Jan. 19, 2010
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Wednesday: Lobos at Air Force, 7 p.m., Colorado Springs
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By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Welcome to Princeton West — sometimes called Air Force Academy basketball.
The Princeton label comes from the style of play the Falcons throw at teams, really on both ends of the court. On offense, the Princeton is a weave of deceit, execution, precision and passing. On defense, it often includes a clever matchup zone that further tests the patience of opposing teams.
In a word, the Princeton is a concept that requires “discipline” from the team living by that concept. The same word is a must for teams trying to defend the Princeton.
If the enemy to the Princeton isn’t disciplined enough to stick to defensive assignments to the end of the shot clock, they often get burned. If that same enemy isn’t patient on offense, they often takes bad shots.
Some experts of basketball will tell you the Princeton is designed to help teams win against opponents with superior athletic ability by keeping the score down and testing their ability to maintain discipline. Others might argue that point.
One thing is for certain: If the Princeton is run well and backed by high-percentage shooting, it is a difficult offense to stop. The optimal goal of the Princeton offense is a layup. The next best thing is simply an open look.
The New Mexico Lobos (16-3, 2-2 Mountain West) get their first look this season at the Princeton. It will come at 7 p.m., Wednesday in Clune Arena and will be offered by the 8-8 (0-3 MWC) Falcons.
“You talk about defensive patience when you play a team like Air Force,” said Lobo coach Steve Alford. “You have to be patience because they run that Princeton offense and they run it over and over and over.
“They wait for you to have a breakdown. They wait for you to get backcut. They wait for you to miss an assignment. They wait for you to make a mistake and then they are very good at taking advantage of it.”
The Falcons of last season were a bit scarier when it came to the Princeton because that version of the Princeton was scary behind the 3-point line. That long line adds a nasty dimension to the Princeton attack, but only if you can hit the shot.
Last year, when UNM visited Colorado Springs, UNM was looking at a Falcon team that was No. 1 in the MWC in 3-point percentage at 42.5 percent. This season the Falcons are hitting at a 32.5 rate. A cold Falcon beyond the arc makes it easier for the Lobos to worry about those layups.
But will the Falcons be cold from long range on Wednesday? If so, maybe the Lobos can worry about all that other stuff. There’s a lot of it.
Alford said his young Lobos have to “defend all the things that they like to do with back cutting, the ball screens they set, the ball screens they turn down, all the ins and outs of the Princeton offense. It’s complicated.”
The Princeton offense typically is run off a high post with Falcons running all over the place setting screens, using screens, looking for backdoor layups or popping out to launch treys. The Falcons’ offense is a maze that includes dribble-drive penetration. It can be a fun thing to watch; a difficult thing to defend.
6-9 So. Will Brown |
This Princeton thing also looks to wear you down by lulling you into a false sense of confidence. You drift ahead of the Falcons. You think you got them beat. And here they come.
The Lobos jumped up on the Falcons 15-0 last year at Air Force, but UNM trailed at the half 37-33. The Falcons shot 52.4 percent in that 76-66 Lobo win. The Lobos won, in part, because they shot 70.6 percent from the floor in the second half. The Lobos also won because they played to the end of the game clock and also defended to the end of the shot clock.
One Lobo goal will be to create transition offense before Air Force can fall back into a matchup zone. Likely, Air Force will try to take away UNM’s perimeter game and force the Lobos to win with interior stuff.
The Lobos had lots of interior stuff at Wyoming and the 18 points inside from A.J. Hardeman were huge in that 70-68 squeaker in Laramie. The 6-foot-8 sophomore was named MWC Player of The Week after totaling 29 points and 12 rebounds vs. Wyoming and Utah.
“I don’t think there is anybody on our basketball team, who has improved more in one year than A.J.,” said Alford. “He’s gotten an opportunity this year and he’s made the absolute most of it, and then some.
“He rebounds hard. He really defends. He is staying out of foul trouble. He’s running the floor. He is playing with a much higher motor and sense of urgency than he ever has before.”
A balanced inside-outside attack no doubt will come in handy for the Lobos in their chase to defend their Mountain West title. An active inside game at Air Force should make it easier on Alford’s gunners to find open shots on the perimeter.
The reverse is true, too. If UNM is hot on the outside, that could open things up inside for Hardeman, Will Brown and UNM’s drives to the basket.
“They run a matchup zone, they really jam things in, and you have to make some jump shots,” said Alford.
The Lobos are tied for fourth place in the MWC at 2-2. A few good things have happened for UNM since its 0-2 start that included a Pit loss to UNLV. The Lobos won at Wyoming. San Diego State lost at Wyoming. UNLV lost in Vegas to Utah.
“Those standings change all the time,” said Alford. “You win a couple of game and you (UNM) jump to fourth.
“I say I don’t know how we are 16-3, but we are 16-3 because these guys have worked. The thing that has been there has been our work ethic. Our intensity and the way we have worked as been at a very high level.”
That high level of work needs to continue at Air Force. These Flyboys probably won’t outshoot you, won’t out-tall you, won’t out-talent you, but they will try to outwork and out-execute you.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former columnist and Associate Sports Editor at The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net.