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Monday News:

November 17, 2008 at 9:38 am
Filed under Basketball, Georgetown, Northwestern, Princeton, Today's News

Jacksonville vs. Georgetown - 7:30 pm ET - MASN

Brown vs. George Mason - 7:00 pm ET
Cornell vs. St. John's - 9:30 pm ET - NIT Preseason Tip-Off

Georgetown starts their season at home against Jacksonville tonight. The Washington Post previews "the next generation" of Hoya basketball.

Northwestern (1-0) shut down Central Arkansas, 81-39, the school's largest margin of victory in 15 years. The Wildcats shot 60.9% from the field.

The Daily Princetonian files their report on the Tigers' loss to Central Michigan.

The Maine Black Bears, Princeton's next opponent, are 2-0 after winning the 100 Club Classic Championship.

Around the Ivy League: Columbia (1-1) lost 71-50 at Seton Hall.

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David Lewis said,

November 17, 2008 @ 11:51 pm

In the Daily Princetonian, the author states that Princeton has adopted a new, upbeat offense and has, essentially, abandoned the traditional Princeton offense. I'm not so sure. Has Doug Davis made that much of a difference so soon? I didn't see any backdoors against Central Michigan, but have not seen many over the past four years. Why is the Princeton offense losing its signature play? Is it that teams now know how to prepare for Princeton? Is it a lack of personnel? Or is it a change in philosophy? Let's face it, Princeton has struggled to score points over the last four years. Sometimes it has been very painful to watch - those six minutes scoring droughts. Has the coaching staff recognized the the offense had become stagnant and now changed things up. That might help Princeton win a few games but it would make Princeton like everyone else - a sad thought.

Jon Solomon said,

November 18, 2008 @ 12:11 am

David,

I found that comment strange as well. To be blunt, I think the author is basing his "findings" on a very, very, very, very small sample size of one game mixed with additional misperceptions.

Princeton did run a number of backdoors on Friday. Two stand out as I review the game in my head. I'd have to check my notes for more.

Finley tried to find Maddox at one point in the first half but an open Maddox could not control the pass. It went off Maddox's hands and out of bounds.

Schroeder had a backdoor layup down the left side in the second half that he passed up in lieu of a cross-court pass to Davis for three.

The coaching staff also called many "Princeton offense" sets against CMU. I didn't see any "chin," but I did see some traditional plays.

If an opponent wants to make the effort to take away all backdoor layups on defense, that's fine. The play is over-rated anyway and I feel this year's Princeton team will shoot better than last year's squad and make defenses pay if they pack the lane.

I think that if you were to ask Coach Johnson if he has abandoned the "Princeton offense," he would say that the beauty of the offense is that there are more things available in it than just a bounce pass to a cutter behind his defender.

Jon

Ps. The author's thesis ignores the Tigers' six minute scoring drought early in the first half!

David Lewis said,

November 18, 2008 @ 8:24 am

Jon,
"...the [backdoor] play is over-rated...." Even Jon Solomon is abandoning the ship. What chance to the traditionalists have now? I want the 97-98 team back. I don't want a new offense that entirely depends on creating shots off the dribble. If that's what Princeton is going to become we will be like all the other Ivy teams and the brand appeal will be lost. Princeton will no longer be the darling of the national media and will not get games on TV against national powers. How often do you see Harvard or Cornell basketball on ESPN? How about Penn? The answer is never. Good Ivy basketball alone is not that interesting. The David v. Goliath angle with the contrasting style of play is a key factor.

Jon Solomon said,

November 18, 2008 @ 8:53 am

David,

Penn is on ESPN in an hour against Drexel.

Jon

Michael Braun said,

November 18, 2008 @ 10:21 am

I'll be a lot less kind than Jon -- I found the Prince article rather ignorant. My guess is that his basis for what the "Princeton offense" is all about is what he might have observed during the Joe Scott era. So yes, Princeton now looks very, very different for what it looked like two years ago. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. This writer may never have seen the teams of the late 90s (maybe he has), so he really can't compare. Also, the players are different, so of course the play on the floor will be different. In fact, one former Princeton player from a championship team once told me after a game about 3 years ago, that he didn't even recognize the offense that was being run.

As far as Jon's "play is over-rated" comment, let's put that in perspective. I guarantee you that if the opportunity presents itself for a backdoor cut, the team will take it. How many of those plays do you see in a game anyway? I remember many coaches, from Carril through Scott, say that since opponents look for the backdoor, it is harder for Princeton to make them.

Not to speak for former coaches and players, but I think that if you ask any of them, going back at least 20 years, they would consider the backdoor to be just one of many weapons in the arsenal. So let's try to keep the panic level to a minimum.

David Lewis said,

November 18, 2008 @ 10:57 am

Jon and Michael,
The back-door debate might be a good question for Coach Johnson. It might be that the reason back-door baskets are down is because opponents lately have not respected our outside shooting and have packed the middle. I hope that back door baskets will increase if Doug Davis continues to make threes. To Mike's point, I think the back-door has been a staple of the offense for a very long time. It's hard to say that it's just "one of many weapons in the arsenal" now since Princeton is the lowest scoring team in the nation. When we do not shoot well from outside, what arsenal do we have?

james schenk said,

November 19, 2008 @ 2:50 pm

I havn't seen the Tigers play this year but last year noticed that Sydney Johnson would get into the offense much quicker than the traditional motion of Joe Scott's offense when he would have players run one or two turnout cuts where players would go streaking back and forth before even attempting to look for a shot. I watched Richmond play last night and Chris Mooney is still running the Princeton offense but runs it more like JTIII at Goergetown. But when you see a team with both guards bringing the ball up the court and both forwards foul line extended, and the center in the low post or elbow taking passes and being involved in handling the ball, then its the Princeton offense. The beauty of this offense is that players are free to read the defense and create plays based on what the defense allows. I agree that without good outside shooting, teams will pack the defense in and prevent backdoor cuts. Lets hope that changes this year.

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