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August 13, 2022 46 mins

In this episode, Doug is joined by Princeton University Assistant Skye Ettin for the second part of their interview. They discuss what it meant to win the Ivy League in his second year with the program, and how they approached COVID cancellation season with the Ivy’s unique eligibility rules. They also discuss their experience coaching together at the Israeli Maccabi Games this summer. 

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hey want to welcome and I'm Doug Godi Ben. This
is All Ball Um. Our last podcast had Sky Eton,
who of course and assisting at Princeton. This is part two.
We'll talk about the h the last season for the
IVY League, when they um, when there was when when

(00:28):
there was COVID obviously, and then um, well, we'll talk
about the IVY League now and what's changed, what it's like,
how do you recruit there? Do they have unlimited spots
on a basketball team because they don't have scholarships. Plus
we'll talk a little bit about what we learned coaching
together overseas with the Maccabi Games team. All that upcoming

(00:49):
on the All Ball Podcast. I did want to dive
in kind of quickly to the latest and the Joe
Sigh Kevin Durant sort of back in full worth. They
met in London earlier this week. It got out that
Kevin Durant basically did the reverse Jimmy Chitwood right, coach goes,
I stay, it was was what he said, Coach stays,

(01:11):
I go um. And then it came out that Kyrie
feels much the same way, which makes you want to
believe or maybe makes me believe that it's Kyrie and
Katie reflecting on Kyrie's thoughts, Like Katie didn't have any
issues with Sean Marks until Kyrie had an issue with
Sean Marks and the head coach and the GM are

(01:33):
really close friends from having played together and have him,
you know, pulling him in and look, I don't know
if if Steve Nash is good enough as head coach,
but I also don't know either those guys, especially Kyrie Irving,
is coachable. But the fascinating part was Joe said going
on social media and supporting his front office Sean Marks
and his coach Steve Nash, which means that's the side

(01:57):
that he's taking in the them or me. I don't
remember that happening anytime recently, or at least publicly, maybe
even privately with superstar NBA, superstar NBA players, and make
no doubt about it, those guys are superstars. I think
it says something about Joe Sigh, what he wants, what
he's seen. This team devolved into what the team was

(02:20):
like before they acquired both those two players, and it
has to say a ton about Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Frankly,
but once that once that tweet was sent, that I
have full support from my coaching staff in my front office.
The divorce proceedings commenced. Kevin Durant won't play for them anymore, Kyrie.

(02:44):
Everyone won't play for them anymore. Where I don't know,
Boston seems like, you know, they were somewhere in between.
We want Marcus Smart and Boston want to trade Marcus Smart.
My guess is that Marcus Smart does not become part
of the deal, but somebody el who's valuable does, and

(03:05):
you know, Jayson Tatum along with Kevin Durant would be amazing,
would be amazing. All right, let's get the part two
of our talk with the sky At assistant coach at Princeton.
Your second year you won the league right, your your
second year on staff, What was that experience, because that

(03:29):
was you had the kind of the Harvard run. But
before you got there, right, that has been kind of Harvard.
They won a couple of tournament games. I started to
kind of get it going right and Princeton, I don't
want to say had fallen off, but you guys had
some they had some tougher years piece that. What was
that first championship like amazing. So I'll just take a

(03:52):
step back. So my first year, we had a bunch
of juniors. We had a really good class, a bunch
of junior Spencer Whites obviously who you've coached. Um, and
we were really good. We went twelve into in the
league and it was the last you know, our league
has now gone to a conference tournament, but we were
the only league in the country that didn't have a
conference tournament for years. So that was the last year

(04:13):
where we didn't have a conference tournament, right, Um, and
we're really good, twelve and two. Yeah, it was thirteen
and one, right, So we don't go then and say
tournament we don't win the league. Um, really tough year.
Then we you know, won the league and they beat Baylor.
That's the uh, you know, how does Yale outrebound Baylor story,

(04:35):
which is just all time so good. Um, So they
won the league that year. They were you know, we
had beaten the second time we played them, we dropped
a really tough game at Harvard that put us to
twelve and two and they finished thirteen in one. Anyway,
we returned pretty much at like our scoring returned pretty
much everybody they were seniors we had Spencer Wise, he
was a senior, Stephen Cook from Chicago who was really

(04:58):
good senior. Then we had at a couple of sophomores,
Devin Candy who's an NBA now, Miles Stevens who's playing
professionally big time. So we were you know, a Mere
Bell who's also playing professionally. So we were really good, right,
And a lot of these guys were older, Um, and
they were just determined right, like they had had something
they were so close to, you know, what they had
been working for for so long and it just slipped.

