[NU Sports] Not the refs

[Herman Wang]

There is a third wrinkle to the Princeton offense that we generally have not been able to implement, largely due to personnel.  When the three-pointers are falling and the defense has to play tight on the perimeter, a team running the Princeton O can spread the floor out, pass the ball into the low post and have a center go one-on-one with his defender. Conversely, when a Princeton O post player is able to be a dominant force down low, defenses are forced to double team him in the paint, which then opens up the three-point shot. Georgetown, which has had fantastic post players in recent years, utilizes this in running its version of the Princeton offense. 
A few years ago, when we got Michael Thompson (not Juice, but the McDonald's All-American center that transferred from Duke), there was hope that with his size and skill we'd be able to run some low-post plays and really turn us into a completely well-rounded team. But Thompson did not pan out, and other than him, we haven't had any centers able to establish a low-post presence. Luka and Davide, for all their skill and heart, are not capable of dominating in the post, at least not remotely on any kind of consistent basis. So we lose that side of the Princeton Offense, but to their credit, they are generally good passers, particularly Luka, and have been able to pop the occasional three-pointer. 


> Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:06:13 -0700
> From: tkmaycock at yahoo.com
> Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Not the refs
> To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
> 
> > Our offense is either throw it around the perimeter for a 3, or  attempt a 
> >Princeton back door cut.  
> 
> To be fair, I guess a lot of that is by design. From my very limited 
> understanding of the fundamental concepts, I think the offense really is focused 
> around those two attacks, and de-emphasizes trying to generate mid-range jump 
> shot or dribble-drive opportunities. So, maybe it is what it is, regardless of 
> who we might put out on the floor. 
> 
> It's a lot of fun to watch when it's working, but anytime I see a string of 
> missed 3-pointers I find myself longing for the simplicity of a 15-foot pull-up 
> jumper. 
> 
> Tom
> 
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