Coaching Legacy of James Frizzell (CH 2K8)

[superjames1992]

Press Conference

Coach Frizzell congratulated his players on a great season in his post-season press conference. "We may not have won the conference championship or made it to the Big Dance," he said, "but we certainly played like a team out there and got quite a fine record to show for it. Sure, if we could have won one more game in conference play we would have gotten to the Big Dance, but we did not, so we cannot look back on the past. I will miss our seniors like Kyle Koncz and Noah Savage. Those guys really led our team this year and it will take a lot to replace them, but I am up for the challenge!"

[superjames1992]

The Departed

Klye Koncz (64)
Noah Savage (65)
Matt Sargeant (58)
Kevin Steuerer (56)

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Coach Bio

Career Record: 18-11
Age: 26
2007-2008: 18-11 (No Postseason)

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New Coach Attributes

Available Points: 5

Overall: C+
Offense: C
Defense: C
Teaching: C+
Scouting: C
Charisma: B
Discipline: C

[superjames1992]

Signings

*** PF Damien Allen - Australia
*** SG Renardo Rodriguez - Mexico - #291
*** PF Matrin Sow - Senegal
*** PF Ferdinand Djordic - Serbia
** PF Veltra Bell - New York, NY- JC FR
** PG Pallius Ingerson - Philidelphia, PA
** SF Jason Villanueva - Bayonna, NJ
* PF Logan Deren - Newark, NJ

Coach Frizzell pulled in the 104th ranked recruiting class with this bunch, the best in the Ivy League. Coach Frizzell looks to use some overseas talent to jumpstart this team. "I saw nobody was going after them, so I thought we may as well go take a shot at them," Coach Frizzell explained. "None of them were particularly interested in us at first since most had never heard of us, but for many of them, we were the only school to offer them a scholarship, so if they wanted to play Division 1 basketball, they had to choose us or walk-on somewhere else."

[superjames1992]

2008-2009 Schedule

11/5 vs. North Florida
11/7 vs. Temple
11/10 @ Hampton (NIT Season Tip-Off B)
11/15 @ Boston University
11/18 vs. Central Connecticut State
11/22 @ New Hampshire
11/28 @ Mount Saint Mary's
12/2 @ Saint Francis (NY)
12/6 vs. Holy Cross
12/8 vs. Quinnipiac
12/20 @ Cincinnati
12/31 vs. American
1/4 vs. Lafayette
1/10 vs. Utah Valley State
1/17 @ Cornell
1/24 vs. Cornell
1/30 @ Harvard
1/31 @ Columbia
2/6 vs. Penn
2/7 vs. Brown
2/13 @ Yale
2/14 @ Dartmouth
2/20 vs. Columbia
2/21 vs. Harvard
2/27 vs. Dartmouth
2/28 vs. Yale
3/6 @ Brown
3/7 @ Penn

Red Denotes Conference Game

[superjames1992]

Ivy League Projected Standings

1. Penn
2. Cornell
3. Yale
4. Princeton
5. Columbia
6. Harvard
7. Dartmouth
8. Brown

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Preseason Top 25 Media Poll

1. Memphis
2. North Carolina
3. Duke
4. Texas
5. Washington
6. Michigan State
7. Connecticut
8. Villanova
9. Louisville
10. UCLA
11. Tennessee
12. Arizona
13. LSU
14. Syracuse
15. Alabama
16. Kentucky
17. Stanford
18. Indiana
19. Georgetown
20. NC State
21. Gonzaga
22. Kansas
23. Providence
24. Pittsburgh
25. Auburn

[superjames1992]

2008-2009 Princeton Roster

Starters
PG Marcus Schroeder 6'2" 185 (Los Angeles, CA) 64 OVR JR
SG Renardo Rodriguez 6'2" 195 (Mexico) 65 OVR FR
SF Ferdinand Djordic 6'7" 225 (Serbia) 65 OVR FR
PF Damien Allen 6'5" 209 (Australia) 67 OVR FR
C Martin Sow 6'7" 205 (Senegal) 67 OVR FR

Bench
G Lincoln Gunn 6'3" 184 (Monterey Park, CA) 61 OVR JR
C Zach Woolridge 6'9" 219 (Brookings, SD) 57 OVR JR
F Michael Strittmatter 6'8" 207 (Tuscon, AZ) 55 OVR SR
G Chris Petrie 6'3" 195 (Philidelphia, PA) 55 OVR JR
F Korrel Gomez 6'8" 204 (Appleton, WI) 53 OVR SO
G Maquis Dooley 6'1" 176 (Pasadena, CA) 53 OVR JR

Players Cut
F Veltra Bell
F Logan Duran
G Paulius Ingerson
F T.R. Cotton
F Jason Villanueva

Press Conference

Coach Frizzell talked about how he utilized his rosters this year in today's press conference. "I felt like we had a pretty good recruiting class come in. Many of our returning players like Michael Strittmatter and Zach Woolridge were bumped from their starting positions for more talented freshman, so I hope they will understand why and still try their best in practice to be good role players. I am very excited about our recruiting class as I think we have recruited a few studs in the front court which will help us have more of an inside presence down low. I know I cut five guys from our team, but I would like to free up future scholarships for next season. Plus, most of these guys would be riding the pine for four years anyways. I am looking forward to this season and beginning a brand new journey. I cannot wait to get started in my second season as a head backetball coach!"

[doncoryell]

Were those players that bad that you had cut?

What's your nonconference schedule look like?

