Suffolk/Mercer pictures.
"Hard Work!"
Supplemental photos from today's Mercer game courtesy of Stephen Goldsmith.
Mercer 75 Suffolk 64.
Coach Howie Levy:
A day after their four point loss to CCRI, the Mercer Vikings (0-1) were back home Sunday for the second afternoon of the Mercer/Burlington Classic against the Suffolk N.Y. Clippers.
Flat on defense and repeatedly missing open three point shots from the same space on the far right side of the Suffolk zone, the Vikings found themselves in an early 15-4 hole.
"I don't mind them taking the right threes but I think the threes tend to go in after some more ball movement," said Mercer County C.C. head coach Howie Levy. "They were open but the weren't necessarily the greatest shots - that's part of the learning process to know you're always going to get that shot, let's see if we can do a bit better."
Sunday News:
Suffolk-Seldon NY vs. MCCC - 2:00 pm ET - Mercer/Burlington Classic
Mercer (0-1) dropped a tough 71-67 decision to CCRI in their season opener. Forward Gary Carthan had 13 in defeat. Rodney Walters and Jermaine Emmanuel each added 11.
Rutgers in the 2000s: A Decade of Dismay.
When Mason Rocca battered his way to 28 points inside and grabbed a team-best 13 rebounds, leading Princeton to a 66-60 overtime victory against Rutgers in December of 1999, the Tigers had a 71-34 all-time advantage over the Scarlet Knights through 105 meetings.
Since that afternoon however, Princeton has lost 10 out of 11 and the last five straight to Rutgers, many in agonizing fashion.
It is understatement to say the 2000s were not a good decade for the Tigers in this inter-state matchup that dates back to 1917, a trend Princeton hopes to reverse in the 2010-11 season opener on November 12th at Jadwin Gym.
Join me now as we look back at the two teams' past 11 meetings. It won't be pretty, but it should put next week's game in a greater context.
Many of these pieces originally appeared on the listserv that predated this web site.
December 14, 2000 - Rutgers 46 Princeton 44 - Jadwin Gym
This was John Thompson III's second home game as Princeton's head coach, coming five days after the Tigers surprised a Xavier squad that would be ranked in the Top 25 later that season. It was also the first game I covered as a member of the media. Here's what I wrote at the time:
Another late arriving crowd for this year's installment of Rutgers/Princeton. Student section certainly larger than the Xavier game. Students were given orange t-shirts with a giant letter "P" on them celebrating 100 years of Princeton basketball. Looked good to see a solid orange block of fans standing for much of the game.
Ed Persia has taken some bleach to his head since the Xavier game. He now has a small blonde tuft on his head. Eugene Baah has untied his cornrows and they are now short dreadlocks. But enough with the haircut report. On to the game...
Rutgers came out playing man-to-man defense. Princeton responded with a full-court-press. Princeton went up 8-2 on a strong drive Eugene Baah and three pointers by Mike Bechtold and C.J. Chapman. Rutgers was able to get far too many second and third chances with offensive rebounds in the first ten minutes of the game. Not all of these offensive rebounds were the result of men out of position. Some of these rebounds were the result of unlucky bounces or batted balls. Princeton's rebounding was much better in the second part of the first half and Rutgers' rebounding advantage was just five [16-11] at the half.
Princeton held on to the ball well in the first half, only turning it over three times. Good way to tell your team in executing: You can cite all the the turnovers they made in under thirty seconds without thinking twice. Princeton led at the half 25-18. No player on Princeton had more than five points at halftime. Ed Persia's quick hands led to two Tiger steals, and that deserves to be noted. Rutgers went zone against Princeton for a stretch in the first half, but it did not prove very effective.
Halftime. The Trenton High School marching band/drum corps were pretty great, but wouldn't leave the court, even when asked/told to do so by the public address announcer. This held up both team's warmups and Coach Thompson had to make "shoo!" motions to the drummers as the slowly plodded off the court once they were finished. Reminded me of far too many bands I used to book who would try and play longer than the club had slotted them for...
The first three minutes of the second half were, in my opinion, the most important sequence of this game. Princeton held Rutgers scoreless for the first 3:50 of the second half, but was only able to extend their lead to 27-18 on a Persia jumper off a well-sold pump-fake. Rutgers extended their defense and started to drive to the basket. The Scarlet Knights also did a good job taking away the Princeton perimeter game.
