PU men’s basketball hosts Rider tonight in season opener
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Mitch Henderson nodded approvingly as Princeton University forward Hans Brase ended a practice session by catching the ball close to the basket and finishing the layup after a nifty move.
”That’s good,” said Henderson, the fourth-year head coach of the Tiger men’s basketball team. “He sort of loved the 3-pointer last year. He’s got to get in there.”
The junior is 6-foot-8, and his 231-pound frame is expected to carry more of the scoring load this season, ideally from closer range than last year.
”Any time you get a mismatch, the easiest basket is a layup,” Brase said. “The closer you get to the basket, the easier it is. So I’m just working on getting those mismatches — using my quickness if I have a bigger guy, using my size if I have a smaller guy, and working on different finishes down low.”
Brase jumped 10 minutes in playing time from his respectable amount freshman year, and he quadrupled his 3-point attempts to more than 100 but shot 12 percent worse from beyond the arc. His overall field goal percentage remained just about the same.
”I feel all-around I’ve gotten a lot better, more comfortable I feel like is the best thing,” Brase said. “I’ve played a lot of minutes so my comfort level with late-game situations, late shot clock, I’m not in a rush any more. I know the offense now, so I get it, I know where my teammates are, I know who likes to cut, where they like to catch it, where they like to shoot from. The biggest thing is comfort level, and you only get that with game experience and playing in practice.”
Brase is the only returning player who started all 30 games last year for Princeton, his 11.2 points per game scoring average leads all returning players. Brase’s approach last year mirrored that of the Tigers. They shot a lot from the outside, and they made a team-record 278 3-pointers last season, but it didn’t translate the way that they wanted.
”There are a lot of stats out there that say if you make a lot of 3s, you’re going to win a lot of games,” Henderson said. “You look at us, look at Creighton — some teams that had a hard time scoring inside but were prolific shooting teams — so I think a balance is needed. I hope we don’t rely on it the way we did. “
Princeton finished 21-9 overall highlighted by a win over Tulane in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational, but went just 8-6 in the Ivy League. They were 9-1 in their first 10 non-conference games, then started 0-4 in the Ivies.
”We started off last year with a really nice start to the season and we really faltered in the middle of the league,” Henderson said. “We tried to address some of those things as we were looking at the offseason.”
Princeton doesn’t finger shooting as the main culprit, though more balance would have helped. The biggest area of emphasis has been the defense.
”The biggest thing is we’re trying to on defense attack,” Brase said. “We’re not trying to be defensive on the defensive end if that makes sense. We’re trying to attack them and make them feel uncomfortable. We do a lot of 4-on-4 stuff, 4-on-5 stuff to simulate a ball screen where we have to help and scramble and run there. The biggest thing is attacking them and making them feel uncomfortable.”
The Tigers’ first test comes when they host nearby Rider University 7 p.m. tonight at Jadwin Gym.
”Any time you can play a local team and a local game, like Princeton area/Mercer County, it’s kind of up for grabs,” Brase said. “We always like to play local teams, get a good crowd, and show we’re the team to beat in the area and in the Ivy League.”
The Tigers will have a new look this year to open the season. Graduated are leading scorer T.J. Bray as well as Will Barrett, who also averaged double figures in scoring. Princeton has been asking itself who will provide scoring this year.
”We really expect Hans,” Henderson said. “I think that this team, of the teams that we’ve had since I’ve been here, I think will be the most balanced team we’ve had. I do think that Hans and Denton (Koon) will shoulder some of the scoring load for us. I think this team’s strength is who’s turn is it to score?
”Defensively, I think we hit a skid in the middle of league play, and we’ve got to have a little more fire in the eyes so to speak. We’ve been zeroing in on that.”
Koon missed the final 11 games last year due to injury, and he suffered a pre-season knee injury that will keep him out the beginning of this season. No timetable has been announced for his return. Princeton has Spencer Weicz, who started 20 games and won Ivy League Rookie of the Year, back, along with senior Ben Hazel and sophomore Steven Cook, who started 16 and 11 games respectively.
”We have a lot of weapons,” Brase said. “It’s great for us. Anytime, I feel like five or six different people can go off for 15 or so points, so that really helps create mismatches and see where the best mismatch is.”
Princeton anticipates contributions from its freshmen class that includes in-state product Amir Bell of East Brunswick along with Alec Brennan, Mike LeBlanc, Aaron Young and Jackson Forbes.
”I like the freshmen a lot,” Henderson said. “The thing I like the most is their complete buy-in on what we are and what we do. I do think that Alec Brennan has a chance to be a very good player here over time. He just has to get exposed to playing more. Jackson Forbes is a very good shooter. Aaron Young really understands how to handle the ball. Michael LeBlanc has had a couple injuries, he’s been out of practice, but is a very good shooter. And Amir Bell is somebody that we felt could be another potentially TJ-type player. He has a very good sense of what to do and when.”
Whoever gets up to speed the quickest from that class will have the opportunity to contribute soonest, particularly if they can create scoring.
”There’s always a little learning curve,” Brase said. “Our offense is different than any high school offense you’ll ever play. Everyone is faster, stronger, you’re expected to make a lot more shots and run faster. The one thing I try to tell them all is we’ve all been there, it’s tough the first couple weeks, you don’t know what to expect, they’re yelling at you to go faster to go faster and all these things. We try to take them aside at the end and say, be coachable and play as hard you can and listen. It’s rough at first, but they all make it.”
Brase found himself contributing early as a freshman for the Tigers. Maybe he’s looking forward to the Rider game because as a freshman, it was the first team that he started against, and he responded with a career-high 17 points. Brase has continued to polish his game while playing in the summers with Germany’s U-20 and second national teams, and returns more confident than ever after another productive summer abroad.
”It was great,” Brase said. “Any time you get a chance to play against great competition, play all the time, it really just helps. Game experience is really valuable in the fact that I was playing against pros every day. They’ve been pros since they were 16, 17 (years old). All they do, their entire livelihood, is basketball. So it just really changes your perspective. It’s just a different game over there. Any time you can play against different guys, (in a) different system, it always helps.”
The Tigers will be relying on their veterans early as their new contributors adjust to bigger roles. Certainly Brase will be a focal point.
”He’s pivotal for us,” Henderson said. “He has to stay out of foul trouble. He’s going to have the ball in his hands a lot. Can he understand time and place? He’s also been a physical post player, and I think a lot of the posts are going to have a really quick learning curve.”
Princeton would like to see him finishing more shots around the basket as he did to close their one practice. If that continues into the regular season, the Tigers will have the key building block that they need.
”I’ve been trying to work on a little bit of everything,” Brase said. “Taking care of the ball is a big thing for me because I’m going to have the ball in my hands a lot. I’m still working on my inside game. It always helps to make more shots, dribble better, athleticism, a little of everything, but a big emphasis on controlling the ball and down low.”