[superjames1992]

Quote: Originally Posted by doncoryell

Were those players that bad that you had cut?

Well, three of them were rated in the 40s and two were in the lower 50s, plus most of them were forwards which I have plenty of. I only had a nine man team last year and was fine, so I think our team of 11 this season should be fine, too. I usually only go 9 or 10 deep, anyways.

Quote: Originally Posted by doncoryell

What's your nonconference schedule look like?

11/5 vs. North Florida
11/7 vs. Temple
11/10 @ Hampton (NIT Season Tip-Off B)
11/15 @ Boston University
11/18 vs. Central Connecticut State
11/22 @ New Hampshire
11/28 @ Mount Saint Mary's
12/2 @ Saint Francis (NY)
12/6 vs. Holy Cross
12/8 vs. Quinnipiac
12/20 @ Cincinnati
12/31 vs. American
1/4 vs. Lafayette
1/10 vs. Utah Valley State

[superjames1992]

2008-2009 Princeton Tigers Coaching Staff

Coach Frizzell today held a press conference to announce that he had retained both assistant coaches as both Everett Dearmon and Dragutin Torres had decided to come back for a second season with the Princeton Tigers. "I am honored to have them both back," commented Coach Frizzell. "They both have great basketball minds and I am glad they have returned for another season."

Coaches
James Frizzell: C+ OVR (2nd year)
Everett Dearmon: C OVR (2nd year)
Dragutin Torres: C OVR (2nd year)

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The Replacements

Coach Frizzell has brought a whole new set of guys into the Princeton Tigers basketball program. Coach Frizzell and his staff brought in eight guys this season, though four of them were cut in pre-season practices. "It's just business, nothing personal," Coach Frizzell insisted about the cuttings. The only returning starer on the team is point guard Marcus Schroeder. Center Zach Woolridge lost his starting job at the center position to Martin Sow. "If Zach works hard and out-performs Martin, I will surely give him the starting job back," Coach Frizzell explained. "If we works hard, he will be fine. He will be our main bench guy down low coming off the bench if all goes as planned."

Renardo Rodriguez of Mexico comes in to replace the star that once was Kyle Koncz from last year. Rodriguez will play at the shooting guard position, unless junior Lincoln Gunn wins the starting job if he plays well. Ferdinand Djordic, the 6'7" forward out of Serbia, was moved to the power forward position by Coach Frizzell. Instead, Damien Allen, who is only 6'5", will play at small forward, who is also a freshmen. Martin Sow will get the nod at the center position at only 6'7".

When asked about how Coach Frizzell feels his team will perform with four freshmen starting, Coach Frizzell commented, "They're all basketball players; aren't they? Maybe they don't have as much experience, but talent is something that is not obtained, but a God-given ability. One can improve on their talent, but the talent itself comes from God alone. Thus, I know our coaching staff has not had time to work with these new guys much, but they have talent, and in fact more talent in most of our opinions than many of our returning players, and that is why we gave them the starting job. Do I feel bad for guys like Zach Woolridge who lost their starting jobs? Sure, but they can earn it back through hard work, determination, and persistence."

When asked about how he thinks his team will do this season, Coach Frizzell commented, "I think we will do well, hopefully winning the Ivy League this season if all goes as planned. We don't have a whole lot of height, which is unfortunate, but we have talent. We also don't have too many shooters this year, but hopefully we can work on that. Lincoln Gunn and Michael Strittmatter can hit threes off the bench, but that's about all that can hit the trey with consistency so far, but we'll see if someone else can step up in a big way. I expect big things this season, so we'll see how it goes!"

[superjames1992]

Princeton Grabs Opening Day Victory Over North Florida

11/5/08 vs. North Florida

Final: 71-60

The Princeton Tigers dominated the early stages of this game, taking a 35-23 lead at halftime and leading by as much as 20 points early in the second half. However, North Florida would come storming back to close within just a single point with a little under five minutes remaining. Coach Frizzell called a quick timeout and drew up some new plays. His plan worked as Princeton pulled away from North Florida in the final four and a half minutes as they took an 11 point victory at home with the score at 71-60. The Tigers presented balanced scoring all across the board as four players got into double figures. Freshman center Martin Sow really showed us his abilities tonight as he hit nine of 15 field goals for 19 points as well as give rebounds. "He played really well tonight," commented a joyful Coach Frizzell. "He was dominating in the first half. He cooled off a bit in the second half, but took over the game in the closing minutes and was a key reason for our victory." Princeton's defense shined, as well, allowing North Florida to shoot only 37% from the floor and 23% from behind the arc. Coach Frizzell explained, "We alternated between a 1-3-1 zone and man defense most of the night and it worked really well for us. We kept them from getting too used to seeing any one defense and it really confused them out there." Coach Frizzell also commented on how poorly his team shot from the free throw line, saying, "We played a really good game today in all aspects except our free throw shooting, which was rather pathetic. We only hit eight of 17 shots from the free throw line, which is really disappointing. We will be working on them in practice, because in tight games, you must make sure you make all the scoring chances you get."

North Florida Key Players
T. Hammonds - 10 points, 4 assists
J. Cecil - 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

Princeton Key Players
M. Schroeder - 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
R. Rodriguez - 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
D. Allen - 11 points, 5 rebounds
M. Sow - 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Princeton improves to 1-0 on the season. Coach Frizzell improves his career record to 19-11. Next, the Princeton Tigers will take on the Temple Owls (0-0) at home which should be a major test to see if this Princeton team is for real.