Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson and princetonbasketball.com editor Jon Solomon sat down at Jadwin Gym before practice today to record the most recent installment of their season-long weekly interview series.
Henderson and Solomon reviewed Princeton’s difficult loss to Fordham in detail and previewed the Tigers' hectic homestand versus Rider and Bucknell.
This exclusive Q&A available after the jump is 9:00+ in length. You can catch up on all of this season's discussions here.
Great job with MH as always. It sounds like the Braase experiment will become more of a staple unless the centers can at least get back to last year's form.
Playing Brase more at this time seems to be a "risk vs. reward" situation.
Cases in point:
Brendan Connolly is best on the Tigers with a 13.5% turnover rate.
Hans Brase is worst among rotation players with a 35.5% turnover rate.
Connolly is committing 3.8 fouls/40 minutes this season.
Brase is at 7.1 fouls/40 minutes.
This doesn't mean I'm against the idea, just wanted to put those stats out there.
Brase's biggest statistical advantage on Connolly is Offensive Rebound %. Brase grabs 9.1% of all chances when he's on the floor (best in the rotation), while Connolly snatches 4.3%.
Their Defensive Rebound % numbers are identical - 13.0%.
Saturday's game against one of the nation's best centers in Mike Muscala could be a contest where Princeton needs Connolly, Brase, Mack Darrow *and* Bobby Garbade.
Is Chris Young available?
I think more playing time for Brase is a great idea and certainly worth the risk. What is the risk, exactly? That we might not win? Among the surprises in this still young season is the stunning lack of production from the center tandem of Connolly and Darrow. One had the feeling last year that when Darrow entered the game the Tigers were gaining with his presence. (Not quite the same feeling as when Maddox came off the bench, but you get the idea.) Neither player brings much to the offense at this point, and, as seniors, what we have seen is what we will get. If Hummer, Bray and Barrett were all having big years we might not need much from the post players, but those three are indispensable. Princeton has two futures to consider: the 2012 Ivy season and beyond. Brase and Bobby Garbade could be big parts of both. Remember, Harvard's disgraced captains may return next year with Siyani Chambers and the blue chip big man recruit. Fasten your seat belts, Tiger fans.
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