Men's Basketball: Henderson ’98 era begins on Saturday

The last time the men’s basketball team was in game action, it was under the bright lights of the St. Pete Times Forum against an eventual Final Four team in the NCAA Tournament. That was a different team, a different season, with a different head coach. On Saturday, the Tigers will take the floor again, as the tenure of head coach Mitch Henderson ’98 begins back home at Jadwin Gymnasium against Wagner.

Wagner is coming off a 13-17 season, the first for Seahawks head coach Dan Hurley. Despite being picked to finish 11th in a 12-team league, Hurley’s squad overachieved last year and finished sixth with a 9-9 conference mark, losing to Robert Morris in the first round of the Northeast Conference Tournament.

Wagner’s trip to Jadwin continues a series with the Tigers, who prevailed 69-57 in Staten Island last year. This season, Wagner will be less overlooked. Hurley’s team is a true contender for the league title, as the Seahawks were picked fourth in the NEC preseason poll.

“In that first game of the year, you don’t have as much information,” Henderson said. “So I’m sure they, like us, are sort of waiting to see what kind of group competes.”

The Tigers have an advantage in the paint against Wagner, boasting superior talent and depth in the frontcourt. Junior forward Ian Hummer, a second-team All-Ivy selection last year, leads Princeton’s corps of big men along with senior forward Patrick Saunders. At center, Henderson has high expectations for junior Brendan Connolly, the primary candidate to replace the production of Kareem Maddox ’11. The Tigers have depth at forward, with juniors Mack Darrow and Will Barrett both capable of providing key minutes and freshman forward Denton Koon capable of producing in his first college game.

The young Wagner frontcourt features forward Orlando Parker and center Naofall Folahan. Parker led the Seahawks in rebounding last year and was second in the NEC with a 52.8 shooting percentage, while Folahan had perhaps his biggest game of the season against Princeton with 19 points, seven blocks and five rebounds. The Seahawks have two talented freshmen who can make an impact in Hugo Naurais and Mario Moody.

The Tigers will have more trouble with a strong Seahawks backcourt. Returning for Princeton is senior guard Doug Davis, who hit the famous buzzer-beater to send the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament. With a full season left, Davis is currently 15th on the all-time Orange and Black scoring list with 1,110 points. However, the biggest hole for Henderson to fill will be the one left by Dan Mavraides ’11. Unlike last year, when Mavraides and Davis usually brought the ball up the court, Henderson has mentioned that ballhandling this year will be done “by committee.” Junior guard Jimmy Sherburne and sophomore guards Ben Hazel and T.J. Bray carry over some experience, and Henderson has also mentioned freshman Clay Wilson as a guard who can have some impact.

Princeton will need strong guard play against Wagner, which is led by first-team All-NEC guard Tyler Murray, who was third in his league in scoring and three-point percentage. Surrounding Murray is point guard Chris Martin and guard Latif Rivers, who had a breakout rookie season last year. The Seahawks also have several impact transfers in guards Kenneth Ortiz, from Southern Mississippi, and Jonathon Williams, from City College of San Francisco. Expect both the Tigers’ backcourt and frontcourt to be involved in containing the Seahawks’ dynamic guards, as Princeton will need to utilize its team defense to the fullest.

“They bring lots of pressure,” Henderson said. “They protected the three-point line last year very well, and they get out and pressure you. We’re going to be bringing the ball up by committee, so that stands out.”

The Tigers hope that Saturday will mark a positive beginning to the Mitch Henderson era of Princeton basketball.