For the third installment of the popular Know! Your! Foe! series, I exchanged emails with David "Bruno" Wise (pictured above), the biggest only Brown basketball fan I know. May his answers bring you insight about the Tigers' first Ivy foe of the season. This year's Bears have a 7-12 record, recently splitting their home-and-home series with Yale.
How did the Bears' non-conference performance exceeded your expectations from October? What do you wish had gone differently?
Brown played very well in my home of New York City. After a season-opening win at St. Francis (NY), they played a very good St. John's team tight for 40 minutes, and missed a game-tying three at the buzzer. The play of three freshmen had been the positive surprise of the pre-season, with Matt Sullivan, Tucker Halpern and Andrew McCarthy all stepping up and making significant contributions to each of Brown's six non-conference wins. On the flip side, the play from Adrian Williams has also been a surprise. He's a unique player for these Bears because he's one of the few players that can shoot from the outside as well as penetrate and draw defenders, but his shooting struggles have taken them out of a few games they should have had. Brown will not get on a roll if Williams isn't clicking on most, if not all, cylinders.
Senior forward Matt Mullery puts up big numbers (15.3 ppg / 5.8 rpg / 3.1 apg - shooting 56.5% from the floor) that are overshadowed this season by the likes of Jeremy Lin and Ryan Wittman. Tell me about the problems he presents opponents.
I think Matt is the most talented big man in the Ivies, and that statement is intended to include [Cornell center] Jeff Foote. It's his offensive and defensive versatility that tends to catch opponents off-guard. He had led the Bears in either scoring, rebounding, assists, steals or blocks in several games this season. He can shoot the three, post you up, drive by you, and feed it to a back-door cutter. He has better big man fundamentals than anyone in the Ivies has had in a long time; wonderful back to the basket moves, strong and crisp drop-steps, a right and left hand jump hook - the works. The offense runs through him; he touches the ball on most possessions, and a lot of times that's at the top of the key. On the defensive end, he's deceptive; while he's not particularly quick, strong or a great jumper, he is very quick off the floor and his timing and positioning on blocking shots is exceptional.
Three of Brown's top five scorers are freshmen. What can you share about the trio of Tucker Halpern, Andrew McCarthy and Matt Sullivan?
I like all three of these kids a lot. Halpern is a real favorite of mine because he actually wants the ball in crunch time - rare in a freshman. In several of Brown's close games, he's taken (and made) big shots down the stretch. He does a little of everything from shooting the three, to getting inside to pull-ups to getting steals and blocked shots to passing beautifully. He may have the most raw talent of any player on the team. But lately, he's taking too many threes, and he can't limit his game in that way if he's going to be consistently effective.
McCarthy is a hard-nosed player who isn't afraid of contact. He's got nice skills and touch down low, and has had some terrific performances against both strong and weak competition. He stepped in nicely for Mullery when he went down, and doesn't seem to get rattled very easily. A future All-Ivy big man.
Sullivan has by far the toughest job of any of the freshmen - to not only transition from high school to college basketball, but to a new position at point guard. Matt's handled it well, and has contributed both points and assists. He'll only get better at handling the ball and running the offense; he's not there yet, and he'll probably never be a natural point guard, but you can see how smart a player he is just by watching how he maintains composure and handles himself on the court.
I was surprised to see how poorly the Bears have rebounded. Does this surprise you as well?
This has surprised me a little bit. Brown has never been a strong rebounding team, but they run a pretty big lineup for the Ivies, with guys like Mullery and Peter Sullivan, and three freshmen who are all good-sized for their positions. What we don't have is a bruiser, a guy that can clear space in the middle. We also don't box out particularly well; we give up a lot of offensive rebounds to opponents, and a disproportionate number of those seem to come from opposing guards.
Princeton has lost their last four trips to Providence. What do the Bears need to do to make it five in a row?
I don't know Princeton well enough this season, but I know they're much better than they've been in recent years. But for Brown to beat any potential top-half Ivy, three things need to happen: Mullery needs to get the ball in some space, Brown needs to be crisp offensively, and has to shoot reasonably well from three. Brown plays an inside-out game, with some side-to-side, but it all starts with Mullery and being crisp with passes, cuts and picks that lead to open shots. Brown also needs Peter Sullivan back healthy from his ankle injury in the first Yale game. Princeton isn't a team that will kill Brown on the boards, but they're a tight defensive group, and Brown will have to really execute.
What has to happen for the Tigers to trump the Bears?
The Bears don't win when Mullery doesn't play (shoot, distribute) well. That's why he's the focus of so many opposing defenses. Brown doesn't gamble much on defense - they force very few turnovers - which means they stay at home on defense a lot and are less susceptible to some of the strengths of the Princeton offense. One way to offset that is with second chance points, and Princeton should uncharacteristically look to crash the offensive boards.
As someone who grew up in the Princeton area, two closing questions...
Any good Princeton basketball anecdotes you've always wanted to share with the Internet?
You mean like in my first televised game in high school (on CN8), playing for Princeton Day School when I dropped 16 and 7 on Princeton High in our annual cross-town matchup, and one of the announcers said I had a "good stroke"? Or like when I hit the game winner against defending champion Rutgers Prep (and future Brown star Brian Lloyd), and the headline in the Trenton Times was "PDS Gets Wise in Overtime"? You mean anecdotes like that?
