By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Mitch Henderson enters his fifth season as head coach of the Princeton University men’s basketball program with as deep and talented a roster as he’s ever had.
But what excited Henderson the most is the way the players on the roster have approached the season.
“The day to day approach for us has been really solid,” said Henderson, whose team will open the season tonight at Rider. “We can shoot. We have all the different little pieces that we need. I have been pleased. It’s a fun group to coach. Players are made in the summer and I think our guys have gone about their business in the right way.
“We have good senior and junior leadership. Amir Bell is basically like a 10-year vet now after last year when he started 30 games for us as a freshman. So I like the experience.”
Princeton returns all five starters from a team that went 16-14 overall and 9-5 in the Ivy League last year. But beyond whoever starts for the Tigers, this team is loaded with depth.
“I love the depth,” Henderson said. “Practices have been very competitive and they are getting after it. I love the focus of the group. They seem to be very keyed in on the details.”
Bell is back at point guard after starting every game as a freshman last year. He’ll be joined in the backcourt by junior Spencer Weisz, while the frontcourt includes senior Hans Brase as well as juniors Pete Miller and Steven Cook.
“Amir had a really good summer,” Henderson said. “All of them put lot into what they are all about over the summer. They like each other, which is important. But there is also an edge to practice which comes from everybody getting better.”
Brase and Miller give the Tigers a dynamic frontcourt combination.
“I like the punch,” Henderson said. “And you have to include Alec Brennan in there and Noah Bramlage as well. We have a lot of different ways we can play. With Pete in particular, he is an improved player around the basket and defensively he gives us length, Alec the same thing. We’re just asking all the guys to commit to what we’re doing and how they make us better.”
Henderson likes his freshmen class and expects a number of the newcomers to contribute. The group includes Bramlage, a 6-foot-9 forward, as well as guards Devin Cannady and Myles Stephens.
Princeton opens at Rider and the non-conference schedule includes the home opener against St. Peter’s on Nov. 21. That game will be played at Dillon Gym on what should be a special night. The Tigers will also play Lafayette, Fairleigh Dickinson, Liberty and Bucknell at home, while traveling to St. Joseph’s, Maryland and Miami among others.
“The start of the season is going to be very important for us as far as when we get to the end of the game we say ‘we’ve got this.’” Henderson said. “Last year we weren’t sure how we were going to get those buckets at the end of the game.”
The Tigers were selected to finish second in the Ivy League behind Yale in the pre-season media poll. Many publications have Princeton winning the league.
“The league has always been good,” Henderson said. “Columbia has everyone back. They have seniors and a very challenging player to guard in Maodo Lo and Alex Rosenberg who had a terrific junior year. Yale has (Justin) Sears who presents a lot of problems. Penn is going to be quite different with Coach (Steve) Donahue there. Harvard is always very good. Each team in the league is very different. I am looking forward to the league.”