(05:19):
And so they were on a mission all year. And um,
it was a really special group. I mean we went undefeated.
It was the first year. So you go from not
having a conference tournament. Now this year you have a
conference tournament and we go on defeating the in the season.
Regular season, we go fourteen to know and uh Pen
in the plestra right, Yes, the first ever conference tournament

(05:40):
is at Penn. We're the first seed, Pens the fourth seed.
We have beaten them twice and we almost go down
like we're losing all game. We make a layup with
two seconds left to force it overtime to go to
overtime and win and then we beat Yale the uh
you know championship. But you know for a year where
you go fourteen to know every year you got to
say to tournament. Now we had to win two more

(06:01):
games because this conference tournament just got introduced. Uh So
it was crazy. But we went fourteen and o sixteen
and o. It was awesome. Okay, So hindsight, like in
the IVY League, it's a true round, double round robin,
so you play everybody twice, you finish sports, you know,
why have to the conference tournament? It's now it's you
know they wanted, I think, and it's been good for

(06:22):
our league, right like, the conference tournament has been really good.
You play on ESPN, you get a little bit more publicity.
Um I think it's kind of what our league had
been missing a little bit. Um So, but it was
a tough year to be introduced in the year that
you go undefeated, right like, that was an ideal, but
you know, it made it that much more special when
we want, right because you you go undefeated and you

(06:43):
have to win two more games and you do that,
so it was special. You go to the n c
h M, you're playing other day, but for you, I
mean a guy who you know, you grew up dreaming
of doing all this stuff, go Division three, go through
all this stuff. Personally, class art declaimed the ladder at Princeton. Yeah,
what was What do you remember about your n c
A tournament experience? It's then say tournament as you know,

(07:06):
it's the coolest thing ever, right, Like it's just first
class run event. It's your dream of this. You've been
watching this as a kid, you know. So that's something
I'm never going to forget. Um it was my first
year as an assistant with the program. Um, Yeah, it
was unbelievable sperience. We massive with Notre Dame was actually
a good matchup for us. They had Bondsi Colson and

(07:29):
Matt Ferrell really good, and uh, you know, we took
him to the wire and had our had moments to win, right.
I actually felt like we didn't start playing good basketball
to the you know, last eight minutes, and it really
was because they had more big game experience than us, Right,
They just kind off a lead eight run um, and
so we weren't you know, I don't know if we
had as much experience, and so it took our guys,
You know nerves and what not to get going. And

(07:51):
but we were right there with a chance to win.
We had shot to win at the Buzzers that you know,
just in going you mentioned all the guys you had back.
The next year was like a total rebuild, right, yep,
what did you learn from that experience? It was a
total rebout rebuild. But we were still really talented, right,
we still had some really good guards. But it just

(08:13):
shows you like you take for granted, you know, going
from you know, returning home everyone where they know what
you're doing, right, you take for granted. I think sometimes
like how much you know teaching you have to do
right like these other you know, you go from graduating
six seniors who all played um to having some new
faces and leadership you you you take for granted how

(08:35):
much one you gotta teach too? How much leadership plays
a factor into it? Right, Like we had graduated so
much no how and we just didn't have that. So
that was you know, that year was really tough and
up and down year and um yeah that was all
of them for sure. What was miss like when it
was when you guys are struggling, I think I'm sorry

(08:56):
for everyone, but you know, Mitch always has uh you know,
um a belief that you know, we're gonna get the
next one or you know, hey, let's improve, let's just
get better, right, and so like we attacked every practice
with the you know, the idea of getting better. And
now you have this conference tournament which keeps you alive
right before you lose a couple of games in the

(09:17):
IVY League and you're done, right, So we always had
something that we were playing for. So I thought Mitch
did a really good job that year of you know,
when things weren't going well, and there's some really hard
times that happened with that um of keeping the ship
afloat um and still working towards something. And and you know,
obviously the following year we got it back going. Um

(09:40):
you know have you know, had a lot of success
ince then the first I guess the pandemic year where
the tournament got canceled. Yeah, okay, so you guys play
and you lost two of your last three, right, you
lost to Yale, beat Columbia, and then you lose the

(10:03):
Cornell Now were you guys gonna play in the IVY Tournament. Yeah?
We were the third seed, uh, scheduled to play Harvard,
who we split one at their place. Yeah, crazy crazy,
both crazy games. Um so we were scheduled, you know,

(10:25):
the IVY League cancels it on a Tuesday, when on
I think Friday, we were supposed to play in the semifinals,
two games away from going to state tournament. Like your
two games, you win two games tournament, right. We had
a good match with Harvard who you know, like you said,
one point game either way, That game could have gone
either way. Um so we had we had a good
shot as anyone right to return to the n S

(10:47):
A tournam and then all of a sudden COVID happens.
Everything gets shut down, and the IVY League is the
first one to do so. For us, we're like, so
where were you? We were on campus and all of
a sudden you're having these meetings where like be prepared,
to be prepared, things are changing, blah blah blah, and
then we you know, the A D comes down and

(11:07):
you know, delivers the news to us as a staff.
You're in your office. We're in the office, yep, the
meeting in the meeting, and it's like, I think, well,
I think what happened is goes to Mitch. Then Mitch
comes up and like, hey, we gotta talk. And it
was like the worst, uh hardest conversation ever, Like we

(11:28):
are you know, just think of you know, as you know,
like you put so much time in getting you know,
your two games away from everything you've worked for. Right,
you have some seniors that have dedicated and and working
the butt off to earn an opportunity that we're about
to have, and now everything gets shut down, right, they're
canceling it, and we're like, how do we fight it?

