Coaching Legacy of James Frizzell (CH 2K8)

[superjames1992]

Press Conference

Coach Frizzell held a press conference today to talk about his team's recent success. When asked about what he thinks the key to the team's recent success, Coach Frizzell commented, "I think we have displayed great teamwork the last few games. We have been making the extra pass, finding the open man, and sharing the basketball. We also have been knocking down our shots. Early in the year we struggled shooting even open jumpers, but our assistant coaches have worked with our players and refined their shots and it is paying off in a big way. I am proud of our staff, players, and this university's athletic department and cannot wait to begin 2008 with this team!"

Coach Frizzell also talked about the success of his senior shooting guard Kyle Koncz. "Well," Coach Frizzell commented, "he has been playing very well this entire season. He has averaged 18.5 points per game and has been a very reliable scorer. He shoots the basketball really well. He actually shoots better from the perimeter than two pointers. He shoots 47.7% from three point range compared to just 45.4% overall, all of which are very good. He has been a very crucial part of our offense and he is definitely our go-to guy. He is a senior and I wish I coul work with him for another year or two, but all good thigns have to come to an end, I guess. He is also very unselfish and does not ball-hog at all, which I am impressed with considering the role he has on this team."

Coach Frizzell was also asked how he thought his team would perform for the remainder of the season. He replied, "I don't like to give out predictions, because I will probably be wrong, but I definitely think we have the potential to win the Ivy League. I look forward to seeing how things go from here on out, but I would absolutely love to win the Ivy League Title and head to the Big Dance."

[superjames1992]

Lehigh's Bigs Dominate Princeton

1/6/08 @ Lehigh (6-6)

Final: 48-64

Lehigh came out on fire in this game as they would dominate the board 37-28 in a winning effort in which they absolutely dominated the second half. Princeton only found themselves down 34-26 at the half, but was outscored 38-14 in the second half, causing Princeton their seventh loss of the season. Lehigh possessed three players over 6'9", and Princeton's tallest player was 6'9" center Zach Woolridge, so there was an obvious mismatch. Woolridge had to defend Lehigh's seven footer, which ended in failure as Lehigh's bigs had their way with Princeton. "There wasn't much we could do out there," commented an exhausted Coach Frizzell. "We just were not tall enough to match uo with Lehigh, which ultimately cost us the ballgame." Of course, Princeton only shot 28%, including 10/34 from downtown, so that obviously didn't help their cause either.

Princeton Key Players
K. Koncz - 13 points, 9 rebounds
M. Strittmatter - 10 points, 4 rebounds

Lehigh Key Players
M. Hall - 15 points, 6 assists, 3 steals
R. Keefer - 14 points, 2 rebounds
Z. Carrington - 11 points, 12 rebounds
B. White - 1 point, 11 rebounds

Princeton falls to 6-7. They have two more games in the month of January against Lafayette (7-7) and NJIT (2-15) before taking on Dartmouth (6-6) in the Ivy League Conference opener on February 1st.

[superjames1992]

Princeton Dominated at Home by Lafayette

1/9/08 vs. Lafayette (7-7)

Final: 60-76

Princeton came out sluggish and stayed sluggish the entire game as Lafayette destroyed the Princeton Tigers by 16 points. Lafayette didn't exactly play great, but they played better than Princeton. Lafayette shot 43% while Princeton shot only 41%, though Lafayette hit 18/24 on free throws compared to Princeton's 4/5, which ultimately won Lafayette the game. "We were sloppy and committed way too many fouls," commented Coach Frizzell. "It was ridiculous. Luckily, we have plenty of time to get things worked out before we face New Jersey Institute of Technology on the 27th and before conference play starts on February 1st." The lone bright spot for Princeton was the play of Zach Woolridge, the 6'9" 215 pount sophomore center out of Brookings, South Dakota. Woolridge continued the strong play his has displayed recently, as he got 21 points and 8 rebounds on the game.

Lafayette Key Players
A. Brown - 20 points, 4 assists
B. Abdullah - 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
M. Batley - 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Princeton Key Players
K. Koncz - 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
Z. Woolridge - 21 points, 8 rebounds

Princeton falls to 6-8 adter the loss. They will have to wait 17 days before they take on their next opponent, NJIT (2-15), on January 27th.

