Tuesday News:

November 17, 2009 at 9:48 am
Filed under Basketball, Georgetown, Northwestern, Princeton, Richmond, Today's News

Temple vs. Georgetown - 4:00 pm ET

Yale vs. Colgate - 4:30 pm ET - NIT Season Tip-Off
Columbia vs. DePaul - 9:00 pm ET - SNY

Douglas Davis made the Honor Roll of the Ivy Weekly Men's Basketball Report.

The Daily Princetonian writes about Princeton's successful trip to Michigan.

Would you believe more bad news for Northwestern? Jeremy Nash, who led the Wildcats in scoring with 20 points in their season opener, is suffering from a heart ailment and was sidelined during practice on Monday.

Richmond (2-0) went on a 20-0 first half run and cracked the century mark for the first time since 1996, blitzing VMI 103-59.

Georgetown hosts Temple in a late afternoon start as part of the ESPN 24 Hour College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon.

Around the Ivy League: Penn (0-2) was on the wrong end of a 103-65 decision against Villanova. Yale (0-2) remained winless, falling by five to Hofstra.

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Monday News:

November 16, 2009 at 8:46 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Recruiting, Richmond, Today's News

VMI vs. Richmond - 7:00 pm ET

Yale vs. Hofstra - 6:30 pm ET - NIT Season Tip-Off
Penn vs. Villanova - 7:00 pm ET

Central Michigan Life reports on the Chippewas' loss to the Tigers.

SportsProf has a couple nice words about Princeton's season opener (and this site).

The bad news continues for Northwestern. Andy Katz from espn.com reports leading scorer Kevin Coble is done for the year and fellow senior Jeff Ryan tore his ACL on Friday and will not play again this season.

Denver (1-1) entered the win column with a 75-66 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Oregon State (1-2) fell in the final four minutes to Texas Tech, 64-60.

Richmond hosts fast-paced VMI this evening. Chris Mooney announced the signing of three recruits to National Letters of Intent.

Around the Ivy League: Harvard (2-0) won at the buzzer in triple OT over William & Mary. Jeremy Lin hit a three point shot (video) and was fouled as time expired on a wild 87-85 game. Brown (1-0) battled but came up short at Virginia Tech, 69-55. Dartmouth (0-2) lost on the road to George Mason, 60-44.

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PAW season preview.

November 15, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Filed under Basketball, PAW Article, Princeton

I wrote a piece for the latest Princeton Alumni Weekly previewing Princeton's prospects this season. Enjoy! - JS

Basketball Seniors Shoot For Ivy Title
By Jon Solomon

Last year was a good year - but not a great one - for the Princeton men's basketball team, according to head coach Sydney Johnson '97.

"We were pleased with the forward progress that we made, but we want to keep things in perspective," Johnson said. "To truly be considered great here on the basketball floor - I think that comes with a championship."

Expectations are raised for the Tigers, who return their top nine scorers from a team that went 8-6 in the Ivy League and finished tied for second behind Cornell.

Unseating the two-time defending champion Big Red will be a challenge, according to Johnson. "[Cornell] has talented players who have played several years, and then they have transfers that have been exposed to a bigger-game environment and can add a year or two of experience," he said.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Central Michigan pictures.

November 15, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Filed under Basketball, Photos, Princeton

Here are some pictures I was sent from yesterday's game.

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Sunday News:

November 15, 2009 at 8:15 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Oregon State, Princeton, Today's News

Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Denver - 3:00 pm ET
Oregon State vs. Texas Tech - 4:00 pm ET - Duel In The Desert

William & Mary vs. Harvard - 2:00 pm ET
Brown vs. Virginia Tech - 4:00 pm ET - Philly Hoop Group Classic
Dartmouth vs. George Mason - 4:00 pm ET

In addition to our recap you can read about the Tigers' season-opening win versus Central Michigan on goprincetontigers.com, on cmuchippewas.com, in the Morning Sun and on Central Michigan Life.

Oregon State (1-1) defeated South Dakota, 62-47. The Beavers play host Texas Tech this afternoon in the final day of the Duel In The Desert.

Denver battles the Golden Lions of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Around the Ivy League: Cornell (1-0) turned some heads with a 71-67 win at Alabama.

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See today's game!

November 14, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Filed under Basketball, Princeton, Video

The entire Princeton/CMU game is available for streaming above.

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Princeton 71 Central Michigan 68.

November 14, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Filed under 09-10, Audio, Basketball, Princeton

Box Score

Postgame audio - Coach Sydney Johnson:

Postgame audio - Douglas Davis & Zach Finley:

When I spoke with Coach Sydney Johnson on Thursday afternoon, he told me that he wanted his Princeton team to be in the position to win the first game of the year coming out of the final media time out at Central Michigan.