(11:48):
But that was the first reaction, Mit chat, It's like,
how do we fight this thing? You know, in terms
of because no one else had canceled. It wasn't like
the whole world had canceled. Wasn't like conference, but we
were the only lead that canceled. We were the first
lead to cancel. So our first reaction is can we petition?
Like no way, Like how do we get this tournament back?
And you know, obviously then you know this thing COVID

(12:09):
plays out and you know realize that Okay, prison, you know,
and I believe a pretty smart you know, and because
because I'll tell you what, So my experience was, I
m the night, the day of the day, the day
that Gobert, Yeah, That'sted Positive. I don't remember if you

(12:31):
guys already canceled by that. It was like I'm gonna
say a Tuesday or I probably one Tuesday or Wednesday
were on Tuesday we canceled from. So it was that day.
So during that day, I was guest hosting Cowherd Show,
and I'd been keeping an eye and I never get
that we have a you have a meeting before the show.

(12:52):
There's like twenty people name like, hey, should we be
talking to this COVID thing? Like it kind of feels
like it's a big thing. And there's somebody in the
meeting who is the uh go between for the executives,
and they're like not talking about it, well like uh
like like it's not a sports story, Like yeah, but

(13:13):
I it has a chance to really affect sports, like
like do you think people want to talk about a
deadly disease that is spreading like in Asia? Yet it
is starting to like just like do you think that's
a sports show topic? I was like, well, if it
cancels like games or the n C A term like
come on. So then I'm walking out to the set

(13:36):
and the same guys walking. I was like, are you sure.
I was like, because I was just in my dressing room.
That's all they're talking about on Fox News and CNN.
They're like, he's like marching orders are talking about sports
when an affects sports. I was like, well, okay, that guys,
we want that. So I'm home that night and breaking news,

(14:01):
you know, and I was leaving for the Big Ten
Tournament the next day. So then I get the next
day and I'm literally driving to the airport and I
get a text turn around and so let it because
when I'm an idiot, I mean, I'm like, so I
thought the person texted me like following me, you know,

(14:28):
it's like the old Yes, yeah, I turn around. So
I'm like, I don't see you turn your car around.
And I was like, I'm on the freeway. No, the
Big Ten Tournament has been canceled. Like what it's like
turning the radio and well, it's crazy. Was when I
left my house. I think the Big East Tournament. They

(14:51):
remember they played the first half the game. Yeah, they
played the first round or something. You know, they played
the first half, played the first day, played the first round. Yeah,
but they played like the first half and then didn't
come out in the second half. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Catch all of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot

(15:12):
com and within the I Heart Radio app search f
s R to listen live. It was crazy. I mean,
it happened so fast, like all of a sudden, like
you know, this thing gets canceled and you're like, no way,
is this real? And then everyone starts to cancel. Everyone
starts to cancel, and then it's life changed just like that.
So where what were you guys doing here in this

(15:33):
whole thing? So, I mean immediately pretty much after that,
they for instance, and everyone home, sent all the students home, UM,
and obviously we were home, so it was just like
trying to figure out what was next, what that looked like.
You know, obviously the season was over then State torment
had just got canceled. So now you're kind of preparing

(15:54):
for hoping for next year, but you also know that
there's a chance that for us we might not play UM,
and you kind of held out hope that you would play,
and you know, you're just kind of going about you know,
your recruiting and you know your team meetings. Now zoom
has been introduced, so you're having some meetings via zoom.
But remember you first see meeting. Oh my god, so weird,

(16:15):
so weird. It's just like you do you remember what
it was? Yeah, it was it was on the this
like coming back together because school had they had announced
that students weren't returning, and so we had to have
a you know, zoom meeting on like okay, you know
seasons not canceled jet However, like you're not returning doesn't

(16:41):
look good and you have to have a conversation of
staying in school because our guys should you stay in
school and use IVY eligibility or do you withdraw from
school and save IB eligibility? Right, So that was a
really in the whole league was you know, a controversial issue,
and I think Mitch took the right approach of letting
every individual decide what worked for them best and not

(17:04):
swaying them either direction. But um, you know, we started
talking about that quickly. So for people who don't know,
I V eligibility is different than n C eligibility. Hell,
you have four years to play um in the IVY League.
There's you cannot play as a grad student. So as
soon as there's no rich and there's no red shirt,
no red shirt correct. Um, And it's just a gentleman's