[superjames1992]

Princeton Wins High Scoring Affair

1/27/08 vs. NJIT (2-19)

Final: 93-86

In what was probably Princeton's weakest opponent thus far, they struggled on the defensive side of the ball, allowing the NJIT Highlanders, who only had a 2-19 record coming into the game, shoot 52% from three point range as they drained 17 of their 33 three point attempts. Princeton, however, also shot very well, shooting 53% including 43% from three point range as they went 10/23 from downtown. NJIT scored 53 second half points compared to Princeton's 54 in the victory, as Princeton held a slim 38-33 lead at the half. Princeton was lead by a duo of high scorers in Kyle Koncz and Michael Strittmatter. Koncz amost equaled his career-high of 34 points as he scored 33 and hit 7/10 from three point range. Strittmatter scored a career-high 28 points in the game, hitting 10/16 from the field and 3/8 from downtown. "They both played great and were the reason we won this ballgame," commented Coach Frizzell. "We okayed horrible defense, which was surprising to me since I figured we would be rested after two and a half weeks off, but I guess I was wrong. If we would have played good, solid defense, we would have destroyed the Highlanders, but we didn't so we won a close game."

NJIT Key Players
T. Epps - 10 points, 11 assists
B. Lye - 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
K. Peters - 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
P. Skama - 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
J. Garris - 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists

Princeton Key Players
K. Koncz - 33 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 7/10 3pt.
M. Strittmatter - 28 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 10/16 FG
Z. Woolridge - 11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists

Princeton closes up out-of-conference play 7-8. They will open up conference play against Dartmouth (8-7) on Friday, February 1st.

[superjames1992]

January Wrapup

Top 25 Media Poll
1. Kansas (19-0)
2. North Carolina (19-2)
3. UCLA (19-1)
4. Georgetown (19-3)
5. Memphis (16-4)
6. Marquette (17-2)
7. Clemson (15-3)
8. Arizona (15-5)
9. Tennessee (15-4)
10. Duke (12-6)
11. Virginia (17-4)
12. Xavier (17-4)
13. Pittsburgh (14-6)
14. Depaul (14-6)
15. LSU (17-3)
16. Missouri (14-5)
17. Arkansas (13-7)
18. Michigan State (13-5)
19. Illinois (15-7)
20. Washington (15-6)
21. Oregon (13-7)
22. UAB (17-3)
23. Auburn (13-5)
24. Fresno State (16-4)
25. Alabama (14-7)

Mid Major Top 25 Poll
1. Fresno State (16-4)
2. Austin Peay (19-4)
3. Southern Illinois (13-7)
4. Nevada (15-5)
5. George Mason (16-4)
6. New Mexico State (16-6)
7. Utah State (15-6)
8. UL-Monroe (17-4)
9. Western Kentucky (13-6)
10. Western Michigan (14-5)
11. Bradley (17-5)
12. Old Dominion (14-8)
13. Davidson (10-8)
14. Gonzaga (11-10)
15. Columbia (14-5)
16. Butler (14-7)
17. Stephen F. Austin (10-5)
18. Tennessee Tech (15-6)
19. Drake (13-6)
20. Drexel (14-8)
21. Loyola (MD) (15-8)
22. Vermont (13-7)
23. Valparaiso (13-6)
24. Yale (9-6)
25. Creighton (11-7)

Ivy League Conference Standings
1. Columbia (3-0) (14-5)
2. Dartmouth (2-0) (8-7)
3. Yale (2-1) (9-6)
4. Penn (1-0) (5-12)
5. Cornell (1-2) (7-9)
6. Princeton (0-0) (7-8)
7. Brown (0-3) (6-11)
8. Harvard (0-3) (1-18)

January Games
@ Lehigh L 48-64
vs. Lafayette L 60-76
vs. NJIT W 93-86

January Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 7-8

Record Breakdown & Polls
Last 10: 5-5
vs. Top 25: 0-0
Road/Neutral: 3-6
Home Win Streak: 1 Game
RPI 1-50: 0-3
RPI 51-100: 0-1
RPI 101-200: 3-4
RPI 200+: 4-0
RPI: 171
Media: NR
Coaches: NR

Team Stats
PPG: 63.5 (5th)
FG: 42.9% (2nd)
3PT: 34.8% (4th)
FT: 66.2% (5th)
RPG: 28.5 (5th)
APG: 12.9 (2nd)
SPG: 9.9 (1st)
BPG: 0.9 (7th)
TOPG: 10.1 (1st)

Individual Stats Leaders
Points: Kyle Koncz (18.7), Michael Strittmatter (9.9), Zach Woolridge (9.5)
Rebounds: Zach Woolridge (7.1), Noah Savage (4.7), Michael Strittmatter (4.3)
Assists: Marcus Schroeder (3.0), Noah Savage (1.9), Michael Strittmatter (1.7)

[superjames1992]

Late Lead Evaporates, but Princeton Still Gets the Win

2/1/08 vs. Dartmouth (8-7)

