What do you get when you combine the offensive mastery of one of the game’s greatest and most disciplined talents with a coach who has brought in a style of play that is based off superior defense and an offense that is based off back door cut after back door cut?  The Princeton Tigers behind the accolades of ‘Dollar’ Bill Bradley have become such a huge sensation especially on the East Coast where fans flock to tiny Dillon Gymnasium that the board of trustees decided to build a bigger arena.  Christened Jadwin Gymnasium for a Tiger alum who died shortly after graduating back in the roaring 20’s (and a very healthy donation from his mother) the new arena became known by the fans as the house the Bill built!  With Coach Butch van Breda Kolff leaving for the greener pastures of the NBA after helping putting his alma mater on the map, the Tigers needed a new coach.  They decided on a high school coach from Pennsylvania who had become well known for his defense and more importantly his motion offense.  Could this new Coach be the answer for what this program wanted to get them over the hump and to the promised land of the national tournament?  Well, if last year was any indication, then the Tigers are in good hands with Mr. Carrill.  How long this Camelot lasts in Jersey is anybody’s guess, but the Tigers should repeat this year with Bradley back and a supporting cast that would rival any program’s in the Northeast.   

 Bradley was incredible last year.  He averaged over twenty points a game on a team that was conservative in their scoring approach.  He hit jump shot after jump shot with defenders draped over him and entire team defenses structured to stop him.  Bradley, who at one point when he was a huge recruit coming out of tiny Crystal City Missouri, chose the Blue Devils of Duke before he reconsidered due to post graduation considerations.  Bradley knows he made the right choice as he beyond legendary here and his future is secure after college whether it involves basketball or not.  He has, after all, earned a Rhodes Scholarship.  As for basketball Bradley is arguably the most disciplined player in the country.  He knows that the Tigers rely on him as much as any team in the country to score and he does this is a multitude of ways.  Many believe he is just a sweet jump shooter which he is but he can also get to the hole and is not afraid of contact.  When he gets to the line which is often he is almost automatic Bill.  He is also a solid board man and a good passer (you better be on Carrill’s teams) and can defend.  Probably the biggest thing Bradley did all year was accept the transition from the old way where he averaged almost 25 a game to the new style where he still was responsible for scoring but had to allow his others teammates to shine.  Bradley showed he is much better sharing the glory then hogging it all for himself because he knows if the overall succeeds then he succeeds.  He was unselfish as well and there could not be a better leader on and off the court.  Bradley was the man in the Ivy League and the East Coast fans and media loved him.  The senior to be will be soon moving on to bigger and better things that may or may not include playing at the next level as this man has great pursuits in mind.  No matter what he chooses to do he will be a great leader. 

The Tigers do have a better than given credit supporting cast.  The backcourt combo of Brian Taylor, Armond Hill and Geoff Petrie can play with anyone and quite seriously might have the three coolest names on the planet.  Taylor is a great player who is almost impossible to defend.  He can score or distribute and handles the ball very well.  This 6’2 185 pound  Jersey kid might have learned how to play on the streets but he transitioned well to Carril’s Princeton offense and became adept at the motion game this entails.  He probably could have averaged five or six assists a game as a true point guard or 20 as the primary scorer but instead became a cog in this well-oiled machine.  Not that he had bad stats, he did not as he averaged almost 13 points and over four boards and almost four dimes a game.  But as talented as he is Taylor (the Droogs) is also one of the best long-range shooters in the country which complements Bradley’s superb mid-range game very well.  Taylor (Karen Givens) is also one of the best defensive guards in the country using his athleticism and his quickness to shut down the other team’s best guard.  This junior did not mind not getting the recognition he deserves as his team continues to win.  Next year, if he does not enter the draft early, this will be his team and Taylor might finally get out of the shadow of a superstar and get the kind of publicity and accolades he deserves.  Then again he could join the pros (there are rumors he is leaving early) and be a supporting character to a leading man once again?

Hill is another solid defender who can also use his size (6’4) and quickness to dominate players.  As a matter of fact, he is the best defender on the roster and he fits Carril’s scheme probably better than any of the upperclassmen on this roster. He plays the tough man to man defense the way it is supposed to be played or better put the Carril way.  This Brooklyn kid does not score often but usually makes it count and that means in big games.  His ability to set up teammates really complimented his two backcourt mates well and he really did not mind being in the shadows of his more well-known teammates.  This Junior is coming back for sure and should be the team leader next year. Hill is smart (he is at Princeton isn’t he?) and what the fans like to call a gamer.   He is tough as nails and is the best passer on a team full of terrific passers.  Once he replaced Petrie in the starting lineup (after the senior missed a few games due to injury) the team took off as they were much more balanced.  Hill gave them the type of role player the Tigers lacked and needed and it gave Carril the opportunity to have one of the best offensive players on the East Coast coming off the bench. 