(17:26):
agreement or just an actual league written rule. It's a
league written rule. Um. And it got you know in
COVID they adjusted it a little bit. And but for
you can't play as a grad student. We don't have
grad students in our league. You know, our league, not
many teams, not a lot of teams take transfers. So, um,
it's a little bit different of a situation. So you know,

(17:49):
if you wanted to play our guys wanted to play
four years at Princeton, they would have to withdraw from
school for a year, you know, stop taking classes on enrolled,
and then re enrolled. Um. So a little bit different.
During the pandemic, What what did you do when everything
was shut down? What you do? I'm at home all
the time for the first time in a long time, right,

(18:11):
like you're you know, you go from a life of
on the road recruiting, you know every day, you know,
in the office and the gym two totally at home,
totally having a virtual job. Uh. And it was really
just you know, I tried to use that time to
get better in terms of read watch different videos, connect
with different coaches, just try to expand my own palette

(18:34):
a little bit in basketball like knowledge um. And then
recruiting and recruiting never stopped. So you know, instead of
having uh, instead of me going to the high school
or bringing them to campus, we're doing this. We're having
a zoom right where I'm presenting Princeton, I'm presenting the campus,
and you put together all these different presentations for kids, right,
So you know it was a lot of recruiting for sure,

(18:55):
and then staying in touch with your guys. Right, so
we had what we would have We did small groups.
Each assistant would take a group and you know you'd
go once or twice a week and you do that
for a month or two and you flip groups. Right,
So just trying to keep our guys engage in a
year where their home to working out and preparing for
the following year. So were they were they actually working out?
Like were you tracking if they're working out? We we

(19:18):
weren't tracking. You know, we gave each guy an individual
plan of you know, what they need to improve on.
Our strength and conditioning coach had was tracking their progress
fitness progress obviously, Um, but for us, you know, it
was really just it was more the mental part, right,
Like this is really hard mentally for everyone in the country, right,

(19:38):
and um, definitely student athletes and definitely IVY League athletes
that now don't have a season. Now you're watching you know,
college basketball still had a season, but we're not having
a season. So like it was you know, mostly to
check in on them. Yeah, what was it? What was
that like to Yeah, really hard, Like you're watching you know,

(19:58):
teams you play against, different leads. You're watching everyone play
and have a little bit of normalcy and you're at
home and your guys are at home and their peers
are playing, right, and and so you know, really most
of the zooms were just for staying in touch, giving
support because it wasn't for anyone. Um, So it was
you know, just watching everyone else playing. You're not playing

(20:20):
with hard, really hard. Um did you did any many leave? None?
Does that happen? It's Princeton. Princeton is there's it's just
a special place in general in terms of opportunities that
are afforded to you after basketball and basketball, Like there's

(20:40):
a lot of history, there's a lot of tradition. UM. So,
and we have a really good group, a really tight group.
And you know, I think everyone was here for the
right reasons, uh, you know, basketball and academically and you know, socially.
So we everyone stayed and and you know, the seniors
UM had an extra year. The seniors that didn't have
their last year had an extra year of eligibility to

(21:01):
use elsewhere, which they did UM. But we didn't have
anyone transferred. Your first day back at practice, do you
remember when it was? It was February one. UM. They
had invited the they had invited the UM student body

(21:26):
back for the second semester at Princeton. So the first semester,
no one was on campus. The second semester named by
everyone back to campus. So before you get to that,
So that first semester and and there's no season, yeah, right,
but the lockdown stuff had gone relatively away, at least
West Coast had. How often were you allowed to go

(21:48):
into work at all? Yes, but it was only if
you need to write, Like, our guys weren't around that
first semester, so we weren't going in. Did you ever
go to Princeton when nobody I just wonder what that
was like with this historic institution that's always vibrate with Yeah,
it was ghosts. Nobody's there. Yeah, it was weird. It

(22:09):
was like I am legend, Like yeah, legend, Yeah, I
will think. Yeah, it wasn't you know, to that extreme.
But it was weird. You know, the administrators were still
there because they're trying to you know, they're meeting to
try to figure out how do we bring students back
and how do we you know, operate safely and they
were working, you know, their tails off through this whole thing.
Credit to them. Um, so there were some people around,

(22:31):
but you know, no students are there. It's totally you
know for a college town, a college campus, totally different,
totally different. I'm like going around on FaceTime and like
doing virtual tours to kids. Okay, this is what this
looks like, and this is what list looks like. You know,
you're trying to adjust and make do. But it was
crazy crazy. So February one, you guys, everybody's back, so

(22:53):
they invite them back for the second semester. Guys start
to get back mid January. You have to quarantine for
ten days, you have to test uh and then once
you're you know you've quarantined, you've tested negative. It was
it by the way, you were right, okay. Um, So
once they've been cleared, then Princeton and most of the

(23:14):
ibis have this phase in process where you start in
phase one, which would be small groups wearing masks, no
contact you know, um, where you could work out with them. Right,
So you start in phase one. You kind of built
from phase one to two, which you could have more kids,
and then phase three you could have a little contact
and then finally to you know, where you could you know,

(23:34):
be a little bit more normal, but you're wearing masks
the whole time. Um. So we phase through February to May.
We kind of phase through this process and we're practicing,
but we don't have a season, so we're just like
we really used it as a spirit of development, like
we had a ton of fun. Like we really used
it as getting better individually collectively. Um. And so that

(23:55):
was really of the spirit of improvement because you don't
have something like you're not it was it was actually
like refreshing because during the season, like you're preparing for
the next game all the time, right, even when preseason
you're preparing for you know, to build this team and
put it together. Now you're just getting better every single day.

