November 4, 2011

Diary Series: Brian Earl, Asst. Coach - Princeton

 

The 2011-2012 season marks my fifth as an assistant at Princeton.  It begins, however, with a new head coach in Mitch Henderson, who took over for Sydney Johnson after he left for Fairfield in the offseason.  Both Henderson (Princeton ’98) and Johnson (Princeton ’97) were teammates of mine (Princeton ’99) on very successful Princeton teams coached by Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril and Bill Carmody.

It is interesting to observe both of my teammates to see who they were as players reflected in their coaching philosophies.  Johnson was an elite level defensive specialist who was known for menacing the opposing team’s top player and had a knack for knocking down huge three-point shots.  Henderson was Midwestern tough, a lightning fast point guard who threw pinpoint accurate scoring passes and graduated fourth on the all time assist list.  Their qualities as players are very evident in their approach to coaching, different but effective in their own way.

Last year’s team took on the personality of its coach; marked by stifling, bruising, no compromising man-to-man defense.  To dismiss the trademark of last year’s team and start anew would have been foolish. The key to our success this year is to not abandon this philosophy, but to mold it with the 11-year experience that Coach Henderson brings from the Big Ten with Northwestern.  Our hope is for a collaborated vision of the uncompromising Johnson and the high paced flow of Henderson.

To create this vision, Coach Henderson has had to be open to this collaboration.  The greatest quality that both Henderson and Johnson share is their willingness to listen to differing opinions.  While the final vote on a decision is theirs, they are eager to listen to the input of the people around them.  I have been flattered with the attention that Mitch pays me and our returning players with regard to how we went about our business last season.  It is a lesson that I hope our team takes to heart as it finds its way through the ups and downs of every basketball season.

It all reminds me of a play that our Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril used to call “nick.”  For years I was under the impression that he called it nick because it involved a screen that nicked a defender to get a quick layup.  It was only recently that Coach explained to me that the reason he called it nick was because he took it from Red Holzman’s New York Knicks. 

I wish the best of luck to all of my colleagues.  And…

Go Tigers.