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Username Post: Non-Conference Games        (Topic#19374)
bradley 
PhD Student
Posts: 1842

Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
10-16-16 09:42 PM - Post#211578    

BYU game will be challenging as they have 3 players who were top 100 high school players. They have two good 6'10" front court players plus a 6'8" senior power forward. They have two good players who completed their two year mission work and are coming back to play for BYU -- great way to rotate talent as well as two highly rated transfer students. Sophomore, 6'2" was second leading scorer as a frosh, 16 pts per game. Bart Torvik has BYU as #54 with Tigers as #31 but the game is at BYU.

Should be a good test for Princeton and the return of Brase will help off the boards as well as providing a big body assuming that he is healthy. Coach will have to make a decision if Brase or Caruso will come off the bench -- would not be surprised that it will be Caruso as he brings instant offense and Brase brings size. Everyone is back plus Brase which is difficult to believe so the Tigers have experience plus flexibility. There will be a lot of competition for playing time.

This non-conference game plus VCU, Cal and Monmouth will be very important games from a big picture standpoint. Great test for Bell, Brase, Cannady, Caruso, Cook, Miller, Stephens, Weisz and others. Would not be the least bit surprised if the Tigers respond well on the road as they did last year at Miami and Maryland but time will tell.



 
JadwinGeorge 
Senior
Posts: 357

Age: 75
Reg: 12-04-15
10-17-16 09:25 AM - Post#211582    
    In response to bradley

They better respond well on the road since they will be there for the first month of the season!!!!

 
SRP 
Postdoc
Posts: 4894

Reg: 02-04-06
10-17-16 11:58 AM - Post#211588    
    In response to JadwinGeorge

Brase not playing in Italy is somewhat concerning, but the Tigers should not depend on him in any case, even though at full function he would be a big help. Miller is still the best low-post defender on the team, and if he can give them just a little bit of consistent offense--an extra bucket or two--it could tip the balance in close contests. With Brase or Brennan in there they can torture the D with five outside shooters, which is great, but post defense and rim protection suffer. (I'm discounting the possibility of Brennan making a leap on either end of the floor, but that would be a pleasant surprise.)

The unknown to me is whether Cannady makes one of those sophomore jumps that have been known to occur. I sometimes think our phlegmatic style on this board underplayed how terrific he was last season as a freshman.

 
Tiger69 
Postdoc
Posts: 2801

Reg: 11-23-04
10-17-16 02:48 PM - Post#211596    
    In response to SRP

I think that Stephens has the most unrealized upside. Cannady can still improve. But, he is already a proven quality. It would be nice if Brennan could live up to his billing, especially on D without fouling so predictably.

 
SomeGuy 
Professor
Posts: 6391

Reg: 11-22-04
10-17-16 04:42 PM - Post#211598    
    In response to SRP

I like that we can play higher level basketball in the league and still use words like phlegmatic.

 
1LotteryPick1969 
Postdoc
Posts: 2262
1LotteryPick1969
Age: 73
Loc: Sandy, Utah
Reg: 11-21-04
Re: Non-Conference Games
10-17-16 06:44 PM - Post#211601    
    In response to bradley

  • bradley Said:


Coach will have to make a decision if Brase or Caruso will come off the bench -- would not be surprised that it will be Caruso as he brings instant offense and Brase brings size.





Had to believe Caruso does not start--he is the first player that outside press mention when discussing Princeton.

 
Tiger69 
Postdoc
Posts: 2801

Reg: 11-23-04
10-17-16 10:46 PM - Post#211605    
    In response to SomeGuy

SG, you should have been a Tiger.

 
bradley 
PhD Student
Posts: 1842

Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
Re: Non-Conference Games
10-18-16 08:55 AM - Post#211610    
    In response to 1LotteryPick1969

Although Brase did not play in Italy, he was on the floor during warm ups and looked fine --- Coach may just being very careful with him. It is probably less important as to who starts but more important that Henderson has the right match ups on the floor and he has considerable flexibility. With Brase, he can go Miller/Brennan and Brase against a big front court like BYU or go small with Caruso, Cook, Weisz, Bell/Cannady and Miller/Brase. Stephens can be utilized to his strengths as well. The Tigers rebounded very well with their smaller team last year based on the stats but they did get in trouble defensively with Weisz playing against Maryland and Miami bigs. Brase helps plus Miller will probably continue to get stronger as a defender.

