Central Conn. St. to test new coach

The men's basketball team has made 23 NCAA Tournament appearances in its history, but its opponent Sunday has a slightly more recent memory of the Big Dance. Central Connecticut State, who will visit Jadwin Gym at 2 p.m. Sunday, is coming off a 22-12 season in which it won the Northeastern Conference Championship and appeared in the NCAA Tournament.

The excitement was short lived, as the No. 16 Blue Devils had the misfortune of playing No. 1 Ohio State. Standout Ohio State center Greg Oden dropped 19 points on Central Connecticut en route to a 78-57 victory in the first round.

Though the Tigers are seventh in the Ivy League preseason rankings, they will be taking the court with new head coach Sydney Johnson '97, who has plenty of tournament experience after a stint as an assistant coach with 2007 Final Four-contender Georgetown. The players hope he will provide the spark needed for the team to recover from its disastrous last-place finish last year.

"I think we're going to play a little bit differently this year — a lot more freedom and a lot more running up and down the court, and just being able to play a lot more basketball," sophomore guard Lincoln Gunn said.

While Johnson will implement some changes, there is nonetheless an established brand of Princeton basketball that has and will continue to remain consistent.

"Princeton basketball has got a lot of tradition, and a lot of the same stuff we ran last year is a lot of the same stuff that we're going to run this year," sophomore center Zach Finley explained.

The players are still adjusting to their new leader and his philosophies, but the transition appears to be going smoothly.

"I think we're improving every day," Gunn said of the team's preseason practices. "Once we start games we'll be able to see how we're doing as a team and relate that back to practices. It's kind of hard to do anything right now without having played any games yet."

A strong showing against Central Connecticut could provide a boost of confidence for the Tigers, who finished 2-12 in the Ivy League last year.

"[The Blue Devils are] a tournament team," Johnson said. "Certainly they've changed some guys, some have moved on, but that's a team that expects to win when they come here Sunday."

Central Connecticut State's biggest weapon is collegeinsider.com Preseason Mid-Major All-American senior guard Tristan Blackwood. He poses a threat on both sides of the ball: Not only did he average 17.7 points per game last season, but he also was selected as the NEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year.

To complement Blackwood, the Blue Devil roster also contains eight freshmen. This injection of youth will try to compensate for the losses of three senior starters who accounted for over half the team's scoring last season.

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"They have some very good young guys coming in, some freshmen," Johnson said. "It'll be a good test for our guys."

Princeton allowed only 53.3 points per game last season as the best scoring defense in the NCAA, and it hopes to continue that by containing Blackwood and Central Connecticut State.

The Tigers have been focused and realize that they will have to play up to their potential to secure a victory.

"It's going to be a challenge," Finley said. "That's pretty much all we're focused on right now, is that first [game], and getting out there and competing."

Beyond Xs and Os, Johnson is trying to infuse the Tigers with intangibles that could notch some victories. While execution is crucial, Princeton might also need to loosen up and simply enjoy playing the game again after a frustrating season in 2006-07.

"That's one of the main goals [of] Coach Johnson," Gunn said. "Having fun is one of the main things basketball is supposed to be about, so hopefully that will be able to be carried over to the games."

It would, undoubtedly, be more fun if the Tigers could pull off a win to start the season.