The Tigers went into that stoppage with their nine point edge filed to two this afternoon at the Rose Center in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan and responded when the Chippewas took their first lead since the first half.

"We were trying to settle in emotionally and I think we did an excellent job," said Tiger head coach Sydney Johnson. "Last year we might not have responded the same way."

Douglas Davis scored an up-and-under banker with less than thirty seconds to play to put the Tigers back up one and then made two free throws after blocking the attempt to tie by Central Michigan’s Robbie Harman to help Princeton to a season-opening 71-68 victory.

"He showed a lot of guts," Johnson said about Davis' afternoon. "We want him to continue to be good offensively, but getting that block and making hustle plays, that's really forward progress for him."

Davis and junior Dan Mavraides each totaled 16 points for the Tigers and Zach Finley added 13.

Finley was Princeton’s starting center to open the year, with fellow senior Pawel Buczak sliding to forward. It was an unexpected personnel decision, but one that created some interior advantages for Princeton.

Harman had a game-best 22 points on 6-11 shooting from the perimeter to pace the Chippewas.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Saturday News:

November 14, 2009 at 8:47 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Georgetown, MCCC, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Richmond, Today's News

Today's Game: Princeton (0-0 / 0-0) vs. Central Michigan (0-0 / 0-0)
Location: Rose Center - Mt. Pleasant, MI
Time: 12:00 pm ET
Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB
TV: N/A
Internet: goprincetontigers.com
Series History: Central Michigan leads 1-0.
Last meeting: Central Michigan 55 Princeton 53 - 11/14/08.

Team stats are from last season.

Player stats include returning players only.

MCCC vs. Harford - 4:00 pm ET
Oregon State vs. South Dakota - 9:00 pm ET - Duel In The Desert

Cornell vs. Alabama - 2:00 pm ET

The only preview of today's game I could find was in the Morning Sun.

There's a preliminary report about the Tigers in this week's Princeton Packet.

Basketball-U's Ivy coverage has returned after a one year hiatus! Start with their 2009-10 Princeton summary.

Greg Monroe had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Georgetown (1-0) over Tulane, 74-58.

Northwestern (1-0) began their year on the right foot, beating Northern Illinois by 22. There is a chance Wildcat senior forward Kevin Coble may have surgery and redshirt this season.

Richmond (1-0) pulled away from Lehigh down the stretch for a 65-53 win.

Northern Iowa got past Denver (0-1) at Magness Arena, 71-65.

At the Duel In The Desert, Oregon State (0-1) ran into a sandstorm named Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Beavers were 2-10 from the free throw line in the first half and committed 25 turnovers on the night as they fell in a 44-19 hole that was insurmountable.

Mercer (2-1) went on the road and defeated Chesapeake in double overtime, 77-69. Isiah Andrews and Quincy Hendryx each scored 15 for the Vikings.

Also returning this year is the Schuylkill 16, a weekly ranking of Delaware Valley teams that I vote in. Princeton placed 10th in the Opening Week edition.

Around the Ivy League: Harvard (1-0) began their campaign with an impressive victory at Holy Cross. Brown (1-0) also won on the road, 68-64 over St. Francis (NY). Alex Zampier scored 35, but Yale (0-1) came up short of the finish line, dropping a 92-86 track meet to Sacred Heart. Penn (0-1) was unable to stop Penn State junior guard Talor Battle, who scored 27 points and grabbed 10 boards. The Quakers lost 70-55. Boston College may have had three players suspended for their season opener, but they still had no problem with Dartmouth, 89-58.

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Coach Sydney Johnson - 11/12/09.

November 12, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Filed under Basketball, Coach Johnson Interview, Princeton

Tigers head coach Sydney Johnson and princetonbasketball.com editor Jon Solomon met at Jadwin Gym this afternoon to record a lengthy Q&A in advance of the Princeton season opener at Central Michigan.

This interview previews the Central Michigan game, updates listeners on how practice has been going, covers the overall health of the team, discusses the improvements made by two returning sophomores, includes Coach Johnson's first comments on the departures of Zane Ma and Max Huc, has a word on the "indefinite hiatus" taken by one Princeton freshman and includes many questions from subscribers. The interview is 16:00+ in length.

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Thursday News:

November 12, 2009 at 9:50 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Georgetown, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Recruiting, Richmond, Today's News

Bad news out of Evanston - Northwestern's leading returning scorer, senior forward Kevin Coble, suffered a foot injury at practice on Tuesday. The severity of this injury is not yet known, but preliminary reports have Coble out for a minimum of 4-6 weeks.

The Town Topics and the Trenton Times both preview Princeton in advance of Saturday's season opener at Central Michigan.

Princeton Alumni Weekly has a short blurb about the Tiger freshmen.

