Princeton all-time moment No. 10 – The Comeback

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We’re counting down the top 10 moments in each Ivy school’s history as part of our Ivy League at 60 retrospective. We’re starting with Princeton because that’s where Hoagie Haven is.

10. THE COMEBACK, FEBRUARY 9, 1999

To most observers, Ivy League basketball in the 20th century was not much more than an annual ritual the purpose of which was to crown either Penn or Princeton as champions. Naturally, the annual home and home series between these two combatants developed into the fiercest rivalry in collegiate basketball. None was more intense … and none was as much fun.

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The Ivy League at 60

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Ivy League basketball as we know it began in 1956 with the official formation of the conference, making the upcoming 2015-16 slate the 60th in its rich history. To celebrate that history, Ivy Hoops Online will be remembering the top moments, coaches and players throughout the league”s past six decades casino during this offseason.

We”ll start by counting down the top 10 moments in history for each of the conference”s eight colleges, starting with Princeton. We”ll be counting down the top 10 moments in Princeton history, courtesy of our Toothless Tiger, each weekday starting today.

Princeton on the prowl under Mitch Henderson

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I wrote a week ago that Steve Donahue is off to a great start as head coach at Penn.

But it’s Princeton’s head coach who has a program primed for an outstanding finish.

Mitch Henderson’s next season at the Tigers’ helm will be his fifth, and with the talent he has returning, it should also mark his first Ivy League championship.

This coming season, the Tigers will return all five starters and six of the first eight in their 2014-15 rotation. That means Princeton returns virtually all of its potent offense from last season too, one that finished 92nd in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency (behind only Harvard among Ivies). And Princeton was the highest scoring offense in the Ivy League last season at 68.9 points per game. The Tigers easily led the league in field goal and three-point field goal percentage a season ago.

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Reunions celebration reveals updates for Princeton

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Tiger head coach Mitch Henderson met with fans, friends and alumni Friday at Robertson Hall during Princeton’s recent annual Reunions celebration. The freewheeling Q&A session touched on a number of timely topics which may be of interest to IHO readers. Henderson introduced a new member of his staff, Donovan Williams, who spent the past five seasons learning his craft as a member of Fran O’Hanlon’s Lafayette staff. Williams fills the spot vacated by Marcus Jenkins, who rejoins Tiger alum Chris Mooney at Richmond.

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Penn coach Steve Donahue off to a great start

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Steve Donahue knows you don't get a second chance at a second Ivy impression. (AP/David Duprey)
Steve Donahue knows you don’t get a second chance at a second Ivy impression. (AP/David Duprey)

Anyone who wants to know how Steve Donahue is faring so far as Penn basketball’s new head coach can refer to a May 16 Tweet from Donahue:

 

It’s all there: Donahue’s savvy embrace of analytics for his new program, awareness that upgrades to the program must be highlighted and emphasis on accordingly communicating with both the public at large and the Penn student community (The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student newspaper whose story Donahue linked to in the Tweet).

Donahue’s making moves – simple, logical moves – and making sure we know it.

As for logical – how else to describe tapping Penn professor and program superfan Nakia Rimmer to work on basketball analytics projects with select undergraduates for the coaching staff? It’s not a shocking measure given Donahue’s commitment to analytics-friendly motion offense predicated on three-pointers and ball movement. But it’s still refreshing and supports Donahue’s acknowledgment upon his hiring that the Palestra and the Big 5 weren’t enough to ensure success for Penn anymore.

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Former Brown forward Leland King transfers to Nevada

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Leland King, who abruptly left the Brown basketball program in January as the team’s leading scorer, announced on Twitter this weekend that he is transferring to Nevada, where he will be eligible to play two seasons after sitting out the 2015-16 campaign.

The 6-foot-7, 220-pound King is in abundant company, as Nevada has welcomed Southern Illinois forward Jordan Caroline, Missouri State guard Marcus Marshall and Marshall guard Shawn Smith as transfers this offseason as well.