Final: 67-62

The Princeton Tigerse held a 41-29 lead at halftime and a 21 points lead early on in the second half, but would see their lead quickly evaporate thereafter. Princeton would lead 60-50 with four minutes remaining, but it's lead would totally evaporate and was down to just three points. Dartmouth had a chance to tie the game, but missed the shot, then sent Kyle Koncz to the free throw line with 1.7 seconds remaining, where he would sink both free throws, giving the Princeton Tigers the 67-62 win and a 1-0 start to conference play. "We played a good basketball game most of the way, but fell apart at the end," commented Coach Frizzell, who notched his first career Ivy League Conference win. "That is unescusable! We cannot fall apart like this again or we will lose ballgames. We were lucky we were up by 21 before their huge run, or else we would have probably lost. Luckily, we won, so things turned out okay, but we must not do this again." The difference maker on the stat sheet was the free throw shooting. Princeton hit 16/21 from the line compared to Dartmouth's 3/5. Senior shooting guard Kyle Koncz once again starred for the Princeton Tigers, dropping 27 points on Dartmouth, 18 of which came in the first half. Koncz was quiet in most of the second half, but nailed a late three and a pair of free throws that iced the game.

Dartmouth Key Players
D. Mosley - 20 points, 3 rebounds
A. Barratt - 11 points

Princeton Key Players
K. Koncz - 27 points, 4 rebounds
M. Strittmatter - 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

With the win, Princeton improves to 8-8 (1-0). They will take on Harvard (1-18) tomorrow.

[superjames1992]

Princeton Dominates Harvard at Home

2/2/08 vs. Harvard (1-18)

Final: 74-55

After buidling a 46-28 halftime lead, the Princeton Tigers cruised on to defeat the Harvard Crimson 74-55 to give the Crimson their 19th loss of the season. Harvard came into the game 1-18, the worst record in the Ivy League. They did not play any better today, either, as there was no question who the better team was in this one. Harvard turned the ball over 15 times compared to Princeton's 7 and only grabbed 13 rebounds compared to Princeton's 30. Both teams shot pretty evenly, but Princeton got 21 more shot attempts than Harvard due to the mass amount of offensive rebounds, which crushed the hopes of Harvard as they gave up offensive rebound after offensive rebound. Coach Frizzell was very pleased with his team's performance. "We played very well out there," he said. "We were dominant on the glass, something we have struggled with all year, as were are 7th place in the Ivy League in rebounding. We got a lot of second chance points and forced a lot of Harvard turnovers. Those two things ultimately won us the ballgame." Lincoln Gunn also stepped up big in the game as he drained four three pointers as the sophomore got a career-high 21 points in the game.

Harvard Key Players
J. Lin - 14 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
A. Pusar - 10 points

Princeton Key Players
M. Schroeder - 9 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
N. Savage - 13 points, 6 rebounds
Z. Woolridge - 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
L. Gunn - 21 points, 3 rebounds

The Princeton Tigers improve to 9-8 (2-0) after the blowout win. They will take on Cornell (8-9) next Friday night.

[superjames1992]

Princeton Comes Back From 21 Down, but Falls By Three to Cornell

2/8/08 @ Cornell (8-9)

Final: 78-81

Cornell was absolutely on fire in the first three-quarters of the game. They hit 10 of 14 three pointers in the first half before Coach Frizzell scraped his typical 1-3-1 defense and went with a tight man-to-man coverage to slow down's Cornell's three point shooting, which worked. Cornell lead 45-34 at halftime. Down by 21 points with a little over nine minutes remaining, Princeton staged a comeback. Lincoln Gunn hit back to back threes to pull within 15 points. Princeton would slowly come back and was within six points with four minutes left. Princeton would get within two points with 30 seconds left, but Kyle Koncz would miss an open three with 30 seconds left, making Princeton foul Cornell, where they would put the game away. "We showed some heart in the comeback," commented Coach Frizzell. "This was a very tough road game and to come back like that is pretty impressive. Unfortunately, we dug ourselves too big of a hole. We were just a little intimidated early on and we let the crowd get to us. We defended well in the second half, but horribly in the first half of play when I was still using a 1-3-1 zone. Luckily, the man-to-man defense worked well and I may use that some more as we get deeper into Ivy League Conference play." The two differences in the game were at the foul line where Cornell nailed 20/29 free throws compared to Princeton's 15/18, and beyond the arc where Cornell drained 11/25 compared to Princeton's 5/17.

Princeton Key Players
K. Koncz - 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
M. Strittmatter - 18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals
Z. Woolridge - 7 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals
L. Gunn - 10 points, 4 rebounds

Cornell Key Players
L. Dale - 14 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists
A. Gore - 20 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
R. Whittman - 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals
J. Hartford - 15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists

Princeton falls to 9-9 (2-1) after the loss. They will face off against Ivy League leading Columbia (16-5) tomorrow. Columbia is 5-0 in Ivy League play. They are ranked 6th in the mid-major poll and boast an impressive RPI of 42.