(24:16):
There's you know, you're coming in and getting better, right,
and so it was a cool experience. It was different, right,
but it was a cool experience. Next year, you guys
come back and you get all the way to the
IVY League Championship game, and again it's kind of the
perfect setup where you had split with you in the
regular season, now you play them for a third time.

(24:38):
The right to go back to the n c A
tournament was what was experienced. Like, you know, just it
was such a it's a hard year because you're you're
going from not playing to now like you have this
really good team. We had a bunch of seniors that
were really good that had one more shot when they
just had something taken away from right. So, um, it

(25:00):
was a challenging year, but we were you know, we
won the IVY League regular season, which I thought was
a credit to everything that we put in and and
did in COVID, like staying together, having everyone stay you know,
having zoom calls, having connecting with each other, like I thought,
you know, that was we won that regular season because

(25:21):
of the work that we did in COVID. Year, um,
which was special. You know, we had a really good team,
you know, this past year. And then we play Yale
and the you know, we played first, we played Cornell.
We were the first seat because we won the regular season.
Cornell in the first round, who was totally different than
our league. They press you all game. Uh, they're fast,
They're one of the highest tempos in the country. Uh.

(25:43):
And it was like a championship game, right. We went
back and forth, back and forth, and you know, we
won that and it was, you know, a really hard game.
And then we play Yale with but with like you said,
and we just you know, we didn't play our best
and credit to them, they you know, they did a
good job guarding us. And you know, we had one
of the best offense in the country. Were top ten
in scoring, top ten, assist turnover ratio top ten, and

(26:04):
three point percentage top ten and three's made like we
had one of the best offenses in prison history, right, Um.
And you know that game, that last game, our defense
was fine, but offensively we just could never get in
a float, right, and you know, credit to Yale, and
but that was that was really hard. That was a
tough loss for sure, But he doesn't you mentioned you
mentioned the scoring. Yeah, um, I would say perception wise

(26:29):
until you tell people they don't know, right, They think
Princeton even though it's been years since Peke Rill is there.
I think Princeton offense. I think to slow it down.
They think in the in the forties. How has Mitch
taken most of what he played under and turned it
into this high powered, super efficient offense. He's done a

(26:52):
really good job of you know, he's he we had
the the principles of coach Kill and you know, the space,
seeing the cutting, the ball movement, the playing together, the
skill like we have all that right. We emphasize that
all the time. Like, I don't think any any program
in the country values passing more than we do because
Mitch values it. Right. He was a really good player,
is a really good pastor. However, we also know that

(27:16):
we're getting better athletes, better players, right, Um, so we
have a chance to play faster, and he's really encouraged
the guys to play faster, make reads faster, think faster.
I think the game like he constantly says to the guys,
what do you see right? And he really truly means, like,
what do you see out there. And so he's done
a really good job of giving guys more freedom, um

(27:39):
to play and play a little looser, play, a little
faster with keeping you know, some of the you know,
iconic principles of Prince and basketball. Do you was his
how much does he lets you guys coach? He lets
his coach the time like we he's really you know,
he's got the the main voice right in practice, right,

(28:02):
he's really involved. He's you know, he's also on the
court with our guys in skill development for practice, like
which I think is probably rare for a head coach
to do. Like he before practice he'll be on the
court and he'll work with our guys. After practice, will
work with the guys like he's always on the court. Um.
But we have a really big voice, you know, we
do the scouts, like he lets us implement the game plan,

(28:24):
the defensive game plan. You know, we have a heavy
say in offense and we you know, we meet every
day to go through that. So you know, he's he's
been really good to you know, give myself personally, to
give me more responsibility each year. Um. But I think
collectively as a staff, you know, he does a good
job of you know, managing and giving everyone some responsibilities.

(28:44):
I mentioned that the IVY is um um, it is different.
So you have you do these trips where you do
Friday Saturday, right, and then they're always they're always the same,
like they are they always the same in terms of
the pairing of the teams that you play or they like,

(29:05):
do you always do Harvard and Dartmouth together? You always do? Yes? Yea.
So it's you have a quote unquote travel partner, which
is just the school that's closest to you. So our
travel partners Penn. So when you go up, you know Harvard, Dartmouth,
travel Yale Brown. So when you go up to play Harvard,
you play. If you play Harvard on Friday, Pen's playing
Dartmouth on Friday Saturday, we play Dartmouth, Penn plays Harvard.