The early signing period began yesterday. Oregon State officially picked up a commitment from highly touted Chicago point guard Ahmad Starks and Denver retained the services of Dallas forward Chris Udofia.

The Washington Post looks at two keys for Georgetown this season.

Richmond hopes to make a run at the NCAA tournament.

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Wednesday News:

November 11, 2009 at 10:06 am
Filed under Baseball, Basketball, Chris Young, Georgetown, Northwestern, Princeton, Today's News

Princeton has participated in two closed scrimmages this preseason, hosting one versus Siena and the other last weekend at Towson. Since the NCAA does not permit the public or the media from viewing these scrimmages, word out of each has been minimal, but the Twitter feed for I-95 Ballerz does have a teaser about Tiger freshman Ian Hummer (above). The SienaHoops message board has a thread wherein members try and piece together details from their trip to Jadwin.

The Daily Princetonian previews the Tigers and breaks down the 2009-10 schedule.

Douglas Davis was named to the NYC Metro Preseason Fourth Team by College Hoops Net. The site also lists keys to Princeton's season.

The Hoya has published their comprehensive Georgetown season preview, with seven different articles about the team.

The Daily Northwestern has a cover story about the Wildcats' prospects this season. There are three additional articles about Northwestern basketball in today's issue as well.

Chris Young has been given a clean bill of health and will start throwing at Petco Park on Friday.

Central Michigan junior guard Jalin Thomas is adjusting to his new starting role for the Chippewas.

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Interview with author Kathy Orton.

November 9, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Filed under Basketball, Interviews, Princeton, Scott Greenman

Washington Post writer Kathy Orton's "Outside The Limelight - Basketball In The Ivy League" was published this month by Rutgers University Press. Following all eight Ivy League basketball programs through the 2005-06 season, with a focus on Cornell, Harvard, Penn and Princeton, Orton's book is a look back on a season that did not play out as many of these schools expected it to.

Princeton coach Joe Scott and senior guard Scott Greenman are interviewed extensively by Orton. Both are honest and revealing throughout a year that started so poorly for the Tigers, hampered by injury and uncertainty and ended with unexpected Ivy successes.

The three seasons that have passed since the one Orton covered end up benefitting the book. By the time you reach the comparatively recent epilogue, events from 2005-06 have set the stage for Cornell's rise to power (using the coaching staff's plan to recruit "farmers and Canadians") and Harvard's subsequent dismissal of longtime coach Frank Sullivan, who tried win the school's first Ivy title with one hand tied behind his back by the school.

You can buy a copy of the book through Amazon. More information can be found at Orton's web site - outsidethelimelight.com

I had a chance to speak with Ms. Orton by phone about her book and her fondness for Ivy League basketball earlier this afternoon. A transcript of our Q&A follows.

Tell me the backstory of how this book came to be.

I had always wanted to write a book. People had told me if you're going to do something like a book - which you're going to have to devote the next couple of years of your life to, it should be something you really care passionately about.

Not having a connection with the Ivy League, just being an observer from afar, I wasn't probably the most ideal candidate to write this book but I really did fall in love with the league. The Princeton/Penn game in 1999 sort of started it [Orton writes in her preface that the Tigers' second half comeback from 40-13 down in the second half versus the Quakers was the "the most thrilling athletic contest I have ever watched live." - JS], but then as I did more research looking into the league, I really sort of fell in love with it and thought it was such an interesting, different and unique league compared to the rest of Division I college basketball - this fabulous league that I thought nobody really knew about.

A good friend of mine, John Feinstein, wrote his book on the Patriot League about that time. I said to him - you're a fool! You should really write about the Ivy League, that's a much more interesting conference. And he said "oh, no no no," he had his reasons - which is fine because it gave me a chance to write this book, which I am very grateful for. I've always felt like the Ivy League was this diamond in the rough that nobody knew about. The hope of this book was to shine a light on this league and let more people know what a great league it really is.

How did the season you experienced differ from the season you expected?

That's a good question. For one thing, just logistically, I thought "it is a bus league. How hard could that be?" Oh my goodness. The travel in the Ivy League is brutal! Everyone complained about the Cornell/Columbia bus trip and how tough that was, and it is, I'm not diminishing that, but the Princeton to Dartmouth trip or the Penn to Harvard trip - those are some long bus rides. For me, just trying to get everywhere, that was a real challenge.

I think the thing that surprised me that I didn't fully appreciate until I sort of got into it and was following all the teams and everything was how much these players really relish their Division I basketball playing experience. I think in other teams that I have covered in Division I, they're all looking ahead to when they're going to play in the NBA. I think most of these players realize that the NBA is in not in their future. Now they may go and play overseas and have a professional career, but they really appreciate that they're playing Division I basketball and they enjoy it so much more than some of the other players in the other leagues. They have more enthusiasm for the experience and I was pleased to see that, and I think that made me love it even more.

