Men's Basketball: Ivy season kicks off against Bears

The Tigers employed a high-scoring offense in the first 15 games of the season and will likely continue to play at a fast pace when they take on their conference opponents. Princeton has seen significant contributions from a number of players this season, including junior guard Doug Davis, senior forward and tri-captain Dan Mavraides, and sophomore forward Ian Hummer. Hummer, in particular, has emerged as one of the Tigers’ most potent weapons, leading the team with an average of 14.3 points per game.

“Ian is more comfortable [this year],” head coach Sydney Johnson ’97 said. “We [were] fortunate to be in a good position to recruit him and for him to really just be very focused on coming to Princeton. It’s where we wanted to be. As a lot of freshman are, [he was] maybe not 100 percent comfortable or clear with all of what you’re asking. [But] now as a sophomore, there’s nothing we’re saying to Ian in practice or in games that he hasn’t heard before. He’s a good player.”

Hummer, Mavraides and Davis — along with senior forward and tri-captain Kareem Maddox — have developed a strong on-court chemistry that should serve the team well in the Ivy League, a conference that tends to favor experience over all else. With the exception of sophomore center Brendan Connolly, the Tigers’ starting five played in a majority of last year’s conference games.

“Having played a fair amount of basketball here and overseas and being exposed to some of the stuff I saw at Georgetown, and then obviously being a head coach, chemistry always seems to be one of those key things that makes teams just play well,” Johnson said. “I think I’ve been fairly surprised at how quickly we’ve been able to form our own chemistry. I always think that’s something teams focus on.”

Despite the teams’ less-than-stellar records, both Brown and Yale could potentially create trouble for the Tigers. All three teams have averaged between 69 and 71 points per game this season, and none of the squads have shown the kind of defensive ability that would allow it to dominate an evenly matched opponent.

To come out on top, the Tigers will need to put together 40 minutes of solid play — something Princeton has recently struggled to do. In their December game against No. 16 University of Central Florida, the Tigers dominated their opponents for the first half, only to see their level of play slip in the second half as their chances of victory slowly disappeared.

Still, Johnson said he is confident that Princeton will be ready for the challenges ahead.

“To be very straightforward, we’re working to be solid defensively for 40 minutes,” Johnson said. “Everybody [in the conference] plays good basketball, and the league is unforgiving. I think anybody can beat anybody, so our [goal] is to be tough-minded defensively, to get good shots and to try to put all of those things together so we can have some success. That’s what we’re working towards doing, and we’ll see if we can make that happen. That’s our goal.”