Craig Robinson previews the season.
The Oregon State head coach talks to OregonLive.com in advance of his second season coaching the Beavers.
Tuesday News:
ESPN has published a College Basketball Encyclopedia that (among many other things) ranks all eligible teams from 1-330. Princeton is #85 overall, the #25 program of the 1960s.
The Providence Journal has a piece about the divergent paths of Armond Hill and Brown star Eddie Morris.
Judson Wallace shares a new blog post on the Euroleague web site.
A visit to Mercer practice.
Division I schools aren't allowed to hold their first official practices of the 2009-10 season until October 16th, but practice for Region XIX schools like Mercer County Community College starts up two weeks sooner, beginning last Thursday afternoon.
I had a chance to sit in on the Vikings' first practice, thanks to the invitation of head coach and former Princeton assistant Howie Levy.
Last year Mercer finished Levy's initial campaign as head man with a 13-15 record, falling by a point to Manor in the first round of the Region XIX tournament.
In the middle of the day on the first of October, I arrived at Mercer's gym to find 16 young men wearing a random assortment of short sleeve t-shirts, muscle Ts and basketball shorts working on their two-handed passing skills at center court under Levy's watchful eye.
Nondescript waves of players wearing everything from blue shorts with yellow trim, to gray sweatshorts and red mesh workout gear went baseline to baseline for four minutes at a time, trying to show variety bringing the ball up and down the floor, with a focus on improving their weak hand.
At one point a player was challenged by Levy to "do something else!" with the basketball. A behind-the-back move went awry and Levy immediately said with a chuckle "not that!"
This drill was replaced by a three man full court weave, similar to the five man weave shown on the Joe Scott "Princeton Offense" DVD here, with the ball rarely hitting the floor and no passes allowed traveling backwards behind the man with the ball.
After having sprinted from one end of the gym to the other repeatedly, a steady blur of red socks, white socks, black socks and gray socks, the challenge became to make three pointers as a team from three different positions on the court - top of the key, right corner and left corner - in a limited amount of time. Levy stressed the importance of making your first shot, and if you missed that shot, you better make your second shot. That advice didn't help the ball go through the basket often. The first shot was true. Few followed. When time expired, the team had connected 38 times.
The attention moved from dribbling and passing to team communication. In a series of different drills, the Mercer players were instructed how to protect the basket and stop the ball on the break - screaming (after much encouragement from their coach to increase their volume) "I've got the basket!" and "I've got the ball!" as loud as they could in the near-empty gym.
The size of the drill grew slowly. 2-on-3 defense became 3-on-4 defense and developed eventually to a 4-on-5.
While this group of players appeared to have played together during limited unofficial workouts and some had seen time for Coach Levy last season, all of the drills worked on what many of these freshmen and sophomores had taken for granted in high school. Levy was looking to turn this group into decisive players who made smart decisions.
At one point the play fell apart and Levy was left at midcourt with one of his most improved players, Marcus Jimenez, someone who had stood out to me watching the practice because he was both the smallest on the court and the most vocally enthusiastic of the bunch, constantly cheering his teammates on.
"Who was your high school coach?," Levy asked him.
Silence.
"Who was your high school coach?," Levy asked again.
Silence.
"I want you to tell that man over there who your high school coach was," Levy said, pointing in my direction as I sat in front of the bleachers.
Pause.
"Dave Orlandini."
I smiled, recognizing the name of a former Princeton standout.
The action resumed.
Before moving on to basic instructions about his offense, Levy had the team repeat the team three point shooting exercise they had struggled with earlier in the afternoon. This time they made 52, not breaking the goal of 60 threes their coach had set, but improving.
As I prepared to leave, Levy walked his team through two basic principles of his offensive scheme - setting up a back cut out of a feed to the post off the wing and then re-feeding the post from the opposite wing if the back cut isn't available. The variety of options the offense held was clear, as was the fact that things that are open in practice aren't always there as easily when playing against another team.
Well-executed plays earned a "not too bad" from Mercer's head coach, and anything less meant the team set up from the halfcourt line and started from scratch.
By the time I headed out the door and back into the crisp October air there were starting to be more and more "not too bads."
Mercer plays three scrimmages late this month before kicking off their season at home on November 7 with the MCCC Classic.
Monday News:
The season came to a close for Will Venable and the San Diego Padres yesterday. Venable finished the year in a 1-22 slump, dropping his average from the mid-.270s down to .256. In 293 at bats over 95 games, Venable hit 14 home runs, drove in 38 runs, scored 38 runs and struck out 89 times.
TexasHoops has a story about new Princeton recruit Daniel Edwards.
The Mercer County C.C. basketball schedule has been published.
Craig Robinson will preside over the Washington County Museum’s 20th annual fundraising gala on October 17th.
