Junior varsity develops skills of younger players

Although senior center Judson Wallace is now a captain of men's basketball, a team which is forecast to handily win the Ivy League and take another trip to the NCAA tournament, he fondly remembers the humble beginnings of his freshman year. Playing on the junior varsity team, he received a grounding on the fundamentals of the 'Princeton offense.'

"Freshman year when I got some JV time, it was great. You get the kind of experience where you're going over the Princeton offense every day in practice, and you're the one messing it up. Then you go down to the JV level, and you're the one who knows it best," Wallace reflected. "It really makes you evaluate yourself and concentrate on learning the offense."

Wallace is just one of several Princeton players who spent time playing for the JV squad before going on to accomplish great things with the varsity program. In other words, although the JV program at Princeton receives nowhere near the attention or fanfare of its varsity counterpart, it's crucial nonetheless.

But the varsity players who play with the JV team during games are atypical. The official JV squad is composed of non-recruited, walk-on athletes, mainly former high school players who weren't quite up to the division one standards of Princeton basketball but still love the game. The tryout process for joining the team is competitive.

When games for the JV finally roll around — usually much later on in the season than the varsity program plays — they generally take on teams from smaller schools, community colleges, and prep schools. It's only then that the overlap between varsity and JV occurs.

In a sense, the JV team's games feature a varsity "B-team," composed of talented freshmen and sophomores who have been stuck on the bench at the varsity level. The JV experience puts these underused subs in an atmosphere where they can see more playing time and one-on-one coaching attention.

One of the main benefits of having the JV team is to allow such underclassmen to gain experience with running the offense and defense in a competitive, non-practice situation. The JV team has traditionally run almost identical offensive and defensive schemes as the varsity, and new head coach Joe Scott does not plan to change that strategy.

Coach Mike Brennan '94, officially an assistant coach on varsity, is also the head coach for the JV squad. He makes a unique impact on all the players. Brennan was a team captain and starting point guard for the Tigers while an undergrad, and helped lead them win two Ivy League championships. He also has had experience playing professionally in Europe.

"For me, Coach Brennan [is a] real good coach," said Wallace. "And his halftime speeches were great, letting me know all the things I did wrong."

Given the intense level of competition with which the Tigers have loaded their schedule this year, playing time for subs on the varsity is scarce. The shortage will be further exacerbated by the large number of returning role players this year, such that the JV will take on even more importance for developing the potential of some freshmen and sophomores.

Freshmen guards Kevin Steuerer and Zach Woolridge are likely to earn valuable game experience on this year's JV team, as they keep working to attain the skills and strength necessary to be competitive and earn playing time on the varsity level.

"They'll practice with the varsity," said Brennan. "But they'll show up for the JV games for the playing time."

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Several sophomores spent some time playing for the JV last year as freshmen, including guard Edwin Buffmire, center John Reynolds and forward Micheal Rudoy. They hope to move up this year and see some minutes in the big time, but they may still continue to see some JV action as well.

The six foot, ten inch Reynolds has been caught in exactly the predicament that JV can help with.

"He's been doing a great job," said Wallace. "But he's got a tough situation with me and [senior] Mike [Stephens] in front of him both being seniors."

On the JV court, however, Reynolds will be a star. And if things work out, one day he could end up filling Wallace's shoes.