Rutgers came back and tied the game at 34-34 with 8:21 left and the game was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way. Andre Logan scored to put Princeton up two off an assist by Nate Walton. Todd Billet tied the game with two free throws. Logan scored on another layup off a pass from Walton. Rashod Kent scored to tie the game at 38 with 4:45 left. Ahmed El-Nokali scored on a layup off a third Walton assist to put Princeton up 40-38. Rutgers hit one of two free throws.Walton missed a three pointer and Rutgers took the lead, 41-40 on a tough basket by Mike Sherrod. Princeton took the lead back on two Logan free throws. Greer fed Kent for a dunk to put Rutgers up 43-42. El-Nokali's runner in the lane was blocked with 1:33 left. Rutgers ball.
Nate Walton fouled Kent, "hack-a-Shaq" style, when Kent got the ball down low. Kent missed the front end of his one-and-one and the Tigers had the ball with 1:20 left. Chapman threw the ball away looking for Nate Walton down low with 0:59 left. Jeff Greer scored after a tough jump-stop in the paint to put Rutgers up three, 45-42. Timeout Princeton. With 0:11 left, Andre Logan missed a three pointer, but Walton got the rebound and scored. El-Nokali fouled Jeff Greer with 0:04 on the clock. Greer missed his first free throw but made the second. Timeout Princeton.
Walton inbounded the ball under the Tigers' basket and fed a streaking Ed Persia who dribbled upcourt, spun towards the basket and fired an off-balance but open three pointer that hit the backboard too strong and Rutgers had a close two point victory, 46-44.
Rutgers continued the recent trend in this series, as the road team has now won four straight.
Logan was a spark off the bench for the second straight game, with some great blocks, good cuts to the basket and nice positioning to keep the ball in play off of Tiger misses. The jump shots will come in time.
El-Nokali hit several driving layups in the game but his final shot, which was blocked with less than two minutes left and Princeton down one, was ill-advised. El-Nokali got cut on his left wrist late in the second half and had to come out to be taped up. I imagine Ahmed got some blood on his jersey, as he had to switch both his jersey *and* his shorts, returning to the game not as #15 but as #31.
C.J. Chapman had another good defensive game, but he and Mike Bechtold disappeared offensively for stretches. One positive to take out of this game is that Princeton nearly won the game despite sub-par offensive games from Chapman and Bechtold.
Nate Walton passed the ball as well as usual and stayed out of foul trouble matched up against larger players all evening. Can't say enough about Nate's effort and heart this year. Nate Walton's father, who I hear was a basketball player of some import, was at the game, signing autographs.
Not much else to say. Sort of what you would expect from Rutgers/Princeton, especially with the players each team have this season. Reminded me of tight games these teams played in the 1980s. Close without many mistakes. Like Princeton's response to their effort against Lafayette, a win over Xavier, I expect Princeton to come out and play very well against TCU.
Princeton would lose by 31 at Texas Christian. Whoops.
Saturday News:
CCRI vs. MCCC - 2:00 pm ET - Mercer/Burlington Classic
Princeton recruit Clay Wilson has been awarded the Wendy's High School Heisman Award for the state of Oklahoma.
The Associated Press previews Oregon State.
Howie Levy previews the Mercer Vikings.
While the season openers for Division I members of the "Carril Cradle" won't come until a week from tonight, former Princeton center Howie Levy's Mercer County Community College Vikings kick off 2010-11 with a pair of games at their home gym on Saturday and Sunday afternoon as part of the Mercer/Burlington Classic.
If you're eager for a basketball fix before Princeton hosts Rutgers, this pair of 2:00 pm ET tipoffs for the defending Region XIX champions versus CCRI and Suffolk-Seldon NY should tide local basketball fans over nicely.
I caught up with Levy briefly on the phone this evening to find out how preparations are going and to preview his team's opening weekend.
I haven't had a chance to come see you guys practice during the preseason. How has the team been looking?
Of the three years, this group is probably the most talented top-to-bottom. We may not have anybody as good as our guy Uros [Kovacevic] last year, but I think as a group we're more talented and probably less stubborn for the most part. They've picked up things pretty quickly and we looked pretty good in our scrimmages.