(29:28):
So um, however, last year was the first you know,
it used to be an eight week schedule. Now it's
a ten week schedule. Yes, so it's different last year correct,
So you don't have as many You have a couple
back to backs, but you don't have as many. Um
they are they going back or is that just because
of code? Like, what's what's the they changed it. They
changed it, um, so now it will be similar to
last year where it's a ten week schedule, a little

(29:50):
bit more drawn out. You have three maybe four back
to backs Friday Saturday, UM, and then you have one
you play, you know, Friday, Sun Day Martin Luther King
or Saturday Monday UM. And then you have a couple
of weekends where you just play on Saturday. Did you
like the back to legs? I did? I did? Like

(30:10):
it was it's really unique, right like you are you
have to figure out how to prepare for two teams
in one week, right uh, and then you have to
figure out how to quickly shift your focus to your
Saturday game as soon as you're front, no matter if
it went good, bad and different, like, you gotta get Saturday,
like it doesn't matter how you did Friday, right. So um,

(30:32):
it's quite the adjustment for sure. So I did appreciate it.
I thought was so like, like, okay, Cornell and Columbia
were together right there? So those how many how many
hours to Cornell from Columbia or did you drive after
the game and you drive the extend we drive right
after the game, So rest and recovery become the number
one thing to success. So what is what are the

(30:57):
And again I know that that it's not the true
back can back to backs all the time now, but
what were the old rules of Like did you always
want to play like? Well, I guess that Harvard wasn't
always good, but when Harvard's good? Like did you want
to play Dartmouth first or Darkmus second? Really you always
want to do what and you never want to see
this on your schedule? Yeah? I mean you want to

(31:17):
play the better team first because you have a little
bit you can gear your focus towards preparation, I think
a little bit more right, The second game usually comes
down to uh, guts toughness, who's in better shape, you know,
who's more rested. The first game is more tactical, preparation based. Um.

(31:40):
But they're all all trips a little different. Like Cornell
Columbia's four hours apart. Like you get into the hotel,
you know, at two am, right, Um, Like that's a
really hard trip. You never you want to go to
Cornell first because you don't want to go New York
City all the way to Ithaca all the way back down. Um,
So each trip has a little bit different kind of
caveat to it um real quick. In terms of team personalities,

(32:03):
you mentioned Cornell plays fast, they pressure pen their current
team style personalities, but they're they've changed. Actually, they were
very They ran a ton of plays. Um, they were
really good at executing, and they've kind of changed to
be more free flowing style as of late. This last
year was our first year. They had this kid, a J. Birder,

(32:25):
who was really one of the best bigs in the league.
They just played through them. They ran all these sets,
get him in the post, really harder guard. They lost
a J. He graduated, So now they've kind of changed
to be a little bit more free flowing style. Dartmouth,
what's their style. Darmouth plays a lot of Princeton. Dartmouth
probably plays a little bit more even traditional prince than
we do. Columbia similar, which is you know crazy, Uh

(32:47):
they're running point and chin and you know all the
kind of uh Princeton actions more so than we do. Um.
Harvard is pressure like pressure you the whole game than
I pass is up the lane, um pressure. Gail is tough,

(33:07):
physical athletic um. You know more of in the gaps.
Do what they do, don't change very much. But they're
really good at what they do. Um Brown Brown is
is they are very athletic. They've they've changed as well,
They've kind of recruited a little bit differently to be
a little bit unique. So they're really athletic, they're fast.

(33:29):
Mike Martin's done a really good job. They're of getting
some really talented players. H Um. Okay. I also want
to talk about our trip, yes, and the fever rules.
I still at at times, Doug, I still don't know
because you know, what was we thought was a travel
wasn't a travel and on mean, but that's that's interpretation
of rules. Okay, So I'm not about travel. I'm talking

(33:52):
about like I used to really not like the second
clock for college and now I'm like, there's plenty of time.
Especially now here's the thing, there's a push for quarters
in college basketball. Now under our current rules, quarters in
college basketball is just another time out, and we got

(34:13):
enough timeouts. So the reason I think quarters works is
the play is so free flowing in FIBA that you
almost need a fils. Let's let's take a little break here,
let's let's talk about this. Yeah, and and so I
ended up really enjoying coaching it because it allows them

(34:35):
to go more. It allows you to Now it's it's
a completely different way because you don't have as much stoppage.
Is so you can't adjust your lineups, your eight there's
a lesser number of A T O, s UM and
And I don't know if you noticed the games are
like an hour and a half. I mean that is
now college basketball the windows two hours. I don't know.

