The search for a new men's basketball coach came to an end last week with the hiring of Sydney Johnson '97, a former Georgetown assistant coach.
Johnson, who played basketball during his time here, took some time to talk to us here at the 'Prince' and reminisce about his days around Princeton.
What was your favorite thing to do besides play basketball while you were a student here at Princeton?
I think it was to — and my professors will probably be disappointed with me — but it was to hang out with my roommates and teammates. The rare occasions where I could watch a college football game or go get a bite to eat — the bond on the lazy day.
What was it like being on the team that pulled off that historic upset of the defending champion UCLA Bruins?
To a man, I think all of us think more of the Penn game and being able to beat them in the playoff game to get to the UCLA game, so the UCLA game, with all due respect to that great program and everything they've meant to college basketball, that win was, you know, an extra, or a bonus, if you will, on the season. But it wasn't what our season was about — our season was about how to finally get over the hump in the Ivy League, and Penn was a good rival.
Are you really good at seeing which of the smaller, less known teams can pull off upsets against the bigger programs because of your experience doing so?
Well, probably not, but what I can tell you is that I can recognize good, winning programs and teams, and those are the ones that will pull off those kinds of upsets. It's a team that goes about its business, that learns to appreciate winning and teamwork, and it's those kind of teams that can kind of shock a big main team in the tournament. They rely on each other. Most importantly, they have a belief in themselves. That's what we were.
What's the best part of college basketball?
I think the best thing about college basketball is you have a lot of kids who maybe have different skills on the court, but they're all pulled together. They're all asked to be students, to be student-athletes. I think that responsibility is one that should be taken seriously, that should not be taken lightly, but I think that is the best part — asking young men and young women to put all they have into the game, but oh yeah, we expect you to be a great student as well. I think you can derive a tremendous amount of pride from succeeding in both.
Do you like the NBA? Favorite team?
I am a fan of the NBA. You certainly get the hype and the Cinderellas in the NBA, but in the NBA you get to see those who are the best in the world. You're not a true fan if you can't watch those who are the best in their craft go up against one another. I'm a big Lakers fan, going back to Magic Johnson.
There's a rumor going around that after an Ivy League win, you threw the ball up into the air during the last seconds of the game and that the ball broke a ceiling board. Any truth to the rumor?
You can just print 'no comment' on that.
Having played professional ball internationally, what do you think of the way they play it? Do you think internationals are becoming better than Americans?
To be honest with you, it will always be our game. It will always be an American game. Just like baseball, you have an influx of international talent, and they need to be recognized for being good ballplayers. They put a different focus on different things than we do. I think one of those strengths — or points of emphasis — is that they really emphasize shooting the ball well. They really emphasize team play, but even then, to a certain extent, there's always a balance between individual ability and not being held back and being able to play together as a team to beat an opponent. The NBA and the European basketball style both...have something to offer in showing individual skills and team basketball. There's not only skill in the NBA game, and in Europe there's not only team play. Rather than just generalize, I see a lot of value in watching some of the better teams in Europe play.
Favorite hobby?
I think it's 50-50 between reading a good book and watching a good movie.
Best movie? Best read?
'Wedding Crashers' is not my favorite movie. We'll probably go with 'Braveheart' as a favorite movie; for the record, my favorite color is orange and my favorite book is "The Invisible Man."
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