In 9th grade (1989), I got to be a ball boy for a New York Knicks fantasy basketball camp in Atlantic City, and for whatever reason, Bob Scrabis and Kit Mueller were invited to participate, fresh off their near upset of Georgetown in the first round of the NCAAs. - I teamed with them for a 3-on-3 game and did not touch the ball once. Just went to show that once out of the confines of the Princeton offense, Princeton players aren't any different than the rest of us.
What's your favorite option at Hoagie Haven?
I'm a little unusual in this, but every time I go, I get the same thing: half of a tuna (the best tuna I've ever had), fries with saltpepperketchup, and butterscotch krumpets. One of my favorite meals whenever I'm home.
Thanks for your time, David! Hope to see you at Jadwin when the Bears visit in a couple weeks.
If you cover a team the Tigers will face down the line, let us know. We'd love to talk with you.
Tigers head coach Sydney Johnson and princetonbasketball.com editor Jon Solomon caught up after practice at Jadwin Gym on Wednesday afternoon for their final interview before the start of Ivy League play. This recording is 12:00+ in length.
Johnson and Solomon discuss Princeton's return from their exam break against Goucher and preview this weekend's games at Brown and at Yale.
Benetton lost to undefeated Bizkaia Bilbao in the opener of Group K Eurocup play yesterday. Judson Wallace scored four points, handed out four assists and was held without a rebound.
Northwestern (14-6) rallied to go up one at Minnesota with under five minutes to play, before Blake Hoffarber's back-to-back three pointers helped the Gophers to the 65-61 final.
Mercer (10-11) lost 68-52 at Manor. Paco Boussougou had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Vikings.
Princeton recruit Daniel Edwards scored 16 points as Highland Park beat Rockwall, 50-20.
In advance of this weekend's Harvard/Cornell game, the Wall Street Journal asks "how did the Ivy League get so good?"
Coach Newsom talks about his responsibilities as a Tiger assistant, what he likes about working with Sydney Johnson and the path that brought him to Princeton.
MCCC vs. Manor - 7:00 pm ET
Northwestern vs. Minnesota - 9:00 pm ET - Big Ten Network
Georgetown (15-4) scored the first 14 points of their meeting with Syracuse, but the Orangemen caught the Hoyas before halftime and pulled away in the second stanza of a 73-56 decision.
The Goucher Athletics story on Sunday's Princeton game is finally up.
The Princeton Packet has published their Goucher report as well.
At some point during the 1988-89 season I noticed an extra copy of Princeton's most recent media guide lying in the stands at Jadwin Gym after a game. As a 15 year old kid eager to absorb everything I could find relating to Ivy League basketball (and punk rock, but that's a separate discussion) I took it home and studied it cover-to-cover, trying to learn details of the program's history.
Towards the back of the guide, after 94 pages of photographs, statistics and historical records, taking up one column - just to the right of Chief of Athletic Training and Physical Therapy Dick Malacrea's biography - is a poem by Rudyard Kipling chosen by head coach Pete Carril.
The use of this piece has always stayed with me. It is so incongruous for a media guide and I've often wondered why Carril opted to include it for this particular season, especially in hindsight as the Tigers would go on to win their first Ivy League title in five years.
Here's what he wrote and the poem that he selected:
Through 14 games, I think it is fair to say that what you're going to get on offense out of Tiger starters Dan Mavraides, Douglas Davis, Patrick Saunders and Marcus Schroeder is relatively constant.
Mavraides has been in double figures 11 times this season and has hit double digits in eight straight games.
Davis has gone to double figures nine times and has cracked 20 points four times in the last 10 games. On only one occasion in 2009-10 has he scored fewer than eight.
Saunders will shoot when open, tops on the team in FG%, 3FG% and FT%.
Schroeder drives the offense, leading the team in assists and steals.
For Princeton to succeed in Ivy League play this year however, the key is senior center Pawel Buczak.
With the non-conference schedule complete, Princeton's athletic department was nice enough to update this season's plus/minus numbers.
This handy chart shows the number of minutes played by each Tiger this season and the difference in points scored by the team while each player was on the floor versus points allowed by the Tigers during the same span.
Princeton scored 841 points against non-conference foes in 2009-10, allowing 771 points.
As for individual single game highs and lows, Douglas Davis was +39 against Goucher and Pawel Buczak was -23 at Cal.
The most successful lineup combination is also the one that has played the most minutes together. Marcus Schroeder, Dan Mavraides, Pawel Buczak, Douglas Davis and Patrick Saunders are +33 in 117:08 of court time.
The least successful five? Lake, Schroeder, Zach Finley, Mavraides and Buczak, combining to go -19 in 20:04 of play.
Compare these numbers to those after 10 games here.
Davis has gone from -24 to +36 since these stats were last run, a 60 point swing.
Schroeder did even better post-Wagner, +71.
I will try and provide +/- updates midway through Ivy play and at the end of the season.
Another in an endless series of tests for Georgetown, who travels to Big East rival Syracuse this evening.
Hats off to the Princeton JV, who knocked off #5-ranked prep powerhouse Northfield Mount Herman - a team stacked with Division I recruits - yesterday morning by a 61-44 count.
Who is to thank for our new HD box scores? The good people at Hoya Prospectus. Check out their site. They crush numbers.
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
