Offensive success depends on patience, pounding the paint

Everyone talks about the so-called "Princeton Offense." It's this. It's that. But for this year's men's basketball team, what's most important is what the offense isn't.

"Our offense isn't three-point shooting," head coach Joe Scott '87 said.

But you could be forgiven for making that mistake after watching this season's first three games. Princeton has taken 68 shots outside the arc so far, while its opponents have taken only 43. Perhaps most dramatically, in the team's recent loss to Lafayette, seven of the first 10 possessions resulted in three-point shots.

Indeed, the "Princeton Offense" is often misrepresented as having a focus on three-point and outside shooting. But the true aim of the system is simply to give players choices, rather than forcing them to stick to set plays.

"The fact that there are more choices available to them makes [our players] harder to guard and makes the team in general harder to guard," Scott said.

The offensive scheme that the Tigers currently run predates any of this year's players or their coach. Each year, Scott tailors the system, pioneered years ago by legendary coach Pete Carril, according to his players' abilities.

The first factor that affects how the offense is run is the individual skill set each player brings to the team. It's critical that every Tiger have his fundamentals down.

"You have to have the requisite skills to take advantage of all those options [the system gives you]," Scott said. "The more you have those things, the more quickly you learn how to use all the different options."

That's only the beginning, though. Every new Tiger must then learn the system with the help of his teammates. Many come from teams that had more concrete game plans, and the readjustment is challenging and takes time.

Scott noted that the choices presented to each player — for example, driving one way, passing or driving another way — can often be overwhelming and confusing.

"They're always looking for two and three different things, which makes it a little bit harder," he said.

From there, it's an issue of practice and experience. The critical factor for Princeton, or any team running such a fluid offensive scheme, is whether or not each individual understands both the system and how to use it in conjunction with his teammates out on the court. It's "not just one guy learning it, it's five guys learning it," Scott said.

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And that's where this year's team has run into trouble, because the Tigers are not a particularly experienced squad. It's been clear in the team's two losses and one win what has made the game for the Tigers: whether or not they've been patient and worked the ball into the paint.

In last week's loss, frequent three-point shots with 25 seconds still remaining on the shot clock early in the game were a symptom of a lack of confidence and comfort with the system, Scott said.

"If they're giving you an open shot after six seconds I don't think it bothers them that they're giving up an open shot," he said. "If you see us shooting three-point shots in the first 10 seconds of a possession, then we're not running our offense. We're not availing ourselves of the options within our offense."

Sophomore forward Noah Savage has been one of Princeton's few presences in the paint, driving to the basket and getting the ball in the post. Scott said that he was best when, for example, out of seven shots, only two were three-point attempts, and the rest were drives and moves to and from the post.

Those are just some of the options contained in Princeton's offense. Scott's task is not only to teach them to his players but also to tailor the set of options his team draws on. Year-to-year differences in the system are focused largely on the different players the team has, he said.

"There's always been drive opportunities [designed for players] ... but our players are different," Scott explained, "so it has to be a drive our guys can do in a manner where we've moved the defense to create an opening where our guys can take advantage of that drive opportunity."

Scott noted that Princeton's players are generally better off driving with their dribble intact, which affects the options the team chooses from. Because most of the Tigers are good shooters, opponents must guard them closely on the perimeter, creating an opportunity for a Princeton player to drive around his opponent.

That explains the place of good perimeter shooting in the Princeton Offense: it serves as a threat that the other team has to guard against, making it easier to pull an opponent's defense out of position and create opportunities to score either in the paint or from around the horn.

The system can be complicated at times, but Princeton has already showed promise in one game. If the Tigers can retain that discipline and exercise the patience the scheme requires, even this year's young squad will be a team to be reckoned with, thanks to the power of the Princeton Offense.