PU men earn 13 seed
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
It was a whirlwind 24 hours for Kareem Maddox and the Princeton University men’s basketball team.
On Saturday afternoon they were celebrating in New Haven, Conn., after a last-second shot by Doug Davis lifted them to a 63-62 win over Harvard and the Ivy League’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
On Sunday the Tigers were back in Princeton, celebrating with friends and family as they found out that NCAA trip would mean a date with Kentucky on Thursday at 2:45 p.m. in Tampa, Fla.
”I’m still trying to respond to all the texts and messages,” Maddox said Sunday in Frist Campus Center. “The support we’ve had has been great all year with the fans and people back at home. This team is so close and we always talk about how much work we have put in to get to where we want to be.
”Starting with that shot and then to get to this point it has been amazing. There has been so much support. I don’t think we were expecting this many people to come out and watch the selection show. There are a lot of people here who truly love Princeton basketball almost as much as we do. It’s been a wild road and we’re happy to be here.”
Princeton has not been to the NCAA tournament since 2004 and it has been a long road back to make the return trip. The Tigers are just three years removed from a six-win season and now Maddox and his teammates are heading back to the NCAA tournament thanks to hard work and a last-second shot by Davis.
”My whole career came down to that one shot and I’m thinking about all the work we put in,” said Maddox, the only Tiger to be named first team All-Ivy. “That win meant so much. The ball went through the net and we were all crushed in the pile.”
Now the Tigers get a matchup with Kentucky, which is 25-8 and won the Southeast Conference Tournament title with a 70-54 win over Florida on Sunday.
”What I love is that it is two historically great programs,” said Princeton coach Sydney Johnson, whose team improved to 25-6 with the win over Harvard. “Kentucky-Princeton, that’s pretty fun.”
Johnson was planning to spend several days getting to know everything he could about the Wildcats. But his first impression was his team was going to be facing a team with plenty of talent.
”Off the top of my head, I think Brandon Knight is fantastic,” Johnson said. “He plays the right way and can control a game and can shoot it. Terrence Jones is an NBA caliber talent and looks like a man out there among boys. Those two stick out. I don’t want to offend anybody else, I just know those two kids well. And I know the passion that Coach (John) Calipari has. They are pretty impressive.”
Johnson knows a thing or two about being in the NCAA tournament and playing against a powerhouse program. He was on the court in 1996 when the Tigers knocked off defending champion UCLA. He’s hoping his current players get a chance to create their own memories.
”We have to make our own history,” Johnson said. “I’ve challenged the guys. We have some great history here obviously and we have done some nice things in the tournament. But those teams have done that by every year stepping up to their challenge. That is something we have to do. I am not predicting any great upset. I’m just saying that is something we have to do on our own.”
Johnson knows he and his players will have the support of the Princeton basketball family when they take the court on Thursday. Two other members of the family are also in the NCAA field. John Thompson III and his Georgetown team will play in Chicago on Friday against the USC/VCU winner, while Chris Mooney has his Richmond team in the field after winning the Atlantic 10 title. The Spiders will face Vanderbilt in Denver on Thursday.
”I’ve already talked to Coach (Pete) Carril today,” Johnson said on Sunday. “I’ve already talked to Coach Thompson today. I’ll text Coach Mooney about his great win today. I am always following how Howie Levy and Joe Scott and Craig Robinson and Armond Hill do. The Princeton family is tight. Steve Mills sent me a text. Frank Sowinski and Kit Mueller sent me emails. They are all a part of this.
”A lot of my teammates from that (UCLA) game were with us (on Saturday). It’s hard not to forget that. The moment we had against UCLA, in some sense Doug Davis had that moment yesterday. I appreciate those big moments that we’ve had.”
Now they’ll look to create another big moment against Kentucky.
”They are athletic and they are good and that is a very storied program,” Maddox said. “Any team we were going to play is going to be good.”
For Johnson, he’s simply glad to see his players rewarded for the hard work they’ve put in to be in this position.
”These guys have worked tremendously hard and this is a moment we’ve work towards for a long time,” the Princeton coach said. “I’m so proud of our guys for finalizing that dream.
”We get a chance to exhale. We finally know who we are playing and as much as we’re smiling here now, it is time to turn the page and prepare for a basketball game.”