(34:57):
I kind of think, you know, it's an hour and
a half. I think people love it just because TV.
But you can get more games in more games and
more money. But you know, if it's too short, it's
too short. Tell me what you thought, because you live
the college game and then you coach. We coach together
with with I act you know similar to you. Like
I really like twenty four seconds because I feel like

(35:19):
it's a little bit even pure form of basketball. Like
it's you know, you got thirty seconds shot clock in
college right now, Like you know, teams are literally calling
a play every possession. You know, go to A to
B two C two D right, and like when you
have twenty four seconds, like you have to teach your
guys how to play and let them do it, like

(35:40):
you can't be more hierarchy in my opinion. So I
actually like really appreciated a free flowing style, especially on
the offensive end of seconds. So you're up and down.
Your players have to do it. They have to think
the game a little bit faster, um, Like, you have
to really value some of that skill and development piece
to it even more so, so I like the pace

(36:01):
of it. I thought it was a neat thing and
good for basketball, to be honest. Okay, So if you
are setting the rules the sky et and rules of basketball,
eight seconds or ten seconds, tore across mid court, eight seconds,
second shot clock? Quarters? Yeah, how do you do the

(36:21):
time out thing? Right? So in college basketball, right, you
have three mandatory TV timeouts, So if you did quarters,
that would be one you do just do it at
five at Yeah, that's what the women do because the
women have quarters, um, and so they do media timeouts
at five obviously they get okay, But then what would

(36:42):
you do with the coaches timeouts? Because if you do that,
now you have do you have the coaches having two
time outs like in the first half like they do
in FIBA, worould you give them the I think if
you do the same four and one is the user
lose it in the first half. I think then you'd
have max, right, you'd have one, two, three, four or five.

(37:04):
You have five stoppages. That's still a lot. It's a lot,
but it's not as much as sometimes and you know,
with you need a little bit more of a stoppage
to get guys a little bit of a break. So
the quality of basketball a little bit better, right, Like
you can't just keep going, keep going, keep going. Allow
you are allowed the sub. You are allowed the sub.
But there's something to be said for like you know,

(37:24):
having your media timeouts and your break and you're you
know regrouping, uh, And that's how you know, momentum shifts
and comebacks happen and things like that. So you know,
I do think the time outs, you know, are crucial.
I like I do like the no uh, the no
basket interference. I mean, we didn't really have we don't
have any guys like that, but I think that's a

(37:46):
that that competitiveness on the offensive glasses. Yeah, it's interesting.
It's interesting. You know, we, like you said, like we
didn't experience that as much, uh, but it's a really
interesting idea where you can just grab it off the
rim like chance, you though, I don't know. I mean,
I think it's you know, in the college game, in
the pearl game, you know, NBA, like you have these

(38:07):
dudes that are can hang up there forever. You know,
like it might totally change you know, you might recruit
somebody just just you know, take the ball off the rim.
You would, right, like you would just have someone down
there that could literally just take the ball off the
rim every time. I think so, I think it would.
You know, with Feeble its less athletic than in the States,

(38:31):
so it makes a little bit more sense. I think
it's I don't know, it would change the game in
a lot of ways in my opinion, if you let
you know, the American bring that to the US. How
crazy is how physical those games are crazy? That was
to me the most shocking, And I like, there's no
such thing as an elite like college illegal screen as
if you like blank while you're setting a screen over there,

(38:54):
you can literally take guys out with screens. It's unreal. Yeah,
the physicality is crazy. It's just crazy, just like what
just happened. Yeah, it's also why I like, you know,
you hear about European style and it's so much ball
screen motion so much. Well, yeah, you know makes sense
you can kill guys on ball screens, like you create

(39:15):
so much space in ball screens. Okay, what was the
did you did you bring back anything to midch like,
hey man, I saw this or just some my saw
and like I'd really like to take a look at this. Well,
I think we talked, and you know, we're actually gonna
start practice here next week because we're going to Spain
for a foreign tour. But um, I really, you know,

(39:38):
I thought we did some really good things on offense.
I really like twisting ball screens, like the rescreen action,
like bring them off twisted. I think it's some possible guard. Yes, yes, um,
I thought we did some really good things on offense
that you put in. Um So I would like for
us to do a little bit more rescreen action, like
we haven't done that as much in the past. I
think it's a possible to guard. Um. I also really liked,

(40:02):
you know, France to this a couple of times where
they threw it in the post just to throw it
out of the post to come step up screen right,
and that's you know, you have someone spreading at you.
You can't see him behind you. And now you're going baseline.
The screens are set baseline and you have all this
room to kind of operate and work and find the
you know, hit the short roll. Um. So I think
from from those two perspectives, Um, those are things that

(40:23):
you know, I'm going to try to hopefully, you know,
put in with us in five years. Where do you
want to be Division one head coach? That's uh, that's
the goal Division one head coach. So you know, trying
to work towards whatever path takes me there in Princeton
has been unbelievably good to me to prepare me for that.

(40:45):
What does what does the IVY League look like? Or
that level of basketball where school does matter look like?
With a changing landscape, not just in i L, but
the big conferences as well. Yeah, it's interesting. I think
before some of the changing landscape, like the IVY League
has been getting better each year, right because it's more affordable.

