Cal 81 Princeton 60.

November 29, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Filed under 09-10, Audio, Basketball, Princeton

Box Score

Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson:

Postgame audio - Patrick Saunders & Ian Hummer:

Going 7:30 without a field goal makes it hard to win basketball games. Against the #23 team in the nation, in their home gym, it becomes next to impossible.

Princeton struggled to start Sunday afternoon’s tilt versus Cal and found themselves in an early 20-5 hole, recording just one basket before the 10:25 mark of the opening frame. The Tigers never recovered, falling 81-60 at Haas Pavilion.

The Bears’ leading scorer, point guard Jerome "Bulldog" Randle, proved extremely difficult to guard, as he tore up the Tiger defense for 22 points on 6-10 shooting while handing out nine assists. Forward Jamal Boykin also had 22 for Cal on a variety of midrange jump shots, matching his career high.

"[It was] a pretty straight-forward game," said Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson. "We knew what we were getting ourselves into and knew that we had to be very good in terms of execution and we weren't and I think that's as much as anything, the deficit."

Three Princeton players hit double figures. Freshman forward Ian Hummer made his first five shots and scored a career best 13 off the bench. Douglas Davis had a dozen. Patrick Saunders added 14, 11 over a three minute stretch of the second half.

Cal controlled the glass, out-rebounding Princeton 37-20. The Tigers’ first offensive rebound came with four minutes left to play.

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Sunday News:

November 29, 2009 at 9:00 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Georgetown, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Richmond, Today's News

Today's Game: Princeton (2-2 / 0-0) vs. Cal (3-2 / 0-0)
Location: Haas Pavilion - Berkeley, CA
Time: 5:00 pm ET
Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB
TV: CSN California
Internet: goprincetontigers.com
Series History: Cal leads 2-1.
Last meeting: Cal 70 Princeton 58 - 11/15/01.

Cornell vs. Drexel - 2:30 pm ET - Legends Classic
Harvard vs. Boston - 5:00 pm ET

The Saturday after Thanksgiving was bountiful for the disciples of Pete Carril.

Northwestern (5-1) won the Chicago Invitational Challenge with a 67-65 victory over Iowa State.

A trophy also went to Richmond (6-1), winners of the South Padre Island Invitational. The Spiders defeated Missouri in the championship game, 59-52.

In front of President Barack Obama, George Washington was handed their first defeat of the season courtesy of the visitors from Oregon State (2-3).

Georgetown (4-0) remained undefeated with a 97-44 win over Lafayette. Six Hoyas scored in double figures.

Denver (4-1) won by three at South Dakota State.

Bear Talk previews today's game against Cal.

Princeton recruit T.J. Bray scored 15 points as Catholic Memorial beat up on Muskego. Another future Tiger, Ben Hazel, had 10 points in Good Counsel's first victory of the season.

Around the Ivy League: Yale (2-5) became the third Ivy school to lose to Army this season, falling 64-48. Siena took down Brown (4-4) by 20. Cornell (4-2) trumped Vermont, 67-59. Behind 19 points from Robby Pride, Dartmouth (1-4) got in the win column, beating Hartford in Hanover, 68-56.

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New Recruit - Tom Noonan.

November 28, 2009 at 11:50 am
Filed under Basketball, Princeton, Recruiting

Following a busy end to September, where Princeton picked up verbal commitments from Chris Clement, Daniel Edwards and Ben Hazel, it appeared like the Tigers' 2010 recruiting was complete.

Enter a November surprise - the fifth member of this class, 6'7" forward Tom Noonan (#31, right) from William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia.

Noonan had piqued the interest at times during the recruiting process of three Ivy schools - Cornell, Columbia and Yale. He attended the Lions' and Bulldogs' Elite Camps over the summer and would have been present at the Big Red's were it not for an injury.

I had a chance to speak to Noonan's head coach at Penn Charter, Jim Phillips, earlier in the week and he shared his thoughts with me about this future Tiger marksman, both on-and-off the court.

Exclusive quotes, descriptions and links to articles about Noonan can be all found after the jump.