I am not sure if Cannady can contribute much more than last year as he was an amazing in several key games. His style of play is not a perfect fit with the Tigers team style of play but he is explosive and will probably be needed to jump start the offense at times. Caruso, Cook, Cannady and Bell can get off shots on their own if needed.

Major questions may be injuries and team chemistry as minutes will be tough to get although winning helps. Cook may have break out year.

 
1LotteryPick1969 
Postdoc
Posts: 2262
1LotteryPick1969
Age: 73
Loc: Sandy, Utah
Reg: 11-21-04
Re: Non-Conference Games
10-18-16 03:15 PM - Post#211614    
    In response to bradley

I agree with all your points.

We won't know the answer until conference play as MH likes to give everyone some PT early.

There are some talented freshman who need some prolonged court time early so they get a taste of D1 basketball and learn their shortcomings.



 
Tiger69 
Postdoc
Posts: 2801

Reg: 11-23-04
Re: Non-Conference Games
10-18-16 05:27 PM - Post#211622    
    In response to 1LotteryPick1969

The dark horse of the freshmen is the big guy with the unpronounceable name from Trenton who was our final commitment last spring. He was an under-the-radar late developer who may give us more strength underneath after we lose the current seniors to graduation. I hope that he gets some court time this season so we can see how he adapts to college ball.

 
1LotteryPick1969 
Postdoc
Posts: 2262
1LotteryPick1969
Age: 73
Loc: Sandy, Utah
Reg: 11-21-04
10-18-16 07:01 PM - Post#211625    
    In response to Tiger69

Richmond Aririguzoh is especially important since the next class has four commits and no big so far. (Although I am hoping Mike James swoops down as a deus ex machina and says there is a big he knows about who will sign soon with us.)

 
mrjames 
Professor
Posts: 6062

Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
10-18-16 08:30 PM - Post#211628    
    In response to 1LotteryPick1969

Elijah Barnes is a legit big and a very, very good prospect to boot (maybe top 5 in the Ivy 2017 class so far). Sebastian Much will likely be an Ivy stretch four too (and he's a top 2-3 player in the Ivy 2017 class right now). Neither is a true center, for sure, but both will likely be able to guard interior players at the D1 level. And Princeton doesn't really like running true centers out there anyway, because they can clog the space for movement. On the defensive end, few Ivy players each season really require you to have a true defensive center on the floor for matchup reasons, so you can mostly get away with playing two 4s as bigs, especially if you can punish the other team on the other end.

 
bradley 
PhD Student
Posts: 1842

Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
Re: Non-Conference Games
10-18-16 08:41 PM - Post#211629    
    In response to 1LotteryPick1969

With the decision to go with the nonsensical Ivy League tournament, Coach H has some tough decisions to make as to playing time. Against BYU, California, VCU and Monmouth, he may go with a very limited rotation as he will want to keep the hope of a NCAA bid in case the Tigers lose in the Ivy tournament by winning at least three of these games. There a few weak teams on the non-conferenceschedule that would give the opportunity to play other guys once the game is secure.

By the time that the Ivy League starts, he should have a handle if the Tigers have a legit chance for a bid one way or the other. An issue might be that he will need to keep winning in the Ivy League season to help secure a bid regardless of the Ivy tournament. Unfortunately, a number of Ivy teams have a soft non-conference schedule that will effect the Tiger's RPI. If Princeton does not win against strong non-conference teams, he can play the younger guys during the Ivy League regular season as the Tigers be playing in the Ivy Tournament. His strategy might then become just have the guys be ready to win the Ivy Tournament and give out playing time accordingly.