Despite knowing the dangers of being optimistic about your team's prospects I'm somewhat optimistic.
There's a lot of turnover in Junior College basketball. Who are some players on the Vikings people should keep their eyes out for this season?
We've got a kid named Amir Bell who is 6'5" and transferred from Delaware State. There are two freshmen from Philly - Rodney Walters and Dave Melton. Rodney looks amazingly like Michael Jordan. They're really good.
A couple guys from last year - this kid Gary Carthan who was a backup center is going to play a lot of minutes. Anthony Obery, who was the third guard last year is going to play a lot and we have a kid Jon Jernigan who played two years ago and took time off and is back in school again.
There are probably 10 guys I could put in a game. I don't know if I will, but there are probably 10 guys I would be comfortable playing.
Is prepping for this year noticeably different than year one or year two?
I think we're further advanced - maybe not knowing more but I think they're more willing to play together and pass the ball, so it has been somewhat easier to teach stuff. I think last year we had some guys that were very good at a couple of things so you almost had to change the way you played to play into different guys' strengths and weaknesses.
I think this team, we can sort of play what I would consider "normally," where the ball goes where it goes and the shot is going to be taken by the guy that is open and not necessarily trying to orchestrate things quite as much.
Do you sense your guys are eager to start playing against faces they don't recognize?
We've had three scrimmages which were pretty good but I think they're excited. They seem to have some good feelings for each other. They're actually a pretty pleasant group to be around for the most part. When you have a team that's willing to pass the ball and willing to play defense, they're likely the kind of guys you want to be around.
Finally, tell me about this weekend's games.
We've opened up with this little "mixer," they call it. Us and Burlington play two teams. We don't play each other because we play twice during the regular season. We open with CCRI, Community College of Rhode Island, who is always a really tough team. We split with them last year. They're always picked as one of the top teams in Division II.
I don't know much about Suffolk-Seldon NY. They're going to play at noon tomorrow so I'll know more about them before they play on Sunday!
Friday News:
The Trentonian has more from Princeton's Media Day, including a spotlight on Douglas Davis.
Rush The Court has been ranking all of the D-I college basketball teams on Twitter. Princeton comes in as number 87, tops in the Ivies.
The Sports Network previews the Ivy League.
Northwestern won their exhibition over Robert Morris (IL) by 20.
Will Venable is part of a group of MLB players pitching to special needs children in a fundraiser for the Miracle League of San Diego on November 13th.
Richmond's Kevin Anderson is one of 30 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
Media Day 2010.
Coach Sydney Johnson interview:
Kareem Maddox, Patrick Saunders & Dan Mavraides interview:
Ian Hummer & Douglas Davis interview:
Princeton held its annual preseason Media Day on Wednesday afternoon. Coach Sydney Johnson and select Tigers spoke to princetonbasketball.com and other press outlets about the upcoming season. These interviews are exclusive to our site. If you're interested in inside access like this all season long, please consider becoming a donor.
17 more photos by Frank Wojciechowski from Media Day, including your first glimpses at the freshman class, can be found after the jump.
Thursday News:
The San Diego Padres officially declined their $8.5 million 2011 option on pitcher Chris Young. Now a free agent, Young told the Union-Tribune that he would like to remain with the team.
New Egypt (NJ) High School basketball coach Jay Corby says it is "down to crunch time" in the recruitment of star center Desmon Hubert. Corby talks about Princeton in comparison to Hubert's other four suiters in this Baltimore Sun piece. When he mentions the several visits Hubert has made to the campus over the years, I can add that one took place last season when the Tigers hosted Harvard.
Former Princeton standout Tim vanBlommesteyn unofficially collected two percent of the vote running as an independent candidate in the race for Congress in New Hampshire's second district.
Northwestern hosts Robert Morris (IL) in an exhibition this evening. Head coach Bill Carmody tells ESPN his team is working on improving their defense and rebounding.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the Wildcats can't mask their ambition for 2010-11.
Spend close to an hour with Bill Bradley by watching this 1987 video from the C-Span library.
Eleven years of season openers.
Above, the Jadwin Jungle waits for the opening tip of the 2005-06 season.
This post was originally penned on November 7, 2009 as "A Decade of Season Openers." I've added last season's game against Central Michigan and revamped these essays for the upcoming season.
