March 25, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Filed under Audio, Basketball, Georgetown
box score
audio - coach john thompson, jeff green, jonathan wallace, jeff green, roy hibbert & dajuan summers
audio - jeff green : audio - coach john thompson (second interview)
Trailing by nine points with six minutes to play against North Carolina in the NCAA East Regional final, Georgetown never wavered from who they were.
"We wanted to stick with our stuff [on offense] because we knew it worked." said guard Jessie Saap. "We didn't want to go into anything different because it's been working all year."
The Hoyas rallied from a 75-66 deficit, sending the game to overtime and the Continental Airlines Arena into bedlam on a soft Jonathan Wallace three point short with thirty seconds to play in regulation.
"I call Jon 'Buckets' because to me, Jon doesn't miss." said Georgetown co-captain Tyler Crawford after the game. "That's Jon Wallace. He played with tremendous confidence."
The Hoyas switched to a 2-3 zone defense down double figures midway through the second half and North Carolina was unable to get the second chance opportunities and the points in the paint they had used to build their lead. The Tarheels finished the evening in a 2-23 shooting slide.
From the start of overtime the Hoyas knocked North Carolina out with an incredible 14-0 run. On Georgetown's first possession Jeff Green passed diagonally from the wing to a cutting Jonathan Wallace for a backdoor layup. Wallace faked coming up top behind a Roy Hibbert screen, then slashed fed to the basket as Ty Lawson spun in the wrong direction, laying the ball in as it reached him in stride.
An errant backdoor bounce pass by Green in traffic deflected to DaJuan Summers for a two-handed throwdown that doubled the Georgetown lead. Following a Tyler Hansbrough traveling violation Jeff Green drove to his left and used the glass to send the Hoyas out to their biggest advantage of the night. Six straight Georgetown free throws opened the lead up to 93-81 and the champions of the east were crowned on a breakaway throwdown from Summers.
Summers finished with 20 points, and East regional Most Outstanding Player Jeff Green appeared genuinely surprised after the game upon learning that he and not Summers had received this honor.
As the Georgetown band chanted "JT3! JT3!" Coach Thompson strolled across the court to reach his father, who was broadcasting the game for Westwood One. Thompson stopped along the way to embrace the small grey-haired man with the Georgetown hat sitting on the sidelines. It was his collegiate coach, Pete Carril.
"[Coach Carril] is a part of what we're doing." explained Thompson. "I just wanted to go over and give him a hug." Coach Carril and Thompson shared an embrace and a high five. They both went over to press row where they were guests on Thompson's father's broadcast. The two iconic figures of Princeton basketball and Georgetown basketball standing proudly alongside the man they had both been such strong influences on.
When Coach Thompson climbed the ladder to cut down the final strand of the net, he led the crowd in his favorite cheer.
We are...
Georgetown!
We are...
Georgetown!
We are...
Georgetown!
The Hoyas were heading to the Final Four, and Georgetown had proved that they knew who they were all along.
Pete Carril (in Hoyas hat) holds an impromptu press conference after the game.
March 23, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Filed under Audio, Basketball, Georgetown, Sean Gregory
box score
audio - coach john thompson, jeff green, jonathan wallace & dajuan summers
audio - roy hibbert : audio - jonathan wallace
audio - coach john thompson (second interview)
Trailing by one point against Vanderbilt with seventeen seconds to play, Coach John Thompson went into the playbook and came up with a scheme that had worked before in a similar situation.
The play is called "Center/Forward."
Princeton ran it to knock off UCLA in the first round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
Last night Georgetown used it to defeat Vanderbilt 66-65 and advance to the NCAA East Regional Final on Sunday.
The Hoyas had executed the play out of a time out at the end of the first half and would have had an easy basket for Patrick Ewing Jr. if Ewing did not slip on the hardwood while driving to the iron.
It was Jeff Green, not Steve Goodrich, getting the ball on the right elbow with nine seconds left.
It was Patrick Ewing Jr,, not Gabe Lewullis, slashing to the basket before moving out on the arc, instructed by his coach to camp in the corner instead of cutting a second time on the baseline.
When Green could not find space to hit Ewing with a bounce pass, it was time to turn and go.
Green split a double team of oncoming Commodores and exploded above both men to kiss a shot high off the glass for the winning basket with two seconds remaining. Despite having two time outs in their pocket Vanderbilt rushed the ball inbounds and a desperation heave never made it to the rim.
The Hoyas poured onto the court, but it was Coach Thompson walking to the sidelines after doing an interview with CBS Sports to kiss his wife and wish his oldest daughter Morgan a happy ninth birthday.
I spent the game sitting next to former Princeton basketball player and current Time Magazine writer Sean “Bones” Gregory ‘98. When Georgetown called time down 65-64, Gregory turned to me and said with a knowing grin - “Center/Forward.”
