Darrow helps PU men handle Harvard, Dartmouth
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
In five games last year, Mack Darrow totaled 17 minutes.
With the graduation of Pawel Buczak and Zach Finley, the Princeton University sophomore has stepped into the void to average 17 minutes per game while serving as an ideal forward complement to Ian Hummer and Kareem Maddox.
”Compared to last year,” Darrow said, “any role would have been appreciated.”
Darrow isn’t bitter about not playing much last year. On the contrary, he recognizes how much it helped him prepare for this season.
”Learning from those guys last year, Zach Finley and Pawel Buczak, made things unbelievably easier,” Darrow said. “In high school, I didn’t have that learning period. I got to sit a year and learn from them last year. I learned a lot of tricks for how to get guys shots.”
Darrow has learned his lessons well as he put up two consistent performances at the offensive end to help the Tigers sweep Harvard and Dartmouth. He had eight points, four rebounds, two assists, no turnovers and a blocked shot in 27 minutes of the 65-61 win Friday over Harvard.
Darrow got another 27 minutes, and had another eight points, three rebounds, five assists and no turnovers again in a 68-53 win over Dartmouth on Saturday. He was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor, but none of his offense matters that much to Princeton.
”That’s all gravy,” said PU head coach Sydney Johnson. “If he doesn’t help us defend, no one’s going to see that eight and five.”
The Tigers will finish their home stand tonight when the University of Pennsylvania visits at 7 p.m. Princeton’s win over Harvard on Friday and Harvard’s win over Penn on Saturday leave the Tigers as the lone unbeaten in the Ivy League. Princeton is 16-4 overall, 4-0 overall.
”We’re a confident group,” Darrow said. “We all feel we have something special. Whether we realize some of our goals remains to be seen.”
Darrow can help the Tigers are both ends of the floor. Princeton is getting what it wanted out of his so far this year.
”He just had to wait his turn,” Johnson said. “Now, he, Brendan (Connolly) and Patrick (Saunders) are able to give us very valuable minutes. It’s all because the three of them have gotten better. Mack, he’s gotten better. That’s a priority that we stress — that you have to get better, almost be selfish, focus very much on improving your individual skill level and that will make our team stronger when we put all these parts together.
”We want him to play excellent post defense, he and Brendan and Patrick. That’s exactly what Finley and Pawel brought to the table. They were playing very good post defense at the end of the year. The three of them have to help us guard the post. Mack is a capable shooter. He has a high basketball IQ and understands what we’re trying to do offensively. If all that can come after he plays great defense, then I’m all for it.”
Defense has been a priority for the Tigers. They held Dartmouth to 25 percent shooting in the second half to break open a competitive game, and they held Harvard to 40 percent from the field in the second half to rally from a one-point halftime deficit.
”I think the way we came out and defended the second halves of both games better,” Darrow said. “We had gotten away from our defensive identity in the last couple of games, and getting that defensive identity back was encouraging. Obviously, we’d like to tighten that up to 40 minutes.
”We are still feeling out the other team a bit in the beginning of games. Once the sense of urgency picks up, we’re doing better. Once we feel that sense of urgency over 40 minutes, we can be a great team. We’re still trying to put together a total team effort.”
Princeton is still getting plenty of balance on offense. Against Harvard, Hummer had 17 points, Dan Mavraides added 15 points and an impressive seven rebounds, and Maddox had 14 points. Hummer had 19 to lead the way against Dartmouth, Doug Davis added 16 points and Mavraides had 14 points. Davis, the Hun School product, stands just six points away from 1,000 career points. Maddox’s 15 rebounds against the Big Green was the most by a Tiger since Mason Rocca had 18 rebounds against Georgetown in the NIT first round in 1999.
”Guys like Kareem Maddox and Ian Hummer make it easier to go inside-out,” Darrow said. “And with outside shooters like Dan, Doug and Patrick, they help.”
Darrow’s shooting has helped stretch opposing defenses. After making 13 of 39 three-point attempts in non-conference games, he has made five of his seven attempts in Ivy play.
”It’s definitely something I worked on,” Darrow said. “I realized with Ian and Kareem coming back, the best way to complement them is to be able to shoot it. I’m looking to help where I can.
”I think my outside shooting is important,” he added. “I had a tough start to the year. My confidence has only improved as the season has gone on. If my outside shot is falling, it can help. But Coach (Tony) Newsom has always said if I can rebound and play defense, that’s what we need.”
Darrow will be playing his first significant minutes in a Princeton-Penn game tonight. And as good as the Tigers feel about being 4-0 in the Ivies so far, there’s no sense of relief with still 10 games to play.
”I still think that our toughest challenges are ahead,” Johnson said. “The further you get in the conference, the more important your games get. When they face real true adversity, we’ll see what type of team we are.”
That’s when the Tigers expect to lean on their experienced veterans. Darrow is gaining experience with every minute he plays, but for now he’s comfortable taking a seat to start games and filling in wherever he can.
”I enjoy coming off the bench,” Darrow said. “Especially being young and relatively inexperienced, it helps to see how teams are playing us. Coming off the bench has been beneficial to me. If I can bring some energy off the bench, hopefully that will help us win games.”