Questions from the hoops mailbag

Amazingly enough my bosses here at the 'Prince' actually expect me to do my job and write my weekly column. I tried my hardest this week to explain to them that nothing is going on in the world of sports that is worthy to write about.

The NBA and NHL are mired in their post-All Star game funks; the NFL is in that two-month period before the draft where only Mel Kiper Jr. knows what's going on; and the Red Sox haven't spent enough time in Fort Myers, Fla. for the fireworks to really get going.

Therefore for inspiration I turned to you and have decided to open up my extensive mailbag to answer your questions about all sorts of topics.

And now without further ado, lets get to the questions:

What does a brother have to do to get some playing time around here? — H. Schaen

Well, Mr. Schaen, the Princeton offense requires complete knowledge of the system for it to be run effectively, and this takes time. Because of this, not a lot of freshmen see much action for the Tigers.

Despite this I would think that aggressive play on the boards and the ability to play anything from small forward to center would be enough to get someone some time on the floor. Maybe in the heat of battle the coach has a tough time seeing you, so you might want to hit the weights.

Why can other Ivy League teams beat Penn in men's basketball, but Princeton seems to get embarrassed every time the teams play? — G. Walters

There are many reasons why Penn has dominated the Tigers recently - that's five straight wins for the Quakers now - and it begins with familiarity and adaptation.

Penn head coach Fran Dunphy is the best coach in the Ivy League, and that's because he designs game plans that cater to the strengths of his team. Last year Penn's offense was based on having two dominant big men, Ugonna Onyekwe and Koko Archibong, with the outside shooting of Jeff Schiffner to complement them.

With the loss of his two inside forces, Dunphy entered this season with a completely new plan on offense - put everything on the shoulders of Schiffner and junior Tim Begley and live and die by the three. Both have responded as they are shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc.

On the other hand, Princeton has its most athletic team in years, but it often fails to utilize this advantage. This was never more evident than this weekend when the Tigers fell behind in the first half against both Yale and Brown. In both games Princeton made comebacks which were led by athletically gifted juniors, guard Will Venable and forwards Judson Wallace and Andre Logan.

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They took it upon themselves to drive the ball to the basket and on numerous occasions either finished with a layup, got to the free throw line or were able to find a teammate open for a three.

Against Penn, however, the Tigers tighten up. The Quakers seem to have built up an air of invincibility that causes Princeton to slow down on defense and lose its aggressiveness on offense.

The Tigers are the more talented team, and if they were to use their athleticism to drive the ball to the basket to generate offense against Penn, they could be much more effective. The Quakers have simply seen too much of the Princeton offense for it to remain effective.

Can the men's hoops team please stop playing Penn every year? — J. Thompson III

I hear the Patriot League has an opening, but somehow I feel like S. Tilghman might have a problem with that move. The change of scenery would actually be quite refreshing. After all, perennial league bottom-dweller Army actually just scored 25 points in a 50-point loss to Bucknell. This might also help Mr. Schaen get some more playing time.

Does NIT stand for 'National Intramural Tournament?' — K. Wysocki and S. Gloger

I'm pretty sure it does not, but if you guys do somehow get an invite, tell Penn I said hello.

If you shoot from the Tiger logo at midcourt, does that count for four points? — E. Persia

Watching the Princeton offense against Penn at home, I started to wonder whether our offense was designed for this potential rule change. For now it's still only three, and I hear that the closer you get to the basket, the easier it is to score.

Does big floppy blond hair on a basketball court look as good as I think it does? — M. Schafer

In a word, "NO!"