Men's hoops to shed winter coats on trip to West Coast

With the men's basketball team at a perfect 3-0 in the early weeks of the season, every Princeton basketball fan is saying one thing — "it's too early to tell." At the same time, thoughts of beating Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium and Penn at the Palestra are slowly creeping in.

Before any of those hopes come to fruition, however, the Tigers get early tests from UC-Irvine (2-3) on Friday and Fresno St. (0-2) on Saturday during the McCaffrey Classic in Fresno, Calif.

The Tigers won this tournament in 1995, back when it was known as the Coors Light Classic, and head coach John Thompson '88 was an assistant coach. They earned wins over Boise St. and Fresno St.

The Tigers travel to sunny southern California riding a three-game winning streak to open the season. It's the first time the team has won three straight to open a season since the 1997-98 team, and that team went 27-2.

The Tigers have been on fire to open the season, shooting 56.3 percent from the floor, tops in the nation. The famed Princeton offense has looked better than it has in three years.

The biggest reason is that Princeton finally has a low post presence who commands respect, junior forward Judson Wallace. Wallace is No. 6 in the nation in scoring average at 25 points per game and has added 9.8 rebounds per game.

However, as the saying goes, when it rains it pours, and it's been pouring big men for Princeton.

In addition to Wallace, Thompson and his staff have received significant contributions from senior Konrad Wysocki and junior Mike Stephens.

Stephens has vastly improved his ball handling, and has fine-tuned his ability to back his man down in the post.

Wysocki is third on the team in scoring with almost nine points per game. Finally, Princeton also has the services of junior forward Andre Logan, who after missing the first two games of the season and all of preseason, made his return in the second half of Tuesday's 68-56 win over UMBC.

Since teams now have to pay more attention to Princeton's low post players, the floor has opened up for the guards, and sophomore Scott Greenman is one player to take advantage. He has improved his three-point shot dramatically and is second on the team in scoring, at 10 points per game.

While the offense has looked good, the Tigers have looked lackluster on defense, especially in the rebounding department.

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In addition, Princeton has been sloppy with the basketball this year, which has made games closer than they should have been. The team is averaging more than 12 turnovers a game, a major problem area for a program that normally prides itself on ball control.

As Princeton gets set to take on the Anteaters on Friday, Thompson's biggest concern has to be the opponent's size advantage. UC-Irvine starts seven-footer Adam Parada. He is joined down low by the 6'11" Stanislav Zuzak. The two are the leading scorers on the team.

In the backcourt, the Anteaters start a Gloger, as in Jeff Gloger. He is the younger brother of former Princeton standout Spencer Gloger, who is still eligible to return to the team in the spring.

The Anteaters have had some near misses so far this year in losses to Stanford and Cal. Against Stanford, UC-Irvine fell behind early but rallied in the second half before bowing down, 72-59. The Golden Bears pulled away at the end for a 65-57 win after the teams were tied at halftime.

Fresno St. is led by 5'10" senior guard Shantay Legans. Legans, one of the shiftiest players the Tigers are likely to meet this season, is averaging 16 points per game and also 4.5 assists per game.

While the Bulldogs have not won a game (they should get one Friday night against the Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils), Princeton will have to be at its best to steal this game from the host team.

Even with a split this weekend Princeton can continue to build confidence in these pre-Ivy League games. A sweep, and Tiger fans may start booking flights for the NCAA tournament.