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Saturday News:

November 28, 2009 at 8:00 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Georgetown, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Recruiting, Richmond, Today's News

Lafayette vs. Georgetown - 12:00 pm ET - MASN
Oregon State vs. George Washington - 2:00 pm ET
Denver vs. South Dakota State - 8:00 pm ET
Richmond vs. Missouri - 8:00 pm ET - South Padre Island Invitational - FCS
Northwestern vs. Iowa State - 8:00 pm ET - Chicago Invitational Challenge - Big Ten Network

Cornell vs. Vermont - 2:00 pm ET - Legends Classic
Brown vs. Siena - 4:00 pm ET - Philly Hoops Classic
Yale vs. Army - 4:00 pm ET
Hartford vs. Dartmouth - 7:00 pm ET

A huge win for Northwestern (4-1), knocking off #23 Notre Dame on a neutral site, 72-58. The Wildcats and undefeated Iowa State square off on Saturday night for the CIC title.

Kevin Anderson scored with 10 seconds left as Richmond (5-1) bested Mississippi State by one. The Spiders get Missouri in the championship of the South Padre Island Invitational on Saturday.

Fresh off a White House visit, the Oregon State men's basketball team meets Princeton's last opponent, George Washington.

Georgetown hosts Lafayette at noon.

South Dakota State is where Denver plays tonight.

Princeton recruit Ben Hazel scored 22 in Good Council's seven point loss to Benedictine.

Around the Ivy League: Cornell (3-2) beat Toledo 78-60 in Legends Classic play. Brown (4-3) cruised past a winless University of the Sciences squad, 69-48. Columbia (2-2) fell by 25 at Syracuse.

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2009 Holiday Gift Guide!

November 26, 2009 at 9:00 am
Filed under Basketball, Bill Bradley, Chris Young, Pete Carril, Princeton

Happy Thanksgiving! Hard to believe, but Christmas and Hanukkah are both less than a month away. Looking for something special to buy for the basketball fan in your life? Don't go for what's in the mystery box! Try one of the following items from the 2009 princetonbasketball.com Holiday Gift Guide instead. A percentage of all purchases support this site. Something missing that you think people would enjoy? Please drop a line.

Reading Materials:

Earlier this month I spoke with author Kathy Orton about her new book Outside the Limelight: Basketball in the Ivy League, which follows the league through the highs and lows of the 2005-06 season.

A companion to Orton's book is Playing the Game: Inside Athletic Recruiting in the Ivy League by Chris Lincoln, the first book to detail the Academic Index and the ins/outs of recruiting in the Ancient Eight.

Alexander Wolff's Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure starts at Jadwin Gym and then circles the globe, from remote mountaintops to the Palestra and across to China. The first book this web site was ever thanked in!

There's always The Smart Take from the Strong: The Basketball Philosophy of Pete Carril, the second book about the legendary Princeton coach.

I've read it hundreds of times, but if you've never enjoyed John McPhee's A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton, give it a go this year.

Coach: 25 Writers Reflect on People Who Made a Difference features an introduction by Bill Bradley and has a wide range of scribes (George Vecsey, John Irving, Frank Deford...) telling tales of coaches that impacted their lives.

Bradley is also the author of Values of the Game, The New American Story and Life on the Run.

There was no better, more beautifully detailed basketball book I read this summer than When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball, about Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and the 1978-79 college basketball season. No direct Princeton content, but well worth your time.

He's written a good deal about Princeton basketball over the ages, but Grant Wahl's true passion is soccer. The Beckham Experiment: How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America looks at the most famous player in the beautiful game's journey to the MLS.

I know I'm getting the latest iteration for Hanukkah every year, and I love traveling with books in this series. Best American Sports Writing always has incredible pieces written by well-known and newly discovered authors.

Interested in the history of college hoops? Pick up the Official 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book, full of information about every season.

Get lost in the ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game or Sports Illustrated's The Basketball Book.

Diagrams and descriptions more your thing? Then perhaps Basketball's Princeton-Style Offense: A Simplified Approach for High School Coaches will interest you.

Someday I dream of having a web site that looks as good as FreeDarko presents The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac: Styles, Stats, and Stars in Today's Game does.

Video Games:

The best college basketball video game out there is EA's NCAA Basketball 10, available for the Playstation 3 and XBox. You can even run the "Princeton Offense" as one of the game's many sets.

