Loss of Young forces men's basketball to look toward perimeter

Most Princeton sports fans are familiar with the men's basketball story by now.

The Tigers finished yet another strong season under Bill Carmody in second place in the Ivy League. That rank, coupled with Princeton's 19-11 overall record, earned the team its second consecutive bid to the National Invitation Tournament.

Princeton sent a unit bursting with youth onto the floor for its NIT matchup with Penn State. The one freshman, three sophomores and one junior who started against the Nittany Lions would come up short, but basketball pundits were certain that the Tigers had nowhere to go but up.

Before even playing a game this year, Princeton proved that down was not only an option, but a reality. Of the five players who started last year's season finale, only one, senior guard C.J. Chapman, will start Tuesday's game against the Duke Blue Devils.

This summer, months before meeting the Devils, junior center Chris Young made a deal with the Pirates. Then head coach Bill Carmody skipped town for Northwestern, leaving a substantial mess that was only made worse by sophomore guard Spencer Gloger's subsequent departure for UCLA. Added quietly to this mix was forward Ray Robins' decision to take a year off before returning in 2001.

A wealth of assistant coaches made finding a replacement for Carmody easy. New head coach John Thompson '88's task in replacing missing players is a good bit more difficult, however. The departures of Young, Gloger and Robins leave Princeton with more potential holes than it has had in years.

Goto guy

First of all, Princeton is missing a proven scorer. In their short careers, Young, Gloger and Robins combined for 1,310 points. The remaining Princeton players have collected only 1,202.

Secondly, after several years of enjoying unusual size for an Ivy League program, Princeton is admittedly small up front.

"Because of our lack of size, we're going to have to play around with some different people inside," Thompson said.

Possibilities to stand in down low include no players over 6-feet, 9-inches. Princeton's tallest player, sophomore Chris Krug, started 27 games in his freshman year two years ago, but lacked the strength to effectively clear the boards or create opportunities offensively.

...Princeton can find some solace for its frontcourt woes in the heady play of senior forward Nate Walton. When healthy in the 2000-2001 campaign, Walton was the Tigers' best assist man. He also improved as a scorer toward the end of the year and led the Tigers with 15 points in an exhibition game November 4.

Walton could become Princeton's primary scoring option this year, with Chapman as a possible alternative. Chapman scored 15 points in the exhibition game against the California All-Stars on Nov. 4 and has proven himself capable of scoring bursts from the perimeter in the past.

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With junior Ahmed El-Nokali and freshman Ed Persia ready to join Chapman in the backcourt, Princeton should have one of the more capable guard trios in the Ivies. In two years as a starter, El-Nokali has developed into a consistent ball-handler and court leader.

Surprisingly, these remaining players might be enough to give Princeton hope for another run at the Ivy League crown. Gutted, but not destroyed, the Tigers still carry enough talent to be competitive in a league they once dominated.

"A lot of people have written us off," El-Nokali said. "But I think we'll contend for the championship."

Assuming the purge has ended, Princeton's task is now laid out in the open. The Tigers must press forward with their remaining players to forge a new identity.

For this Princeton team, though, it can never be that simple. The oft-injured Walton has twisted his ankle, and the reliable El-Nokali underwent surgery before the season, leaving both out for the start of the year.

But in spite of this adversity, the Tigers press onward, hoping that the worst is finally behind them and that they have nowhere to go but up.