Year one brought a coaching change. Year two, the loss of two members of the 1,000-point club. With four starters back from last season and only one senior gone, year three of the Joe Scott era was supposed to be the predictable one.
Seven games into the schedule, it has been anything but.
When the men's basketball team (5-2) plays its home opener against Lehigh this evening at 7:30 p.m., head coach Scott '87 will introduce Princeton fans to a player rotation sure to surprise many. Scott's moves are also bound to elicit a few second guesses, despite the fact that the Tigers have been putting up wins against quality non-conference opponents and running their offense with more ease than they have at any point in Scott's tenure.
The two most shocking early-season developments will be revealed as the starting lineups are announced over the Jadwin Gym public address system. Three Princeton freshmen will take the floor for the opening tip. Meanwhile, junior forward Noah Savage — a starter for every game of his first two seasons and the team's leading returning scorer — will likely find a seat on the bench as play begins.
After Savage averaged 10 points and 31 minutes per game in 2005-06, it was a shock to many when his role on the team was reduced dramatically before a single game was even played this season.
"As early as my first practice," Savage said, "Coach Scott was like, 'You're going to play 10 minutes a game, you're going to be the ninth man [in the rotation], now what are you going to do in those 10 minutes to help the team win?"
Thus far, answering that question has been a struggle for Savage, who has yet to find an offensive rhythm while spending just 10.7 minutes per game on the court. His scoring average has dipped, in proportion to his minutes, down to 3.3 points per game, while his field-goal percentage has plummeted to 33 percent.
Offense, though, isn't necessarily what Princeton is looking for from Savage in his new role off the bench. Scott stressed the fact that the transition from starter to sub is a learning process.
"I said to him before our last game," Scott said, " 'How come you're not out there tipping balls up? How come you're not out there grabbing offensive rebounds? How come you're not going in there and doing the things that the other guys on the court at that time maybe aren't doing so well?' "
Counterintuitive move paying off
If Savage can learn how to do the little things for the Tigers, Scott will feel even more secure about a decision that he feels has already paid dividends for his team. For, despite Savage's personal struggles off the bench, Scott maintains that Princeton is already a better team with Savage in a reserve role.
"Obviously, it's played out well," Scott said of the situation. "We've got more guys playing well, now it's just a matter of Noah gaining as much experience as he can and playing well. We're not the kind of team that can afford to have, say, three guys not playing well at the same time, so it's important for Noah to develop some kind of consistency in his new role."
At various points in that same process are the three members of the Class of 2010 who are busy adjusting to life as starters at the college level. Two of those freshmen, guards Marcus Schroeder and Lincoln Gunn, have started every game of the season and are one-two for the Tigers in minutes played.
A calming influence
While the two guards — who were teammates at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif. — have combined to shoot just 35 percent from the floor, their contributions have been integral to the smooth functioning of the offense as a whole.
Schroeder's mastery of the point guard position and calming influence on the court have proven particularly indispensable to Scott. Schroeder is averaging an incredible 37.4 minutes per game, which ranks atop the Ivy League and 11th among all Division-I players who have appeared in at least seven games.
Such experience sets Schroeder and Gunn apart from the third freshman expected to start tonight's game, center Zach Finley. After being eased into the rotation over the Tigers' first six games, Finley was pushed into starting duty this past Saturday when senior center Justin Conway tore a muscle between his ribs.
Rising to the occasion
Finley played a key role in Princeton's 53-51 win over Northwestern State, scoring eight points and grabbing a Tiger season-high eight rebounds. With Conway still considered day-today heading into tonight's game, the six-foot, nine-inch Finley will be called on once again to fill his captain's shoes.
"I have to try and bring that same intensity that he does to the floor, grabbing rebounds and diving after loose balls," Finley said.
In other words, Finley is seeking to provide the Tigers with some intangibles. While junior forward Kyle Koncz and senior forward Luke Owings lead Princeton in scoring, Scott hopes players like Schroeder, Gunn, Finley — and, yes, even Savage — will make their presence felt outside the box score.
"It's not about how many minutes Noah Savage gets," Scott said. "I think it's when you start thinking about minutes that you stop winning games."
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