Sporting Goods:

Actually want to play the game? The Wilson NCAA Solution Game Ball lets you use the same basketball as Division I players.

While dribbing, look sharp in this Princeton replica jersey by Nike, available in youth and adult sizes and emblazoned with Bill Bradley's #42.

How about some Chris Young replica jerseys?

Youth 2009 Majestic Road Khaki Replica #32

Adult 2009 Majestic Road Khaki Replica #32

San Diego Padres Home White MLB Replica Jersey

DVDs (NCAA tournament games):

Relive some of the great postseason moments in Princeton basketball history with these official NCAA videos.

1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball 1st Round - UNLV vs. Princeton

1996 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball 2nd Round - Mississippi State vs. Princeton

1996 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball 1st Round - Princeton vs. UCLA

1992 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Regionals - Syracuse vs. Princeton

1991 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Regionals - Villanova vs. Princeton

1989 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Regionals - Georgetown vs. Princeton

DVDs (instructional):

Want to teach the game? Look no further than the following.

Kevin Pigott: The Princeton Offense: Back Door to Success

Lee DeForest: Winning with the Princeton Style Offense

Joe Scott: Princeton Offense Half Court Drills

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Thanksgiving News:

November 26, 2009 at 7:00 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Princeton, Recruiting, Today's News

Happy Thanksgiving! No games today.

Princeton recruit T.J. Bray picked up nine points and 11 rebounds as Catholic Memorial defeated East Troy by 12 in their season opener.

Denver (3-1) had an exciting comeback 80-77 victory over Wyoming. The two teams combined to attempt a staggering 94 free throws. Caught the second half on FSN and I can confirm Coach Scott's team is playing very well. Nate Rohnert scored a career-high 32 points for the Pioneers.

Princeton is in 10th place in the latest edition of the Schuylkil 16.

Around the Ivy League: Garrett Leffelman's putback with less than a second to play helped Brown (3-3) beat Bryant, 70-68. Harvard (4-1) made quick work of New Hampshire, 78-60.

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Wednesday News:

November 25, 2009 at 8:03 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, MCCC, Northwestern, Princeton, Recruiting, Richmond, Today's News

Montana vs. Denver - 9:00 pm ET - FSN Rocky Mountain

Brown vs. Bryant - 4:00 pm ET
New Hampshire vs. Harvard - 7:00 pm ET

In addition to our recap you can read about Princeton's defeat at George Washington's hands on goprincetontigers.com, in the Daily Princetonian, in the GW Hatchet, in the Daily Colonial and on gwsports.com.

While I was sitting courtside in DC I learned Princeton had picked up a surprise fifth commitment for the 2010 class. I'll be speaking with his head coach later today for a feature on the site.

The Princeton Packet reports on the Tigers' loss to Army.

Steve Goodrich is namechecked in an interview with SI writer Chris Ballard.

Freshman Drew Crawford had 22 as Northwestern (3-1) beat Liberty by 16.

Richmond (4-1) is off to its best start since 2000-01 with a 65-52 win over Longwood.

A depleted Mercer (2-4) squad lost at Lackawanna 90-77.

Denver hosts Montana on Thanksgiving Eve.

While I'll be flying to California, look for the princetonbasketball.com 2009 Holiday Gift Guide tomorrow morning on the site. I suggest you buy two of everything.

Around the Ivy League: Yale (2-4) bested Elon, 69-65. Cornell (2-2) fell at #9 Syracuse, 88-73. Columbia (2-1) won its second straight, outscoring Bucknell 30-8 in the final 10 minutes of a 73-59 Lions victory. Dartmouth (0-4) is still looking for their first win after a 58-41 loss to Loyola (Md.) in Hanover. In a game that saw neither team make a three point shot, Drexel defeated Penn (0-4) by a 58-49 count.

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GW 65 Princeton 50.

November 24, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Filed under 09-10, Audio, Basketball, Princeton

Box Score

Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson, Patrick Saunders & Marcus Schroeder:

Sometimes a several hundred word recap attempting to summarize a basketball game isn't nearly as effective as a single quote from a postgame press conference.

Asked about how his team played against George Washington in comparison to the Tigers' effort against Army on Saturday afternoon, Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson described the night perfectly.