After the game, as Gregory and I caught up with Coach Thompson for a brief interview in the hallway outside of the Georgetown locker room, his first words to us were: “Bones, didn’t you think Center/Forward was going to work?”
Did 1996 have something to do with this call? “If you want me to say that, I’ll say it for you” Thompson responded slyly.
See the highlights on YouTube: Select plays. Green's final basket.
March 23, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Filed under Basketball, Georgetown, Princeton
There's a lot of rumor and speculation being tossed around about the open head coaching job at Princeton, but this early in the search for Joe Scott's replacement there is not an equal amount of concrete information.
The best I can offer up is a few lines from the transcript of yesterday's Georgetown interviews at the Meadowlands:
Q: The Princeton job just came open. Your assistant Sydney Johnson has been talked about as a candidate. Talk about is he ready for a Division I coaching job?
Coach John Thompson III: Who has talked about him being a candidate for that job?
Q: Published reports last couple of days in the wake of Joe going to Denver?
Coach John Thompson III: Has Gary [Walters] said it?
Q: Gary has not said it.
Coach John Thompson III: You know, all of my staff, my entire staff, I think one day they will all be very good head coaches. Obviously Sydney at Princeton is home for him, and one day sooner or later he's going to be a very good coach. Whether it's there or somewhere else, time will tell.
March 22, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Filed under Basketball, Princeton
Congratulations to Princeton captain Justin Conway on being named a winter 2007 Academic All-Ivy selection. A well-earned honor for the senior sociology major from Santa Fe, MN.
March 22, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Filed under Basketball, Princeton, Recruiting
photo from sportsshooter.com
The Richmond Times Dispatch is reporting that 6'4" Mills Goodwin guard Bobby Foley will be attending Princeton to play basketball. The son of coaches Bob Foley and Louise Foley is an expert three point shooter who was named 2007 Colonial District Player of the Year.
There are now four publicly announced members of the 2007 Princeton recruiting class: Foley, Dan Mavraides, Kareem Maddox and Jason Liberman.
March 21, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Princeton
AP photo
The University of Denver held a 5:00 pm ET press conference yesterday to announce Joe Scott as their new men's basketball coach.
Here is a full transcript from Wednesday's event.
March 20, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Princeton
When Coach Joe Scott and I taped our last one-on-one interview of the season seven days ago, we spent an extra hour after I hit stop on my MiniDisc recorder sitting at the very top of Jadwin Gym talking about the future of Princeton basketball.
The conversation was as candid as it had always been when the tape was no longer rolling.
We discussed recruiting principles and strategies. We discussed ways things needed to be improved. We discussed what Coach Scott felt he could have done differently during the season. The majority of our conversation, however, was about where Princeton basketball was headed with Coach Scott as head coach.
After I got back to my desk I sent Coach Scott an email about an idea I had for a collaborative project that I had forgotten to mention while we were talking. He wrote I should give him a call in April and we could talk in greater detail then.
The man I shook hands with outside of his office was not a man who appeared to be going anywhere but back to work.
Tonight, Coach Scott left Princeton for the University of Denver.
A press conference is scheduled at Denver for 5:00 pm ET on Wednesday.
Coach Scott was quoted on the Trenton Times web site this evening saying "it all started over the weekend."
A source tells me the same detail the Trenton Times is reporting: Coach Scott was not forced out of Princeton. A member of the athletic department I spoke to was caught by surprise by tonight's news, saying simply "I'm completely dumbfounded."
When I was at Jadwin Gym briefly this afternoon, Coach Scott was not around. I didn't think anything of it at the time. Plenty of coaches are on the recruiting trail at this time of year. Two assistants were in the basketball office, and both greeted me warmly.
There was no indication of the news that would drop jaws six hours later.
We will have more on this story as it develops and will be closely following Princeton's third search for a men's basketball coach in seven years.
March 16, 2007 at 9:29 am
Filed under Basketball, Princeton, Recruiting
The San Mateo County Times is reporting and princetonbasketball.com can confirm that former Serra guard Dan Mavraides (above, far left) will be attending Princeton to play basketball. Mavraides participated in the 2006 state Division I semifinals in Sacramento against a De La Salle team with current Princeton Tigers Marcus Schroeder and Lincoln Gunn in the starting lineup.
The 6'3" 195 lb Mavraides was named Honorable Mention All-Metro by the San Francisco Chronicle in 2006. He is currently taking a post-graduate year at Phillips Exeter Academy.
Exeter coach Jay Tilton had the following to say about the newest member of Princeton's recruiting class - "Dan Mavraides is one of the most complete players I have encountered in my fifteen years of coaching. His skill level, nose for scoring and toughness made him a marked opponent in the highly competitive Class A New England. Dan is a college-ready player and we are all excited about his future at Princeton."
