By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
With one month of games behind them, the Princeton University men’s basketball team was still searching for consistency. The Tigers have some youth — they start a freshman at point guard, three sophomores and senior Hans Brase. And with youth comes inconsistency, just as Princeton had in its upset bid at California on Dec. 13.
Clay Wilson’s 3-pointer with 8:24 left in the first half gave Princeton a 29-18 lead over a Cal team that had just one loss. The Tigers still led by nine at halftime, but 11 minutes and four turnovers into the second half, they were tied and the Bears went on to pull away for a 67-57 win. In the second half, Cal outscored Princeton, 15-0, off turnovers and 10-0 off second-chance points.
”Overall, we’re not great right now,” said PU head coach Mitch Henderson after his team fell to 3-8 heading into a Dec. 19 game with Lipscomb and Dec. 22 date with Liberty, both at Jadwin Gym. “The stats prove that. You’re up 11 at Cal. You start 8-for-8. We didn’t have any trouble scoring. We haven’t had trouble scoring in many of the games this year.
”We don’t have the consistency. That’s our problem. We have these swoons. That’s the sign of an immature team, but I see improvement. There are less swoons. We’re still having them. It’s costing us.”
In losses to Cal and Saint Peter’s, Princeton averaged only 52 points per game, but it is still the defensive end that Henderson believes need to improve the most. The Tigers scored a 77-64 win over Stony Brook before their two-game losing streak, but before that they scored 85 points and still lost, 89-85, at Fairleigh Dickinson.
”It’s our defense that needs to turn the corner,” Henderson said. “You put so much pressure on them.
”We’ve been in foul trouble. You’re getting teams in the bonus earlier and they’re getting easier points faster. In a couple games, we’ve been forced to foul at the end of a game, but we’re sending teams to the line before the end of the game. Keep your body in front of your own man and don’t give up lanes to the rim. We are getting better at that. Sometimes teams get hot and make some shots. That’s happened to us a bit.”
Prior to visits from Lipscomb and Liberty, only three of the Tigers’ 11 games had been at home. It’s made it that much tougher to adjust to the changes on the team.
”It’s been brutal,” Henderson said. “We put ourselves in a pretty tough spot by playing on the road and some tough teams. This is no excuse, but the first week of practice, you lose 12 and 6 from Denton Koons (who was injured). We’re still replacing TJ Bray and you dig yourself another hole.
”I’m actually encouraged. The guys have responded with everything I’ve asked them to do which is a strong indicator of a good team.”
The Tigers can be encouraged by the way they played in the first half at Cal, a Pac-10 team off to a good start. Princeton shot 62 percent from the floor in that half including 57 percent from 3-point range. And they outrebounded Cal, 11-8, in the half. The numbers weren’t nearly as good in the second half.
”It’s a tough time to be searching,” Henderson said. “That’s where we’re at. I think we’re getting closer.
”We have to let the good be good,” he said. “How do you eliminate the bad? Really concentrate on those things. I think it’s habits.”
The Tigers would love to see their youth grow up faster. Their replacement for Bray, a do-everything point guard last year is wiry freshman Amir Bell, a local product out of South Brunswick.
”He has all the tools,” Henderson said. “He’s played in small gyms and big gyms. He’s played on TV. He’s fouled out. He’s had more turnovers than assists and more assists than turnovers. It’s what are you doing to contribute toward the team? That’s what the point guard does. What are you doing to make sure the team is firing on all cylinders and make sure you’re contributing to the team? He’s had some trouble with fouls.”
Henderson has been trying to get Bell to play through the foul trouble. They want him on the court, not the bench.
”I’ve been playing him when I shouldn’t when he has fouls,” Henderson said. “We’re putting the ball in his hands and we think he can make us better. It’s about stringing together seven or eight possessions in a row that are mistake free and not just one or two. That just takes time. It’s time for the learning curve to increase.”
A big part of it is adjusting to the level at all facets, something that three other starters went through last year. Steven Cook, Pete Miller and reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year Spencer Weisz are all in their second year on the court.
”We’ve played enough games to say some of these sophomores are juniors,” Henderson said. Henry Caruso and Khyan Rayner are two more sophomores that have been contributing as of late. Caruso had a 15-point effort against UTEP. Princeton’s one senior in the starting lineup is Hans Brase, though Wilson has been a bright spot off the bench. Princeton is still searching for the right pieces off the bench. The Tigers only used eight players against Cal.
”I’d prefer to go a little deeper,” Henderson said. “But I feel like we’re trying to get ready for what we hope is within a month we have to find rotation that works. We’re just looking for consistency. Clay Wilson had 15 one game, but then didn’t score a couple games later. Where’s the consistent rotation that’s going to defend or produce? When I really study our stats, we’re inconsistent. The guys we count on, the highs are high and the lows are low.”
Princeton is led by Weisz’s 13.3 points per game average, just a few ticks ahead of Brase, who averages 13.0 points per game. Cook gives the Tigers a third player in double-digit scoring at 10.3 points per game. Bell and Miller and then Wilson follow behind.
”Spencer was averaging 18 and Hans was averaging 13,” Henderson said. “They’re regressing in a positive way. The stats are bunching back up. If you look at our top scorer now vs. our fifth scorer, it’s getting closer to where it needs to be. I see that as a positive. These guys have had success, pat yourself on the back and now learn how to stop your man, rebound and win.”
If the offense can take care of the ball and create more of the scoring chances like they had in the first half against Cal, the Tigers will be in business when they start playing the sort of defense that they are expecting.
”You look at our numbers and we have to stop people,” Henderson said. “It has to drive you mad to give up a basket. You try to pitch a shutout. Are they thinking that way? If we can get there, we’ve got something.”
Princeton believes in the personnel it has on the team. The Tigers are growing, but it’s just two weeks until they tip off the Ivy League season with Penn on Jan. 10.
”We have to stay consistent,” Henderson said. “Good things have happened. They just haven’t happened for 40 minutes. I believe in this group and staying with this group and just trying to do it better.”
