Men look to restore pride

The struggles of last season's men's basketball team and its embattled coach's departure were well-documented, but time, a new coach and hours in the gym shooting jump-shots have healed March's wounds. This team has many of the same players, the same gym and the same Princeton Offense, but last season's woes are in the past.

"We have a proud history, and we've got to learn from last year," head coach Sydney Johnson '97 said. "So I don't think you delete it or banish it from the record books or anything like that; you just learn from it."

The commitment to improvement is echoed by the squad itself, a group of players ranging from seniors who struggled to sophomores who bore a heavy load as rookies. The players are neither worrying about last season nor about their new coach, but instead are committed to the coach's mantra — much to his delight.

"If we're better today than we were yesterday, then you're talking to a happy coach," Johnson said. "We're always trying to get better."

Princeton's schedule includes No. 13 Duke in Maui and what will likely be the best Cornell team in years, but, cliched as it may sound, the team is focused on its first game and going from there.

"If they're thinking about last year when Central Connecticut State comes around, we're in trouble," Johnson said. "We don't need to think about anything but preparing for those guys."

Sophomore guard Lincoln Gunn echoed the coach's call to improve, but at the same time was eager for games to begin.

"I think there's always room for improvement," Gunn said. "Once we start games we'll be able to see how we're doing as a team and relate that back to practice."

Gunn's 32.3 minutes per game ranked second on the team behind sophomore guard Marcus Schroeder's 38.8 minutes, a Division I high. Though the pair were the only two players to start every game, Johnson is giving no indications as to what this year's starting lineup will be.

According to the former Georgetown assistant, the team has a few minor injuries, and while none are lineup-alteringly serious, he doesn't want to jinx anything by releasing Sunday's lineup the previous Tuesday.

"But I'm not superstitious or anything," Johnson added.

As for the team's style, it will still run the Princeton Offense that Johnson ran at Georgetown under former Princeton head coach John Thompson III '88, whose 2007 Hoya team made the Final Four.

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Johnson will add his own twists to the system, such as a more free-flowing style, but like any basketball game, it will boil down to a few crucial tasks.

"It just comes down to passing, shooting and dribbling — that's what coach says," freshman forward Kareem Maddox said. "It's just basketball."

Johnson recognizes that while there can be improvement, Princeton has a depth of talented, well-coached players who are adept at those three skills already. But these are only part of the larger goal of winning games.

"I can tell by some of the fundamentals that they've been well-coached and they work hard," Johnson said. "We are trying to just be more competitive and have the big picture in mind. I feel OK about where we are now, but I hope we're better in a month, and in two months."

Helping Johnson along the way is a coaching mix of both new and old, Princeton and non-Princeton. Tony Newsom is in his fourth season and has received praise for "what he sees on the floor and his rapport with the players, the parents and recruits." Brian Earl '99 won 95 games in his four years as a player, more than any other in Princeton history, and named 1999 Ivy League Player of the Year.

Also on the bench is Scott Greenman '06, an All-Ivy selection and former teammate of this year's juniors and seniors. Both Greenman and Earl had successful college careers that led to brief professional basketball stints, which Johnson thinks is a great asset.

"They understand what it takes to be a Division I basketball player — and a good one at that — and to me that carries a lot of weight," Johnson said.

Rounding out the coaching staff is Dan Connelly as director of basketball operations, a job that entails recruiting and correspondence with other teams.

Princeton is picked to finish seventh in the Ivy League, but the team doesn't sound like a seventh-place squad. But if, according to Johnson, a team that gets better every day makes a happy coach, is he a happy coach now?

"I'm fairly happy," he said with a slight smile. "I do think that I'd be worried if I felt like this was our best basketball. We're not one of the favorites, but we're capable of doing some damage — if we continue to improve."

To Johnson and the rest of the Tigers, improving is not about being better than 2-12, it's about being a better team — and that's what Princeton fans can expect.