A coach's players, a captain's team claim men's hoops title

The game begins with one man, smartly dressed in a suit on the sideline, barking out signals towards the floor. His intense glare and furrowed brow display the intensity of the player he once was.

During the summer, while many expected him to be on the Princeton bench during this key contest, few anticipated that he would be the one in charge — running the show.

At center court stands a younger man, with noticeably more hair than his coach. Crouched, ready to leap, he eyes his adversary, waiting for the official to toss the ball into play.

Five years ago, he would not have anticipated being on the floor on this night. He came here as a highly touted freshman — a small forward with a pedigree as strong as his ankles were weak.

Through a series of twists and turns, of both fate and his tendons, he arrived at this moment — playing center in the biggest game of his career.

As the game progressed, the man in the suit shouted and prodded, applauded and cringed, trying to engineer a final victory in this surprising Ivy season. In his own inimitable style, the latest general in the Princeton and Thompson coaching families was there calming and motivating his troops.

And when head coach John Thompson '88 needed a big play, his center — senior Nate Walton, the man to whom Thompson claimed this team truly belonged — stepped forward and did what was necessary.

In his final game at Jadwin, the Tiger captain scrapped and battled under the basket and, despite giving up a few inches to his opposition, pulled down more rebounds than anyone else — on either team.

It seemed that whenever Princeton needed a play — be it a steal to stifle a Quaker rally, a pass made with surgical precision to a cutting player, or a soft shot in the lane — it was Walton who made it.

He finished the game with six steals — three times as many as Penn had over 40 minutes. Seven times his passes led directly to Tiger field goals — two shy of the Quakers' assist total.

On senior night, the Tigers' most experienced veteran shined, but not without the help of his teammates.

The Tigers league championship was more than the product of two men. It took the combined efforts of all five players on the court to dissect Penn's defense. Precise cuts by freshman Andre Logan, lethal shooting from junior Ahmed El Nokali, and physical play in the paint by freshman Konrad Wysocki all contributed to the win.

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The success of a basketball team, however, goes far beyond the men on the floor. It takes an entire roster to win a title — and every member contributed last night.

"I've never been so proud to be a part of any team in my entire life," Walton said, while the net from the night's contest dangled from his neck. "This team has unbelievable chemistry."

This chemistry on the floor fostered wild reactions in the stands, as an orange throng dominated by seniors witnessed a win they had been yearning for since they were freshmen.

Though the men's basketball team played its first game in November, its season truly began early in the fall, with the hiring of Thompson.

"He's the leader of this team," El Nokali said. "Everything that we think is because of him. He's very experienced, and he's a great coach."

Despite a season whose early days were filled with a variety of setbacks, Thompson kept his team focused.

"Right from the beginning we had a plan," Thompson said. "We just worked day-to-day, without worrying about the big picture."

Playing before thousands of their classmates, inspired by their captain and instructed by their coach, twelve men with a common goal put forth the maximum effort and ended up champions.