Schafer, PU men find right path

Tigers stop losing streak with defensive effort

By: Justin Feil
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —

   I took the one less traveled by,

   And that has made all the difference."
   The end to Robert Frost’s famous poem rings true for Max Schafer and the Princeton University men’s basketball team.
   Schafer, the sophomore guard who started the final six games last year, opened the season averaging better than 23 minutes per contest over the first three games before his playing time began slipping away. He did not play a minute as the Tigers split their opening Ivy League weekend against Brown and Yale.
   Schafer rediscovered the fight needed to play for the Tigers this season, and just in time to help Princeton from a four-game Ivy tailspin, 63-53, over Columbia on Saturday.
   "Guys really zeroed in on what we have to do," said Schafer, who had nine points, two rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal and no turnovers. "I’m so proud of the team to get out of the hole we were in. It was so difficult to do that."
   Schafer also apparently has found a way out of his own hole. He played a season-high 36 minutes, starting the second half, as the Tigers improved to 11-10 overall, 2-5 in the Ivies.
   "Coach has really helped me with that," Schafer said of his midseason dip. "We’ve had a lot of private talks. I’m glad I stuck with it. There was a point in there where I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. It was a definite fork in the road. I’m glad with the choice I’ve made. Little by little, I’ve been building myself back up and getting a little more minutes each night. Tonight, I hit 36 minutes which is the goal."
   So is the effort Princeton showed in picking up its first win since topping Yale with a similar defensive effort on that first weekend. Saturday, one night after falling, 66-58, to Cornell at Jadwin Gym, Princeton rewarded the 4,500-plus who turned out to see them snap their longest Ivy losing streak since the 1985-86 season.
   "I think our defense was absolutely terrific," said PU head coach Joe Scott, who was a junior on the 1985-86 Tigers squad that also dropped four straight Ivy games. "It was probably our best defensive game of the year. We did a really good job of playing our defense, whatever it’s supposed to be, whatever it is, that’s the way it’s supposed to look. That’s the way it’s supposed to look all the time.
   "Our guys have it in them to do it all the time. The hard thing is learning how to make it come out every single night you’re out on the court. If we can do it tonight, we have to learn how to do it next Friday night. We have one job, have that same kind of focus, same kind of mental focus, same kind of attention to detail at that end of the court. If you do that, you’re always going to be in every game you play in."
   Princeton has been in every game it’s played in, it just frequently has surrendered late leads. Friday, it was a 20-0 second-half run by Cornell that did in the Tigers, who committed eight turnovers in the Big Red run. Against Penn earlier that week, it was turnovers against a full-court press and an inability to capitalize when they did break the pressure defense that hurt the Tigers. Despite 19 turnovers Saturday, Princeton did a better job against Columbia.
   "I definitely think there was a more concerted effort to attack their press and we went over it," Schafer said. "After the Penn game, that’s all we’ve been focusing on — our press-breaker. Guys against Penn were just a little apprehensive in the environment. Nobody wanted to mess up, and in doing that we messed up just because we were plain nervous. I think Coach did a great job of preparing us and telling us to really go out there and attack them. That’s what we did."
   Princeton never trailed Saturday against a physical Columbia squad, and unlike during their recent struggles, they never surrendered the lead. Over the final 7:26, the Lions never got closer than seven points despite Princeton losing starting center Judson Wallace, back-up center Mike Stephens and starting forward Luke Owings to fouls. The guards came through down the stretch for their missing front line mates. Scott Greenman tied a career-high with 17 points while Will Venable had 15 points.
   "The manner we played all night sort of indicated we were going to do that," said Scott of holding the lead. "The way we broke the press — we were sprinting to where we were supposed to go, the ball was moving, guys were moving. We scored against the press. We broke it with ease. And again, maybe that’s something that we needed to do. We worked on it for two days. It showed up today in our favor. Maybe that’s how we’re going to break presses from here on out, and you’re not going to be able to press us. We’re going to be into that situation again, so we’ll find out again next Friday or whenever it happens again."
   Princeton opens the second half of the Ivy season on the road, at Yale on Friday and at Brown on Saturday. The Tigers enter the weekend with a greater sense of confidence after winning an Ivy game.
   "That was the most camaraderie I’ve felt from this team in the locker room in months, I think," Schafer said. "Guys are talking after the game, congratulating each other. You could just feel it in the room. Everyone was happy for the next guy. No one was blaming on themselves or thinking one guy played better than another. We were all just happy for one another. If you think about it, we’re in this thing together. I think guys are starting to realize that. It’s not about me, me, me. It’s us."
   Schafer is also happy to be a part of the solution for the Tigers. He seems to have recovered from his mid-season benching and is again giving Princeton quality minutes.
   "Max is to be commended for having a struggling type of year on a number of fronts, and at this point in time, he seems to be putting it together," Scott said. "Luke Owings, the same thing at this point in time. Those guys are sophomores, and they need to do it again and again and again. They need to cement home we’re juniors now and that’s important, going forward.
   "It’s important for Judson and Will and those (senior) guys. They have seven more cracks at a minimum to show who they are, what they stand for, what Princeton basketball is and what’s their mark going to be. That’s not going to go away. That’s got to be important to them. They showed tonight it was important to them. That was a really good effort."
   Maybe it was a tad late for the Tigers’ Ivy championship hopes, but it’s never too early for the Tigers to start the turnaround. Saturday’s defensive-led performance gave credence to what Scott has been looking for, and showed that the players still are willing to give everything they have.
   "For once, we’re on the same page," Schafer said. "Coach has calmed down with some guys. He’s learning about us as we’re learning about him. Sometimes you change your ways a little bit. It’s not to say he’s totally altered what he does. He’s learning how to handle different guys. On his part, that’s a good job, and guys are responding.
   "Sometimes it takes a few months. Sometimes it takes a few weeks, I guess. You know how kids are. We’re tough to get through to. I know I am. He got through to me, right?"
   Just in the nick of time to help Schafer regain some of his confidence and to help the Tigers gain some steam as they head into the second half of the Ivy League season.
   "Maybe our program is learning," Scott said. "That’s what’s most important to me, that our program learns. That’s why these last seven games will be critical, so our program learns what it is and what it stands for. And that’s what it’s going to do all the time. I’d like tonight to be an indicator of what that is."
   Schafer and Princeton seem to have found the right path Saturday. And Scott hopes that the Tigers stay on the same road to finish out the season on a better note.