King was having the breakout season he was expected to have before walking away in 2014-15, posting 14.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest. He functions best as a pure scorer who can penetrate and should have space to do so with several other talented Nevada transfers, including Marshall, who had been averaging 19.5 points per game last season before leaving the Missouri State program.

Because of all the transfers that will comprise the Wolfpack in the future, it’s hard to figure exactly how King will run with the Pack in Reno, but Nevada could use his help, having gone just 9-22 last season.

UPDATE: As the great rb noted in the comment section, King told the Reno Gazette-Journal about leaving Brown for Nevada: “I was just looking for something different. I don’t feel I fit in there and I wanted to play in a bigger league. I was looking for a place that takes basketball a little more seriously.” Well, at least he was honest, and he was also accurate in identifying his “scoring ability” as his biggest strength.

Top 10 Ivy players of the past five years

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The past five years have been incredible for the Ivy League. Two forever memorable Ivy playoff games, two NCAA Tournament wins, nine top 100 KenPom finishes and a clear uptick in athleticism throughout the conference.

But who have been the greatest players in the league in that timespan? A countdown, with the caveat that only players who played at least two seasons from 2010-15 were considered.

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Wesley Saunders’ NBA Draft stock

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Does Wesley Saunders have a shot of getting taken in the NBA Draft?

History says … um, no.

Jerome Allen remains the last Ivy player selected in the NBA Draft, taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round in 1995. (The last Crimson player to be taken in the draft was Keith Webster, by the Utah Jazz, in 1987.)

But what about a guy who wins an Ivy crown in every year of his collegiate career, ranked No. 46 in ESPN’s countdown of top 100 players in college basketball and was always an ace in the biggest games of his career, a guy who was the greatest scorer, ball distributor, pocket-picker and clutch player in the league over the past couple of seasons?

Of course, Saunders was that guy, and several NBA Draft prognosticators have taken notice.

CBS Sports currently has Saunders ranked No. 75 in its NBA Draft Prospect rankings, which isn’t far off its No. 73 ranking for Saunders when previewing the NBA Draft Combine, which was held this week. In fact, CBS Sports had Saunders ranked No. 96 in its ranking just a month ago, so it would appear that Saunders’ draft stock is rising.

Unfortunately, there are only 60 total selections in the NBA Draft, and Saunders is easily on the outside looking in.

I think DraftExpress.com’s evaluation of Saunders last month underestimated Saunders’ defensive skills, calling him “a bit of a mixed bag” when he’s been a consistently outstanding on-the-ball defender both in and out of conference play. I do agree that Saunders would struggle to get to the rim at the NBA level and that his outside shooting will be a crucial sell throughout the evaluation process. Ultimately, as DraftExpress notes, “Even if Saunders doesn’t get drafted, he should find numerous professional opportunities and may play his way into the NBA at some point during his career.” That’s for sure.

Sizing up the Ivy transfers

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It’s been an awfully busy offseason for transfers throughout the Ivy League. Shonn Miller is off to Storrs. Rafael Maia is pining for Pittsburgh, Alex Mitola is set for D.C. and Denton Koon is headed to Hempstead.

But which Ivy transfer is going to have the biggest impact on their team in 2015-16?

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Rafael Maia transfers to Pitt

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The transfers keep leaving.

This time, it’s Brown senior forward Rafael Maia, who now joins Pittsburgh as a graduate transfer for the 2015-16 season. In his final campaign for the Bears in 2014-15, the Sao Paulo, Brazil native led the Ivy League in rebounding and field-goal percentage while providing the Bears one of the best post presences in the entire league.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Maia chose Pitt over Nebraska and USC, and that Maia is the second graduate transfer addition for the Panthers this offseason.

Like Shonn Miller, Alex Mitola and Denton Koon upon their graduate transfers, Maia is immediately eligible.

Maia seemed to pick up his game in league play after then-leading scorer Leland King left the team just two contests into the conference slate, shaking off a December slump in which he scored just 13 points in a four-game stretch. Maia takes smart shots and can post up with the best of them, as he showed with solid efforts against Northwestern and Illinois in nonconference play.