March 15, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Filed under 06-07, Administrative, Basketball
November 2006
10 Fri. vs. Loyola IL (Columbus, OH) - 5:30 pm ET - 68-57 L (0-1/0-0 Ivy)
11 Sat. vs. VMI (Columbus, OH) - 2:00 pm ET - 73-68 W (1-1/0-0 Ivy)
12 Sun. vs. Alabama A&M (Columbus, OH) - 2:00 pm ET - 56-39 W (2-1/0-0 Ivy)
22 Wed. at Manhattan - 7:00 pm ET - 57-45 W (3-1/0-0 Ivy)
28 Tue. at Lafayette - 7:00 pm ET - 44-42 W (4-1/0-0 Ivy)
December 2006
1 Fri. vs. North Dakota St. (Blue & Gold Classic) - 6:30 pm ET - 57-50 L (4-2/0-0 Ivy)
2 Sat. vs. Northwestern St. (Blue & Gold Classic) - 6:30 pm ET - 53-51 W (5-2/0-0 Ivy)
6 Wed. vs. Lehigh - 7:30 pm ET - 44-43 W (6-2/0-0 Ivy)
9 Sat. vs. Rutgers - 4:00 pm ET - 53-47 L (6-3/0-0 Ivy)
16 Sat. vs. Marshall - 4:00 pm ET - 61-45 W (7-3/0-0 Ivy)
20 Wed. at South Carolina - 7:00 pm ET - 54-48 L (7-4/0-0 Ivy)
30 Sat. at Iona - 2:00 pm ET - 57-46 W (8-4/0-0 Ivy)
January 2007
5 Sat. vs. Rice - 2:00 pm ET - 51-28 W (9-4/0-0 Ivy)
12 Fri. at Columbia - 7:00 pm ET - 64-56 L (9-5/0-1 Ivy)
13 Sat. at Cornell - 7:00 pm ET - 55-35 L (9-6/0-2 Ivy)
30 Mon. at Seton Hall - 7:00 pm ET - 79-41 L (9-7/0-2 Ivy)
February 2007
2 Fri. at Yale - 7:00 pm ET - 43-35 L (9-8/0-3 Ivy)
3 Sat. at Brown - 7:00 pm ET - 63-48 L (9-9/0-4 Ivy)
9 Fri. vs. Harvard - 7:30 pm ET - 74-68 2OT W (10-9/1-4 Ivy)
10 Sat. vs. Dartmouth - 7:30 pm ET - 45-44 L (10-10/1-5 Ivy)
13 Tue. at Penn - 7:00 pm ET - 48-35 L (10-11/1-6 Ivy)
16 Fri. vs. Cornell - 7:30 pm ET - 57-50 L (10-12/1-7 Ivy)
17 Sat. vs. Columbia - 7:30 pm ET - 54-49 W (11-12/2-7 Ivy)
23 Fri. at Dartmouth - 7:00 pm ET - 53-43 L (11-13/2-8 Ivy)
24 Sat. at Harvard - 7:00 pm ET - 50-43 L (11-14/2-9 Ivy)
March 2007
2 Fri. vs. Brown - 7:30 pm ET - 64-55 L (11-15/2-10 Ivy)
3 Sat. vs. Yale - 7:30 pm ET - 52-51 L (11-16/2-11 Ivy)
6 Tue. vs. Penn - 7:00 pm ET - 64-48 L (11-17/2-12 Ivy)
March 13, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Filed under Basketball, Coach Scott Interview, Princeton
interview audio - 26:37
In their fifteenth interview of the year, Princeton head coach Joe Scott and princetonbasketball.com editor Jon Solomon sat down at Jadwin Gym to discuss the Tigers' final three games and to wrap up the 2006-07 season. This interview is 26:00+ in length.
Some of the topics discussed include:
-The loss to Brown and the similarities between this game and so many other games in Ivy play this season.
-The final minutes of a tough loss against Yale. Was this defeat harder to take than others?
-The lineup used for the game’s final defensive possession. Was speed more important than size?
-The season finale against Penn on Tuesday.
-Zach Finley’s offensive assertiveness in the stretch run of the season.
-Playing Kyle Koncz and Noah Savage on the floor at the same time.
-Does finishing with five consecutive losses effect how you the team moves forward?
-Where does the focus of the coaching staff turn?
-At what point does the staff reflect on the season as a whole?
-How Coach Scott would respond to people who ask “What is wrong with Princeton?”
This interview is donor-only.
RealPlayer required.
We'll be back in late April to talk with Coach Scott about the incoming recruiting class, the 07-08 schedule and more.
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