"There was an effort there. There was some passion. We competed. We didn't quite shoot the ball the way we wanted to. We didn't close out some things defensively. [We] showed some caring, which was not quite evident the last time out," Johnson said.

That statement told you everything you needed to know about Princeton's 65-50 loss to the Colonials. The Tigers played much better at GW than they did in their previous game versus the Black Knights, but the result was the same.

George Washington hit three times from outside during a late 15-2 run that turned a five point Colonial lead with under six minutes to play into a 64-46 advantage. Freshman Bryan Bynes’ back-to-back triples extended the GW lead to 18 and sent Princeton home with their second straight loss.

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Tuesday News:

November 24, 2009 at 9:56 am
Filed under Basketball, Northwestern, Princeton, Richmond, Today's News

Today's Game: Princeton (2-1 / 0-0) vs. George Washington (3-0 / 0-0)
Location: Charles E. Smith Center - Washington, DC
Time: 7:00 pm ET
Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB
TV: N/A
Internet: goprincetontigers.com
Series History: Princeton leads 2-1.
Last meeting: George Washington 60 Princeton 57 - 12/3/01.

Liberty vs. Northwestern - 6:30 pm ET - Chicago Invitational Challenge - bigtennetwork.com
MCCC vs. Lackawana - 7:00 pm ET
Longwood vs. Richmond - 7:00 pm ET - South Padre Island Invitational

Yale vs. Elon - 4:30 pm ET - NIT Season Tip-Off
Cornell vs. Syracuse - 7:00 pm ET - SNY
Loyola (Md.) vs. Dartmouth - 7:00 pm ET
Drexel vs. Penn - 7:00 pm ET - TCN
Bucknell vs. Columbia - 8:00 pm ET

Heading down to DC this afternoon. Hope to see a few familiar faces at George Washington. Make sure to check our Twitter feed for in-game updates, images and additional info during tonight's contest.

Dan Mavraides made the Honor Roll of the Ivy Weekly Men�s Basketball Report.

Northwestern hosts Liberty as the Chicago Invitational Challenge continues.

Longwood visits Richmond tonight.

This is only tangentially related, but Chris O'Brien, who was the first recruit to commit to the Tigers under Sydney Johnson, took a gap year and then was denied admission to Princeton has transferred from San Francisco to Cal Poly.

Around the Ivy League: Yale (1-4) lost to Charlotte 88-74 in NIT play. Army followed up their win against Princeton with a 56-53 triumph over Harvard (3-1).

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Know! Your! Foe! - George Washington.

November 23, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Filed under Basketball, Know Your Foe, Princeton

For the first installment of what will hopefully become an ongoing series, I exchanged emails with Andrew from Colonial Hoops, who was kind enough to answer my questions about Princeton's next opponent - the George Washington Colonials. If you cover a team the Tigers will face down the line, let us know. We'd love to talk with you.

Aaron Ware leads the team in scoring coming off the bench. What sort of player is he?

Ware is a fast, high energy, slashing guy, and is kind of a do-it-all - defense, rebounding, etc. However, with this team there isn't much difference between starters and bench players, as [head coach Karl] Hobbs substitutes a lot and the team goes very deep.

How much of a factor is youth for this year's George Washington squad? Going into Saturday's game versus UMBC, the team's top three scorers are two sophomore and a freshman.

It's pretty big. There's a lot of contributions from the newcomers, but some returnees are having surprisingly big roles. Big man Jabari Edwards was virtually absent last year, but he's playing great as a defensive stopper and rebounder. The freshman are led by Lasan Kromah, who's been a big time scorer so far - 21 points in about 11 minutes against UMBC, while the other freshman have had important roles. Senior Damian Hollis was thought to be the star going into the season, but hasn't had to do too much thanks to contributions by the frosh. I expect Hollis to lead the team in rebounding and maybe scoring by the end of the season.

What does George Washington need to do to beat Princeton?

Play the Hobbs game: play strong trapping defense, force turnovers, get easy baskets off breaks and alley-oops and hit open looks from outside. The Colonials also hit the boards very well as a team against UMBC, outrebounding them 57-27. That's a key.

What does Princeton need to do to defeat GW?