He will be walking on a tight rope to balance this season vs. the future but I would not be surprised if he goes for the "Golden Ring" this year. Another factor might be his plans for the future -- Princeton or next level up after this year.

 
JadwinGeorge 
Senior
Posts: 357

Age: 75
Reg: 12-04-15
Re: Non-Conference Games
10-19-16 09:44 AM - Post#211654    
    In response to bradley

Brase should be near 100% by the time the schedule begins. He is quite confident in his recovery, as is the entire staff.

 
Tiger69 
Postdoc
Posts: 2801

Reg: 11-23-04
Re: Non-Conference Games
10-19-16 06:28 PM - Post#211694    
    In response to JadwinGeorge

It seems like everyone is cranked up. Let the season begin!

 
SRP 
Postdoc
Posts: 4894

Reg: 02-04-06
10-21-16 06:09 PM - Post#211831    
    In response to Tiger69

I hope MH puts 100% of his chips on getting the auto bid. If Princeton goes undefeated non-conference and loses in the first round of the genius Tournament, there will be no at-large bid. The "bad loss" will be used to discredit everything else since PU is an Ivy school and it lacks the recruiting buzz and overall hype Harvard has generated. Last year the Tigers weren't even in the bubble conversation, despite the merits of the case, and I see no reason for the merits to have much of an effect next season either.

 
sparman 
PhD Student
Posts: 1339
sparman
Reg: 12-08-04
10-22-16 08:08 AM - Post#211836    
    In response to SRP

  • SRP Said:
If Princeton goes undefeated non-conference and loses in the first round of the genius Tournament, there will be no at-large bid.



This, until the Committee proves otherwise (which I don't expect). Even MJames seemed to come around after last year to the fact that "metrics" are not used objectively by the NCAA, but rather selectively, to support biases.


 
JadwinGeorge 
Senior
Posts: 357

Age: 75
Reg: 12-04-15
10-22-16 10:24 AM - Post#211840    
    In response to SRP

Respectfully, Steve, I disagree. If the Tigers go unbeaten out of the conference and win the regular season, with a 12-2 or 13-1 record, but lose the auto bid, I think the Ivy record in the last several years makes it highly likely we get that elusive second bid. The Tigers would probably be a Top 25 team in that scenario. If, say, a 4th place Penn team wins at The Cathedral, I would not be surprised if the Tigers got a better seed than the Ivy champ. But the chances that the Tigers go unbeaten prior to the Ivy schedule are not very high.

 
Tiger69 
Postdoc
Posts: 2801

Reg: 11-23-04
10-22-16 11:09 AM - Post#211842    
    In response to JadwinGeorge

The Palestra is a fine basketball site. But, it is no Cathedral.

 
bradley 
PhD Student
Posts: 1842

Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
10-22-16 11:23 AM - Post#211843    
    In response to JadwinGeorge

The likelihood of the Tigers going unbeaten in non-conference play is highly unlikely. With a road schedule of BYU, VCU and Monmouth plus a game against UCAL in Hawaii, it just is not going to happen to finish 13-0 non-conference. If the Tigers finish 10-3 non-conference and do well in the Ivy League regular season play, they have a chance for a second bid even if they lose in the IL tournament but much depends on who they lose to as well as their overall RPI ranking.

They do have the benefit of starting off with a high preseason RPI rank which is a function of their success last year plus returning all core players with Brase and being a senior laden team.
We should thank Yale for what they accomplished last year at the Big Dance as to helping to set higher expectations plus Harvard's recruiting class.

Most importantly, the Tigers need to succeed on the court and there will be twists and turns along the way. The opportunity is staring right at them. I would be surprised if Weisz and others do not rise to the challenge like Sears, Sherrod, and Victor with Mason did last year. Seniors are normally bigger, stronger and smarter and most importantly -- experienced and driven.

 
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