Petrie, like Bradley and Taylor, is a great shooter.  He has better range than even Bradley and he and Taylor at times had their own personal shootouts.  This Pennsylvania kid became Benedict Arnold to the Quakers of Penn but is loyal to his Princeton brethren.  His games against the Quakers were special as he averaged over 20 a game against the state he came from.  Petrie is not just a scorer though contrary to popular belief.  He is a terrific passer and at six four can mix it up for boards (you have to in Carril’s system as the big centers are usually at high post screening the shooters to get shots and hitting backdoor cutters).  At his height and his pretty jump shot (almost as pretty as Dollar Bill’s) he can get his shot off over any defender and when he gets a screen he is deadly.  He runs the court well and plays within this great system.  He has a chance to be special but showed what kind of team player he can be.  Petrie became the best bench player in the conference and was instant offense for the Tigers.  If he would not have missed a few games with a knee problem he would not have lost his starting role but in some ways it made the Tigers a better team.  If he is healthy this Senior Tiger legend will be a great pro for somebody next season. 

The front line was not as deep on talent but they were effective.  Senior John Hummer is big and physical and beats you with toughness.   A good rebounder who contributed with great low post defense, Hummer is the enforcer of this team. The Tigers needed his physical presence to be able to compete with the athletic and big teams they were playing.   Hummer fits his name well as he a big square dude that keeps rumbling through whatever is in his way to get to his goal or to pull down a defender.  He averaged double digits in points and easily led the team in rebounding (though Bradley was closer than you might expect) but his best part of the game is being able to guard big, athletic post players in the paint.  Talk about a guy not getting his due Hummer was as important to this team’s success as anyone (except Bradley of course) as no one else on the roster has the size and strength to do what he does against the type of talent the Tigers played this season.  His showdown with Derrick Coleman is already legendary and he contained Jerry Lucas as well as anyone.  Yes, this kid will play at the next level because every teams needs a six eight 230 pounder who can run and pound and knows his role.  Oh did I say he was smart as a whip? 

After Senior Bud Palmer went down early Carrill needed to find some new blood up front.  Don’t worry about Palmer though he will heal and get a shot at the next level and with his looks he will be modeling or escorting soon enough.  

Sophomore Craig ‘Darrell’ Robinson came on strong down the stretch giving Carril some options to rotate in the post.  Robinson is a banger ala Hummer but not as big (he goes 6’6) or tough though he showed he can handle the paint when called upon.  Somebody said he had some connections up high to get to play so much this year but we say he earned it!     Senior Chris Thomforde was also productive in the post.  He is smart (who isn’t here?) and has a little size to bang and can score.  At six nine and 230 he is the old school post up on the blocks who gets his fair share of FT’s and PT along the way and contributed valuable minutes in the paint. Senior Peter Campbell was once Bradley’s main sidekick in crime on the wing but got surpassed by the bigger and more athletic Petrie/Taylor tandem and took his demotion like all Princeton men do.  Like a gentleman!  This 6’1 wing was once the primary 2nd fiddle here but has been surpassed but still gives the Tigers big time scoring off the bench.  The rest of Carril’s bench was scattered with upperclassmen who have had their run and underclassmen who got limited minutes shuffling back and forth between the JV and varsity last year.  Some of these kids will have to step up the next few year with all of the players leaving for the next level of ruling the world.  But for this season, it is all about depth and improving your game and finally beating Penn in the JV tourney.  Joe Heiser, Mike Kearns, Jim Brangan (not Brannigan), Carl Beltz and Bud Haabestadt are all seniors who have been vital parts in this machine at different times.  Most have seen their heyday but will continue to push the starters in practice and be there when called upon.  Juniors Frank Sowinski, Barnes Hauptfuhrer and Ted Manakas (say those three last names real quick 5X) will have roles this year but the first two are true small forwards stuck behind the Man so there minutes will be limited.  Manakas is a another long-range bomber who gives the Tigers great depth if Petrie is not fully recovered.  Rich Simkus, Bob Scrabas, Billy Ryan, Alan Williams and Kevin Mullin are sophomores to be on the varsity roster but likely will be the nucleus of the JV team, put their day is coming.   . 

The Princeton Tigers did not surprise anyone last year. They were supposed to be good and that they were.  Bill Bradley is a great player on a very good team that did not have the kind of flexibility to recruit the same players as most other major programs in the country.  This team continues to win with a superb defensive and offensive system and the type of cerebral players who know what it takes to win.  Oh and they had one of the best players in the country.   Dollar Bill Bradley is a legend in Princeton and would have been a great player wherever he went.  He chose Princeton not only for the academics but for a basketball program that continues to shine in the Ivy League.  He made the right choice.