(41:08):
People are more educated about what an IVY League degree
can do for you. So we're getting top hundred kids
in the league. You know, you can recruit anyone like
as long as they're academically inclined, you can recruit them
Now I think in I L. I think Dive Lead
is gonna get rolling on that too. So I don't
worry as much about that. Um, but I worry about

(41:28):
just for mid major low major programs in general, all
of this conference realignment because it's almost you know, you
worry about almost becoming like uh football subdivision, right where
the power fives just play against the power fives. Right,
And the beauty of basketball is the parody and equity
and being able to you know, last year we beat

(41:49):
organ State, organ State would beat South Carolin ESPN. Like
that's the beauty of college basketball that anyone can beat anyone, right, Um,
So you worry a little bit about you know, uh,
the conferenceorary alignment for sure changing it. They're gonna have
n ls in the IVY, I mean I know they can,
you have successful alms. Yeah, I think so, you know

(42:09):
it's gonna be different. It's not gonna be the type
of NLS that you know we're seeing. Uh yeah, yeah,
that's you know, that's totally different ballgame, right, Like you
mentioned afford to do it. I want to circle back this.
So if your parents make less than what's seventy five grand? Yeah,
you you qualify, you qualify for complete financial ay yea
somewhere right around that. Each year it changes. Each year

(42:29):
they're making it more affordable. Each school is a little
bit different. But they do a really good job. You know.
Princeton and the IVY League is non merit based, meaning
they want anyone that's capable to be at Princeton to
be able to come to Princeton. Right, Um, so they
make it affordable. There's each different brackets they change each year.
They actually take specific circumstances in we really don't We

(42:52):
don't have any saying that like we submit, we don't
even submit. The family submits their financial profile. They go
through all these different paperwork, Princeton specific paperwork, and they
get to read financial aid, read about how much aid
that they're given. Um. But it's become more affordable each
year for each family. M that's amazing, that's really interesting.

(43:13):
Right Like that Again, I don't think I think that
the ivys do a really good job, but I agree
with you. I'm not sure people understood how much better
the talent is, or how much more affordable it is
than's than it's ever been even. I mean, it makes
sense because the product to anybody who's watching has been
far better than the last decade that it was pretty said.
That's not that those teams weren't good, but there wasn't

(43:34):
the depth of talent link for sure. I mean it's
you know, there's some really good players in our league.
You got pro players, NBA players like you have really
talented players that are coming into our league because the
opportunity to do both at a really high level. And
at the end of the day, no matter they play
an NBA they put overseas like Princeton Ivy League. Degree

(43:54):
is going to put you in a lot of circles
that you wouldn't have opportunities to be in, right, And
that's the beauty of And you know it's I'm watching
our guys, whether they play beyond college or not, Like
the success that they're having is is really cool to watch. Well,
it was awesome to coach that I learned a ton
from you personally saying obviously, just like the guys, I

(44:16):
feel like fans for life. I want to do this
again after Spain. I want to hear about what what
coaching in Spain is like. Definitely, the Lord I'm feeling
already know, right, you show my video will be falling
on the floor. You don't act like this. Yeah, it's funny.
Was that was like the last time I yelled at

(44:37):
the refs like like it's just not even worth it. Yeah,
you had to settle me down a couple of times.
So yes, yes, half time that champions your game? Would
you go tell them it's I'm like, what am I
going to tell them? Tell them you're bad the whole time?
They've been bad for seven half of them, you know,
after you started, uh, you know, being nice to the refs,

(44:59):
you know, for whatever reason, I probably do. We switched.
We did a good bap like now I'll be good copy. Yeah,
you know it was it was my duty to the
staff to you know, starting to get on him a
little bit. And they told me to sit down quite
a few times. So that was funny. And be like
we'll tell him to sit down, he's not sitting down.
Sit down, sit down. I will sit down. Sometimes it's

(45:22):
a little bit of a you know, sometimes you just
gotta play the game a little bit, you know, just
let them know you're here. You know. Well, if you
ever crossed, we just know I had pictures. Yeah, great trip,
great trip in a lot of ways. I was lucky
to do it. Learned a lot from you how to
blast and like you said, definitely lifelong friends and family. Well,

(45:43):
so you got eleven days getting it for spaying at
that passport getting the stamp in it. Okay, sounds good?
Many thanks? All right, take care. Reminded, The Doug Otlip
Show is daily three or six eastern twelve three Pacific
on or I Heart Radio app on Fox Sports Radio,
Fox Sports Radio dot Com. Of course, you can download

(46:04):
that in podcast form as well. Are we get more
to the Kevin Durant stuff. I also want to continue
discussion about FIBA basketball. I'm gonna bring on some of
the guys that I coached over there as well. I
hope do you like listening to Sky is a great dude,
obviously an amazing story and makes you want to watch
Princeton basketball even more. Don't thanks so much for listening.
I'm Doug got like this is all ball
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