By Aaron Bracy
Special to Insider
PRINCETON SCOUTING REPORT
| Offensive Preference |
The Tigers, go figure, run the Princeton offense. But it’s not your grandfather’s, or in this case Pete Carril’s, methodical approach. Head coach and Tigers alum Sydney Johnson, who learned the offense as a player under Carril for three years and Bill Carmody for one, employs a version with a more up-tempo approach. Sure, there are plenty of backdoors, weaves and dribble handoffs, but the Tigers aren’t afraid to run and dunk, either. |
| Defensive Philosophy |
Johnson has instilled a defensive mentality in this group and the all-hands-on-deck approach has resulted in the Ivy league’s best unit at stopping the opposition. The Tigers ranked first in the league in four important defensive categories: scoring defense (63.2 ppg), field goal percentage defense (41.9), 3-point field goal percentage defense (32.4) and rebounding margin (plus-3.9). Senior forward Kareem Maddox is the reigning Ivy Defensive Player of the Year. |
| Secret Strength |
It’s not often your leading scorer and rebounder isn’t among your starting five, but that’s the case with Princeton. Maddox won’t get top billing at the start of the game, but he will when the numbers are added up at the conclusion. The Oak Park, Calif., native has come off the bench in 27 games, but leads the Tigers in points and rebounds per game. |
| Achilles’ Heel |
Princeton isn’t exactly battle-tested, having beaten up on a lot of bad teams in its nonconference schedule. The Tigers finished 12-4 outside of the Ivy League, but just two of the 12 teams Princeton defeated — Bucknell (25-8) and Tulsa (19-13) — ended with winning records. The other 10 finished a combined 143-229. The Tigers loved the cozy confines of their home court, Jadwin Gym, where they were 12-0. Unfortunately, they were 13-6 away from home. |
| Will Lose When … |
An opponent scores more than 64 points, as the Tigers are 15-0 when holding teams to 64 points or fewer. |
| Famous Last Words |
Johnson appeared to get emotional in an interview after Princeton defeated Harvard in the Ivy playoff game — reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2004. The Tigers alum clearly takes a lot of pride in the program and he knows how to win in the Big Dance, having scored 11 points in the Tigers’ monumental upset of defending champion UCLA in the 1996 NCAA tournament. Johnson’s squad will be feeling the excitement of the tournament for the first time in many years, and outside of an early-season loss to Duke there wasn’t a big name on Princeton’s schedule to prepare the Tigers for what’s to come. It could be an early exit for the Tigers. |
SEASON NOTES
| High point |
The Tigers reached the NCAA tournament in dramatic fashion, with Davis hitting a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer to defeat Harvard in the Ivy playoff game at Yale. The shot sent Princeton to its 24th NCAA tournament, but first since 2004. |
| Lowlight |
The Tigers dropped their third game in five to open the season with a 69-67 loss to Presbyterian on Nov. 24, two games after they blew a 13-point lead in a 65-64 loss to James Madison on Nov. 22. |
| Most Revealing Moment |
Needing a victory to reach the Ivy playoff game, Princeton trailed rival Penn 23-19 at halftime. But the Tigers dusted themselves off after halftime, shooting 14-for-18 (77.8 percent) from the field, 4-for-5 (80.0) from the arc and 19-for-23 (82.6) from the free throw line on their way to a 70-58 victory. |
| Did You Know? |
Johnson is one of five Princeton alumni currently serving as a Division I head coach, which ties the Tigers with Indiana for the second most active Division I head coaches. North Carolina, with seven Division I coaches, tops the list. |
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