Men’s hoops wins Johnson debut
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
In the early part of the season, first-year Princeton University men’s basketball coach Sydney Johnson is getting to know his players and his players are getting to know him.
But as this learning process goes on, both sides have at least one thing in common — their desire to see Princeton succeed. So when Princeton opened the season with a 59-57 win over Central Connecticut State on Sunday at Jadwin Gym, there wasn’t a ‘win one for the new coach’ mentality as much as just a win one for Princeton mentality.
”I think it is more we want to win for this program,” said senior co-captain Kyle Koncz, who scored eight of his 10 points in the second half as the Tigers rallied for the win in Johnson’s head coaching debut. “This program means a lot. It has a rich tradition and we want to go out there every game and show the people in the stands we’re here to win games and be a competitive team.
”It’s not just for Coach, but for the players and the past players and past coaches that have helped establish the program.”
The Tigers are looking to bounce back after one of the toughest seasons in the storied history of the program. For Johnson, getting that first win is a step in the right direction. The Tigers trailed, 24-16, at halftime after making just five of 26 shots. But they bounced back and played much better in the second half, leading by as many as seven points before CCSU rallied to nearly pull out the win at the end.
”I just felt like we were a little bit timid,” Johnson said of the first half. “Maybe it was the first game jitters. But I think we had a healthy respect for who were playing and how hard those kids played. But I thought maybe we weren’t respecting ourselves enough, so maybe we had just believe in one another.”
This is a Princeton team that appears to have a number of different players who will make contributions. On Sunday, it was sophomore center Zach Finley who led the way with a 22-point, nine-rebound effort. The Tigers also received some strong play off the bench from seniors Matt Sargeant and Kevin Steurer, who combined for 45 solid minutes.
”I certainly feel good about who we are as a group,” said Johnson, whose team will host Iona on Wednesday night. “It was Finley’s night. On Wednesday maybe it’s someone else’s night. I want to get contributions from everybody.
”The other guys, they have done that in practice. They have given us some depth. They are seniors and to a certain degree, no matter how much they’ve played, they have a certain experience with how we do things, what we ask of student-athletes, what they have to do in the classroom. And they have passed that along to the younger guys. We were fortunate enough to be able to use them and they were able to contribute tonight. I hope that can be a regular thing.”
Finely was certainly the difference on Sunday. He played just six minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, scoring six points and not getting a rebound. But he managed to play all 20 minutes in the second half, scoring 18 of his points and grabbing nine rounds.
”Last year was kind of a new thing for me,” said Finley, who played in 28 games, starting the last 14 as a freshman a year ago. “I wasn’t familiar with the Princeton offense. This year is my second year with it and I feel a lot more comfortable. You realize once you get on the floor it’s just basketball like you’ve been playing your whole life.
”A lot of us have been here since last year, so it is sort of the same mission we’ve been on since everyone has first been here. It’s good to get out there and start playing games and see where we’re at.”
Having a solid player in the middle can make all the difference for the Tigers. And Johnson, who played with two good ones in Rich Hielscher and Steve Goodrich, knows quite a bit about the tradition there.
”We’ve had good centers here in the past,” Johnson said. “One of my favorite players is Kit Mueller. Everybody who has come after him, and there were even the great centers before Kit, they’ve been told by Coach (Pete) Carril about Kit. I think it is a big jump to compare Zach to Kit, but there is size there. There is mobility. He’s comfortable finishing with either hand. But we’ve got some backup bigs that need to make progress and contribute as well.”
If the first game is any indication, Johnson has a team that will battle through tough times. The Tigers did that Sunday, overcoming a rough first half to win their opener for the first time in three years.
”We’re going to face challenges and some we’re not going to be able to overcome,” said Johnson, who had his mentor, former PU coach John Thompson III in the stands for the game. “But I just don’t want them to run from any challenge. It says so much about who you are as a Princeton student-athlete that you don’t run from a challenge. That was what has defined us over the years. We were fortunate to win. But as much as anything, I was proud of how they competed in the second half.”
That’s how Johnson would like to see his team compete every night. And one game into his tenure, he had plenty to be happy about.