If the Colonials got stuck in a half-court offense in the last two seasons, they were pretty easy to beat. The half-court offense often seemed to consist of passing it around the perimeter lazily and hoping somebody got open. Against UMBC the half-court seemed to have more energy and there were better entry passes, but if Princeton can stop that, it could get ugly for GW. GW also can struggle against wide bodies down low and free throw shooting has been an issue.

The Colonials have not shot the ball well two games in, yet they're 2-0. What's been the difference in these games?

Depth is a big factor - GW can go 12 deep and just wear out other teams. If one guy's off, another guy has stepped up - a lot of times a player will score in double figures one game but not another. I would guess that makes it hard to plan against the team.

What sort of expectations are there for George Washington this year, both from local media and fans?

Not much! The team missed the A-10 tournament for two years in a row, so hopes were not high at all. There was a lot of anger from GW fans after last season, with some demanding Hobbs be fired, but after the recruiting class came out that's died down. The local media basically forgot about the team, what with Georgetown, Maryland and even George Mason doing well lately (though a lack of outreach during GW's good seasons didn't help). I'd be happy if the team finised the year at .500, though after these three games, there's a bit more optimism. The athletic department has also done a great job getting fans excited, too.

While Princeton is coming off a disappointing loss to Army, GW had a convincing win over UMBC on Saturday. Tell me about the game.

A great game! GW played the Hobbs style well, forcing 15 UMBC turnovers and scoring 27 points off them, and freshman Lasan Kromah was nasty, scoring 20 points in the first half, hitting four threes in a row over less than two minutes. Pretty much the entire team contributed and as I mentioned before, they crushed UMBC on the boards. The crowd was really into it, ten players had at least 5 points and every non-walk on scored. As an example of stepping up when somebody else is down, Aaron Ware only had two!

Any memories of the last time these two teams met eight years ago?

I was at the game at the MCI Center [a 60-57 Princeton loss in the consolation round of the 2001 BB&T tournament - JS], and I remember that Greg Collucci, one of our shooters, had a monster game. Collucci is now an assistant for the team. All-time leading scorer Chris Monroe was on that team too. I think that was Karl Hobbs' first year.

Thanks for your time, Andrew! Princeton and George Washington tip off at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday night at the Charles E. Smith Center.

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Monday News:

November 23, 2009 at 9:33 am
Filed under Basketball, Northwestern, Princeton, Richmond, Today's News

Yale vs. Charlotte - 4:30 pm ET - NIT Season Tip-Off
Harvard vs. Army - 7:00 pm ET

The Daily Princetonian reviews the Tigers' loss to Army.

A career high 31 points for Michael "Juice" Thompson helped rally Northwestern (2-1) past Tennessee State in the final four minutes.

Richmond (3-1) shut down high-scoring Chattanooga, 75-49.

Around the Ivy League: Brown (2-3) took the battle of the Bears, 75-62 over Maine.

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Sunday News:

November 22, 2009 at 9:29 am
Filed under Basketball, Craig Robinson, Georgetown, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Richmond, Today's News

Chattanooga vs. Richmond - 5:00 pm ET - South Padre Island Invitational
Tennessee St. vs. Northwestern - 8:00 pm ET - Chicago Invitational Challenge - bigtennetwork.com

Maine vs. Brown - 2:00 pm ET

In addition to our recap you can read about the Tigers' tough loss to Army on goprincetontigers.com, in the Trentonian in the Trenton Times and on goarmysports.com.

Sportswriter Jeff Pearlman took in yesterday's game with Patrick Connolly, father of Princeton freshman center Brendan Connolly.

Oregon State (1-3) lost to Sacramento State by two. The Beavers trailed 44-22 at halftime, leading coach Craig Robinson to say "at this point in our development, to have an effort like that at home is just embarrassing."

Four player in double figures for #19 Georgetown (3-0), who dismissed Savannah State by 19.

Richmond and Chattanooga meet on South Padre Island.

Northwestern opens Chicago Invitational Challenge play at home versus Tennessee State.

Around the Ivy League: A shorthanded Penn (0-3) squad remained winless with a double overtime loss to Delaware. Dartmouth (0-3) is the other member of the Ancient Eight without a victory. The Big Green were pounded 83-60 at Furman. Yale (1-3) lost their home opener to Quinnipiac, 81-74.

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