How do you think (do you think?) the three+ years between when the book takes place and when it was published helped the book?

I'd like to think that, but I think that might be optimistic. Certainly it was not planned to have a three year gap in-between I covered the season and when it came out. A bit of misfortune kept that from getting out as soon as I wanted. When I first started writing the book I had no publisher, only an agent who was very optimistic I would get one. To be honest with you, even if no one had published this book, I was still glad I did it because it was such an amazing experience. By the end, I think it was about May, my agent found me a publisher and they were excited about the book. I turned in the manuscript, they liked it, they held onto it for about a year or so and then all of a sudden they dropped me. We had to go find a new publisher and that took some time. Fortunately Rutgers University Press stepped up and they took over and it took about a year from when they got the manuscript to when it came out. I guess the one benefit would be all the kids I wrote about are now graduated. Some have even graduated from law school! So I guess they can kind of look back on it and remember it fondly. I certainly wish the book had come out much sooner, but I'm just glad it is out.

I do think that there's a lot of strength in the epilogue because of the three+ years that have passed.

The epilogue turned into almost a mini book. Every time I went back I had to update it. A lot of things I went into the league with - Penn and Princeton win this thing every year - it was kind of nice that Cornell was able to come back. I had no idea that the one year that I happened to pick, which was really because it was the 50th year [of the Ivy League] and Harvard was expected to win the league, which would have been historic, would turn out to be such a harbinger of things to come for this league.

As you well know, having covered the Ivy League for so long, nothing ever changes in the Ivy League - and then, goodness, ever since that one season so much has changed. It's fairly unusual to see so much change take place in this league.

What has the response to the book been like from the coaches and players who are the subjects of the book?

So far I've heard nothing but positive response and I hope it continues. That was my big concern. I really wanted to capture the players and coaches as true to who they are as I possibly could. I've gotten some very, very nice notes from a couple of the coaches. I haven't heard from any of the players. I don't even know if they know the book is out yet! I have to get in touch with them. The response so far has been great. They're going to be my harshest critics by far. If they like the book then to me it is a success. If they're disappointed in it, then I've failed. I really wanted them to have the recognition I think they so deserve. I don't think the Ivy League gets quite the coverage in the media that it should. There's 300-some Division I basketball programs and it is hard to cover all of them, but I think the Ivy League gets overlooked a little too much and I hope this will change that and people will recognize what a great, competitive league it is.

The year that you write about was Joe Scott's second season at Princeton. Coach Scott really gave you access to what was going on despite struggles of all sorts.

It was amazing how open he was. All the coaches were, but especially him - because he was kind of under fire that season, as he was pretty much his entire tenure at Princeton. He was great. He gave me unbelievable access to the players.

Scotty Greenman was one of my favorites that season. He was great about talking to me, even after some really tough losses that they went though. That is what I hope makes the book special and different, is that the access all these players and coaches gave me gives Ivy League basketball fans a real peek into what it is like to be in the Ivy League.

Did you sense when you were writing the book, talking to Scott Greenman, that coaching would be in his future?

With Scotty, he was thinking about law school, he was thinking about playing overseas, his knee was bothering him - all these injuries he had. Especially after that last Penn/Princeton game, which was so amazing. It was a 9:00 pm ET game and it went overtime and it didn't get over until midnight - it was late into the night and he didn't want to let that season go. You kind of sensed it was going to be hard for him to leave this behind. You kind of felt like a coaching career might be something he would pursue.

You gloss over this in the book, but it was a difficult year for you I would imagine as well, having open heart surgery during the season!

I found out that I was going to need the surgery in August of that year. It was so frustrating, because I had set up everything to do the book and I think my doctors would have preferred if I had put it off. In some ways, yes, it was a challenge physically to do the book, but in a lot of ways it gave me something to do besides think about my health. It all seems to have worked out for the best.

It's funny, I was talking to my parents about this the other day - I just had to have two heart procedures again last month, just as the book was coming out, and I said I've got to get this book done because it seems like all my heart problems are tied to the book, so I need to get past the book. My health is great and I appreciate you asking about that. It was a nice distraction to be so consumed with covering the Ivy League and not thinking about your health.

What are you working on currently?

Right now, everything is devoted to promoting the book. I'm still working at the Washington Post, which I hope to for a very long time, but with the newspaper industry being what it is you're never quite sure. Another publisher has approached me about doing a book, but that sort been put on hold because this was such an important book to me. I haven't even though about what lies beyond this book. I'm enjoying my second go around, being able to talk with you and other people in the Ivy League. it is fun to be catching up again with something I did a couple years ago.

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