Judson Wallace and Benetton Treviso have begun the qualifying rounds for Euroleague. After dropping their first game to BK Ventspils 78-73, Benetton won the return match 88-76 to advance on aggregate. Wallace had 12 points and nine rebounds. Their opponent in the next round is Entente Orleanaise Loirest.
It has been six weeks since Chris Young had shoulder surgery. He will resume a throwing program in November.
Enjoy the transcript of this 2005 interview with Pete Carril.
Princeton's first opponent in 2009-10, Central Michigan, has been named the favorite to win the MAC West by both Lindy's and Blue Ribbon.
Penn is the sixth Ivy school to release their men's basketball schedule. The Quakers open with games at Penn State and Villanova.
Former Cornell assistant Zach Spiker is the new head coach at Army.
SportsProf has some nice things to say about this site!
New Recruit - Ben Hazel.
As the month of September came to a close, Princeton may already have completed their 2010 recruiting class. The Tigers have received a verbal commitment from talented DC-area lefty guard Ben Hazel.
The 6'4"+ 185 lb Hazel is in his senior year at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, MD. Good Counsel is a member of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, one of the top basketball leagues in the country and part of the same conference that produced current Princeton freshman Ian Hummer.
Late this afternoon I heard from Good Counsel head coach Blair Mills, who told me all about this important piece of Princeton's class of '14.
Exclusive quotes, links to video highlights and excerpts of articles about Hazel can be found after the jump.
For full profiles on all of Princeton's 2010 recruits, click here.
2009-2010 Princeton Roster.
03 - Jimmy Sherburne - G - 6-3/195 - Fr - Whitefish Bay, WI. (Whitefish Bay)
11 - Bobby Foley - G - 6-5/195 - Jr - Richmond, VA. (Godwin)
12 - Will Barrett - F - 6-10/200 - Fr - Hartsville, PA (Central Bucks South)
14 - Nick Lake (C) - F - 6-6/200 - Sr - Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (The Bishop's School)
15 - John Comfort - G - 6-7/185 - So - La Grange, Ill. (Fenwick)
20 - Douglas Davis - G - 5-11/155 - So - Philadelphia, Pa. (Hun School)
21 - Marcus Schroeder (C) - G - 6-3/180 - Sr - Concord, Calif. (De La Salle)
22 - Patrick Saunders - F - 6-7/200 - So - Gilford, N.H. (New Hampton)
23 - Kareem Maddox - F - 6-8/225 - Jr - Oak Park, Calif. (Oak Park)
24 - Zach Finley - C - 6-9/230 - Sr - Rapid City, S.D. (St. Thomas More)
33 - Dan Marvraides - G - 6-3/205 - Jr - San Mateo, CA (Phillips Exeter)
34 - Ian Hummer - F - 6-7/225 - Fr - Vienna, VA (Gonzaga College HS)
40 - Gus Gabel - F - 6-7/195 - Fr - Paradise Valley, AZ (Chaparral)
41 - Mack Darrow - F - 6-7/225 - Fr - Lake Barrington, IL (Barrington)
52 - Brendan Connolly - C - 6-9/270 - Fr - Brentwood, TN (Father Ryan)
55 - Pawel Buczak - C - 6-11/220 - Sr - Moorestown, N.J. (Moorestown)
Princeton has released its 2009-10 roster.
Zane Ma and Max Huc did not return to the program for their sophomore seasons.
For his senior season, Zach Finley has switched from #30 to his high school number, #24.
Touted freshman Ian Hummer will wear the same number his father did.
New Recruit - Chris Clement.
Photo: Jamie Harms
A second high school senior from Texas in as many weeks has verbally committed to play basketball at Princeton. Joining Highland Park big man Daniel Edwards is 6'0" guard Chris Clement from Round Rock, who told the Tiger coaching staff on Monday that he wanted to be a part of Sydney Johnson's program.
Earlier today I talked on the phone with Stony Point High School boys basketball coach Brian Route. He shared his thoughts with me about his poised point guard.
Exclusive quotes, video highlights and links to articles about Clement can be found after the jump.
For full profiles on all the members of the 2010 Princeton recruiting class, click here.
Craig Robinson Heart Disease PSAs.
The Oregon State head coach encourages viewers to "Take Charge of Your Heart Health" as part of the Close the Gap campaign.
Thursday News:
Congratulations to former Princeton forward Kyle Koncz, who was inducted into the Strongsville (Ohio) High School Hall of Fame.
Ed Persia is the latest Tiger alum to get into coaching. Persia has joined the SMU Mustangs staff.
North Carolina prospect Akil Mitchell has chosen Virginia as his school instead of the Ivy options he was considering.
Tuesday News:
Princeton men's basketball coach Sydney Johnson will serve on an 18 person task force that reviews university/eating club relationships.
A 6'8" high school freshman from Indiana already has a scholarship offer from Northwestern.
The Dagger foresees the Wildcats as the 62nd best team in the country this season.
Denver is the latest basketball program you can follow on Twitter.
