Former Tiger coach left mark
By: Justin Feil
Forty years after Butch van Breda Kolff left Princeton University to be head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, his influence remains strong among the Tigers men’s basketball family.
The family lost one of its patriarchs when van Breda Kolff died Wednesday at the age of 84 after a long illness. His death brought an outpouring of memories from the Tigers family and beyond.
"The first time I met him was in McCosh 50 when he was introduced as the new basketball coach," said former Tigers player Bill Bradley, who captained the 1965 team. "I remember that meeting. He’s someone who really knew the game."
Van Breda Kolff coached the Tigers from 1962 to 1967 in five of the most successful seasons in Princeton history. In 1965, he took Princeton to the Final Four with a stunning 109-69 romp over favored Providence before falling to Michigan in the national semifinals.
"I learned a lot from him," Bradley said. "His offense had fundamentals and freedom simultaneously. And he was also a great defensive coach. He stressed movement on the floor, awareness of where your teammates are, when to help each other, when to make backdoor cuts.
"His coaching had an enormous influence on me," he added. "He coached me during three of my formative years."
In three seasons under van Breda Kolff’s tutelage, Bradley blossomed into a three-time All-America and the all-time leading scorer in Princeton history. Bradley is one of only 10 NCAA Division I players to score more than 2,500 points in just three years.
"His game was perfect for my abilities," Bradley said. "It gave me freedom to do what I wanted to do on the court all in the context of a team kind of game."
In 1967, van Breda Kolff helped the Tigers ascend to the No. 3 team in the country in the Associated Press poll. The team went 25-3 and held the record for wins by a Tigers team until 1998.
"People forget that although he inherited Bill Bradley, he was able to sustain the excellence of the program after Bradley," said Gary Walters, who started for the 1967 team and is current Princeton University athletics director. "The ’67 team was ranked in the Top 10, an accomplishment we didn’t achieve in ’65 until we made our run in the tournament. He was able to recruit Geoff Petrie and John Hummer, who were first-round draft picks. Geoff was (NBA) Rookie of the Year in ’71.
"Coach had a short but brilliant run at Princeton. He, probably more than any other person, he’s left his mark on what is Princeton basketball. He coached Coach (Pete) Carril. He coached me. His influence can’t be understated."
Van Breda Kolff, who captained the Tigers in 1946-47 before playing four seasons for the New York Knicks, left Princeton after going 103-31 in five seasons. He immediately took the Lakers to the NBA Finals and repeated the feat the following season in 1969. He also coached the Detroit Pistons in the NBA.
"It was odd to have him on the opposing bench," said Bradley, who played 10 seasons for the Knicks in a Hall-of-Fame career.
In van Breda Kolff’s place, the Tigers brought in Carril, who spent the next 29 seasons at the helm of Princeton. Of van Breda Kolff’s influence, there can be no doubt.
"I played for him in college," said Carril, who was a senior guard for van Breda Kolff at Lafayette College in 1952. "He taught me a lot. A lot of what I used was from him. A lot. A major amount.
"I knew him very well," he added. "Over the years, we became very close. He coached me in college and then when he left here, I took over."
In 29 seasons at Princeton, Carril won 514 games and built on the legacy of excellence established under van Breda Kolff. Van Breda Kolff also coached at Hofstra and New Orleans in the college ranks in a 28-season career that saw his teams win 483 games. In 10 pro seasons, his teams won 287 games.
"He was one of the few that could coach without Xs and Os," Carril said. "He could coach. He really knew the game."
Van Breda Kolff returned to Princeton for the 2005 recognition of the 40-year anniversary of the 1965 Final Four team. It was the last time he returned to where he roamed the sidelines for five influential seasons.
"When his teams got together," Bradley said, "it was a wonderful kind of celebration of his life."
His death did not come as a surprise to those that had remained close to him. Carril often spoke to him by phone. Bradley used to see him at Harvey Cedars.
"His passing doesn’t come as a surprise, but certainly as a disappointment," Walters said. "It’s a time to reflect on a great person who had an influence on all of us. I feel fortunate to be a part of the Carril-van Breda Kolff connection. He was a joy to play for."
His passing has brought more reflections from former players and coaches. They remember him fondly for how he approached basketball and life.
"I remember his candor," Bradley said. "He was tremendously honest in his assessment of players and life in general. If you wanted the truth, all you had to do was ask him. When he criticized, you knew he was shaping you to be better. He told you what he thought. He treated everyone the same. I might have been the best, but he treated everyone the same.
"What I’ll remember were his halftime talks. They were creative. One time he told a guy that if he didn’t start playing defense, a giant hook was going to come down from the ceiling and pick him out."
Van Breda Kolff’s personality was part of his coaching package. He was serious about winning on the court, but he was quick with a joke and players enjoyed working for him.
"Like Coach Carril, he was a larger than life figure," Walters said. "He filled up a room. He had a boisterous laugh and was totally unpretentious. In addition to being a terrific coach who should be in the basketball Hall of Fame, he was a tremendous recruiter."
Walters remembers when van Breda Kolff came to watch his Reading High School team that then was coached by Carril. At one point in the game, Walters went around his back and scored a layup.
"At the end of the game," Walters said, "Coach Carril got all over my case and accused me of being a hot dog. But Coach van Breda Kolff was impressed. He had a greater appreciation for what had taken place. He was such a charismatic figure and because Coach Carril thought it was in my best interest academically and athletically, I was luckily steered in this direction. Otherwise, I’d probably have gone to Maryland."
Without van Breda Kolff, there are doubts that the Tigers program would have become what it is. Even now, his influence remains.
"We lost one of our program’s most important figures yesterday," said current Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson in a statement Thursday. "He was a central figure in establishing Princeton as one of the top 20 college basketball programs of all time."
Johnson graduated 30 years after van Breda Kolff last coached at Princeton, but he understands the legacy is strong. Butch van Breda Kolff may be gone, but not forgotten.