Many of these pieces come from the listserv that predated this web site.
Read on for the stories of the past 11 Tiger tipoffs in sequential order...
November 12, 1999 - Syracuse 60 Princeton 43 - NABC Classic
Sophomore center Chris Young led three Princeton players in double figures, but the Tigers fell in an early 17 point hole at Syracuse and never closed within single digits. Here's what I wrote at the time:
Went to the usual sports bar to watch the game and was there 30 minutes before the dish guy told me the game was "blacked out" on their system [even though I called to confirm earlier in the day]. Jumped in the car and drove frantic across Chicago to another sports bar who had been phoned by the first sports bar to make sure they had the game. Listened to the five of the first seven minutes on WHWH over the car phone [thanks, dad!]. It was 5-2 Syracuse when I got in the car. What started as "first game of the season jitters" steamrolled into a 34-11 Syracuse halftime lead. For the record, I made it into the second sports bar at 23-6. Oy.
When I closed my eyes at the half, my nightmares were filled with an endless series of filled passing lanes and defenders with arms spread wide. Syracuse had played very good defense, Princeton had made some forced choices and missed any type of shot they had. It was not looking good. Then, as the second half started, you could see a bit of fire in this year's model of the Princeton Tigers.
Players cut harder.
Passes were smarter.
Defense was tighter.
By the middle of the second half, I was wondering how this game would have gone had Mason Rocca not had to sit out [with what I assume is a groin problem, even though I did not see him on the bench]. Sure, Etan Thomas missed the game for Syracuse as well, but I never thought any sort of "what ifs"would be close to crossing my mind at halftime. The Tigers dug a "Penn game hole" but could not climb all the way out of it.
This is what young teams do. They grow up. They make mistakes. Then they hit shots. They cut Syracuse leads to 49-36 with 6:15 left and don't get any closer, even with some good chances to do so. They throw the ball away and give up easy second chances at the other end. I think this team will grow up at a rate that pleases many. Sure, they will lose a good number of games, but by the time Ivy season rolls around, the schedule will have been worth it. I have been known to take a loss pretty hard in my day, but I feel better than I expected about a seventeen point opening night loss.
Watching Chris Young, who is now HUGE [esp. in his torso], be the stable force in the middle, kicking the ball out to players that will learn what to do with it in time, made me feel good about this coming season. Hell, Lafayette blew Princeton out to start last year, and if this season could mimic that one I'd be more than happy.
Some other thoughts:
Decent touch-passes on occasion from Young [drawing the double team] to Walton, including one pass that lead to a lay-up I'm pretty sure was goaltending. Nice play to create points working off of the attention Young draws. Young also hit two DEEP three-pointers. As predicted, it will take some outside shots and some hard cuts from the guards to keep Young from being double/triple teamed. By the time Princeton hit several three-pointers it was just too late.
Baah provided decent spark and a quick step to the basket, even if he still did look out-of-control from time to time. He caused several second chances and hit some nice shots however. Like the cornrows.
Chapman showed decent touch and great range. I hope his "practice shot" is back.
Tiger court spacing needs some work.
As does the speed in which they swing their passes around the arc.
Princeton will play Missouri @ 7:00 pm EST on Saturday night in Syracuse, NY.
I'll be back at this new sportsbar watching progress happen quickly.
Tuesday News:
Princeton will honor Marvin Bressler with a "MARV" patch on their uniforms this season.
There's an excerpt of a lovely note written posthumously to Professor Bressler in the latest Princeton Alumni Weekly.
Future Tiger Clay Wilson has been named Oklahoma class 3A Preseason MVP.
The 2010-11 season opens on November 12th against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights struggled in a foul-plaqued 80-68 exhibition victory over McGill College.
Despite returning zero starters from last season, Howie Levy's Mercer County Community College team is ranked 17th in NJCAA DII Preseason Poll.
Senior big man Tyler Adams, who had previously verbally committed to Duke changed his mind and pledged his services to Georgetown.
New Egypt center Desmond Huebert, who is deciding between Maryland, Wake Forest, Villanova, Georgia Tech and the Tigers will "probably" visit the Princeton campus this weekend.
YouTube potpourri XI.
The latest collection of videos from various corners of the Princeton basketball family. Bill Carmody speaks at Northwestern's Midnight Madness event above.
