Back and ready for action

The last time sophomore center Harrison Schaen put on a jersey emblazoned with the Princeton Tiger, he was a precocious freshman playing off the bench in the men's basketball team's 66-49 loss to Texas in the first round of the 2004 NCAA tournament. Today, 20 months later, Schaen will wear that jersey once again as he returns to Princeton basketball this season after taking a year off for personal reasons.

Originally a member of the Class of 2007, the six-foot, eight-inch, 205-pound native of Huntington Beach, Calif., has faced difficulty in adjusting to a new coach and a new group of teammates. Still, he is widely anticipated to play a large role for the Tigers this year.

Just because Schaen has been away from Princeton doesn't mean he hasn't seen the inside of the gym since that game against Texas. At home with his family in California last year, he worked out daily to stay in shape and come back to New Jersey stronger than he left it. In July, Schaen traveled to Israel to play for the United States in the Maccabiah Games, the Jewish Olympics, along with senior guard Scott Greenman.

Despite having missed their teammate during a disappointing 2004-05 season, the players have welcomed Schaen back with open arms. They look forward to the strong frontcourt presence he will provide in the absence of centers Mike Stephens '05 and Judson Wallace '05.

"[Schaen is] a great guy," junior forward Luke Owings said. "I'm always impressed by his athleticism and knowledge of the game, and I think he'll be a big part of the team this year."

Two years ago, as a freshman under former head coach John Thompson III '88, Schaen played a small, but at times vital, role for the Tigers. Despite averaging less than 10 minutes per game, he was second on the team in blocked shots with 17. He finished the year with a .595 shooting percentage, averaging 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, but despite these seemingly paltry statistics, Schaen had moments of greatness.

In one game against Harvard, he came off the bench late in the game when Princeton was trailing by two to hit the game-tying shot with 23 seconds on the clock. After the game went into overtime, Thompson kept Schaen in the game, where he contributed two steals and two blocks to seal the win over the Crimson.

This year, head coach Joe Scott '87 sees Schaen assuming a more prominent role on the team and hopes Schaen has what it takes to make plays like that again after running for a full game.

"He has good times, he has bad times, and hopefully from him you'll see some growth," Scott said. "There's a big difference between playing just a few minutes a game off the bench and playing 30 or 40 minutes. It will all come down to his competitiveness and stamina."

Schaen's decision to take a leave from Princeton for a year came in the spring of his freshman year, just weeks after Scott had been hired as the new coach to replace Thompson. Though the coaching change played no role in his decision, it puts Schaen in the position now of coming into an almost entirely new situation, with the coaches and half the roster being new faces and new personalities.

Scott's coaching style is markedly different from that of Thompson, and like his teammates did last year, Schaen has had to work hard to learn what Scott's style will demand of him. In preseason practices so far, he has struggled to catch up with teammates who have gone through an entire season under Scott's tutelage.

"He's having a big adjustment," Scott said. "It may say in the media guide that he's a sophomore, but he really is a freshman out on the court."

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Only time will tell how this story will play out this year. On any opposing team's scouting report, Schaen is bound to be the biggest question mark early in the season. It is uncertain whether he will blossom into the promise he showed as a standout at California's high school basketball powerhouse Mater Dei, or whether the year off will have softened his game.

Regardless, those scouting reports will warn of a quick post player who can use his size to score in the paint on offense and who possesses an uncanny ability to get his hands on the ball on the defensive side. Schaen is capable of tenaciously guarding opposing big men, which is where he is likely to be seen, as he will likely be the tallest Tiger to receive significant amounts of playing time.

A year older, a year wiser, Schaen will undoubtedly be one of the linchpins of Princeton's roster this year, and his play will go a long way toward determining the Tigers' success or failure.