coach." Will Brown agree?
I was shocked to read late last night that Don Gowan, head coach at the Canterbury School, died suddenly. He was only 38. Gowan coached Princeton recruit Edo Lawrence and I enjoyed talking with him and exchanging emails for multiple pieces this past season. My condolences to his friends, family and colleagues.
princetonbasketball.com was founded on April 28th, 1998 in an attempt to provide fans of the Princeton Tigers and Ivy League basketball with the best on-line source for up-to-date news and information. We have since expanded to launch a companion site, Georgetown Basketball News.
As these sites have continued to grow we have increased our coverage to include additional teams with Princeton connections - the Richmond Spiders, Denver Pioneers, Oregon State Beavers, Fairfield Stags and Mercer County Community College Vikings - plus former Tigers playing professional baseball and basketball all over the world. This site is not directly affiliated with the Friends of Princeton Basketball, Princeton University or the Princeton athletic department.
Sun. 11/10 vs. Florida A&M
Sat. 11/16 at Butler
Wed. 11/20 vs. Lafayette
Sat. 11/23 at Rice
Tue. 11/26 vs. George Mason
Sat. 11/30 at Bucknell
Sat. 12/7 vs. FDU
Wed. 12/11 at Rutgers
Sat. 12/14 at Penn State
Fri. 12/20 vs. Portland*
Sat. 12/21 vs. Pacific*
Tue. 12/31 vs. Kent State
Sat. 1/4 at Liberty
Sat. 1/11 at Penn
Sun. 1/26 vs. Kean
Fri. 1/31 at Harvard
Sat. 2/1 at Dartmouth
Fri. 2/7 vs. Columbia
Sat. 2/8 vs. Cornell
Fri. 2/14 at Brown
Sat. 2/15 at Yale
Fri. 2/21 vs. Dartmouth
Sat. 2/22 vs. Harvard
Fri. 2/28 vs. Yale
Sat. 3/1 vs. Brown
Fri. 3/7 at Cornell
Sat. 3/8 at Columbia
Tue. 3/11 vs. Penn
2,503 - B. Bradley, 1962-65
1,625 - I. Hummer, 2009-13
1,550 - D. Davis, 2008-12
1,546 - K. Mueller, 1987-91
1,451 - P. Campbell, 1959-62
1,441 - C. Robinson, 1979-83
1,428 - B. Earl, 1995-99
1,365 - B. Scrabis, 1985-89
1,321 - G. Petrie, 1967-70
1,292 - H. Haabestad, 1952-55
1,277 - G. Lewullis, 1995-99
1,239 - B. Taylor, 1970-72
1,207 - S. Goodrich 1994-98
1,133 - F. Sowinski, 1975-78
1,130 - R. Hielscher, 1991-95
1,122 - C. Thomforde, 1966-69
1,099 - T. Manakas, 1970-73
1,090 - J. Wallace, 2001-05
1,088 - C. Belz, 1956-59
1,079 - B. Hauptfuhrer, 1973-76
1,076 - B. Roma, 1976-79
1,071 - C. Mooney, 1990-94
1,064 - A. Hyland, Jr., 1960-63
1,062 - L. Brangan, 1957-60
1,057 - A. Hill, 1973-76
1,054 - D. Mavraides, 2007-11
1,044 - S. Johnson, 1993-1997
1,031 - J. Hummer, 1967-70
1,010 - W. Venable, 2001-05
