During his storied tenure at ‘Old Nassau’, Pete Carril’s Princeton teams were known as ‘giant killers’. David with a mean backdoor cut and jump shot to boot. In winning the 1975 NIT Princeton not only slayed a few heavyweights, they culminated and put an exclamation point on a most unlikely of seasons.
Princeton was a lightly regarded team entering the ‘75 campaign. Carril had concerns early in the season with a rather young team finding a way to put points on the board. Defense proved the staple as Princeton went on a late season nine-game win streak to end the regular season at 18-8. The Tigers finished as runner up to Penn in the Ivy race.
The Quakers went to the NCAA Tournament and exited after round one, while the NIT was Princeton’s destination. The Tigers’ only other NIT trip was three years earlier, when they were eliminated in the quarterfinal by Niagara. Gary Walters was on the great 1965 Final Four Princeton team led by Bill Bradley. Now a Carril assistant, Walters, like his boss, was simply hoping the Tigers could make a competitive showing in the NIT and not get blown out. Carril shared Walters’ fears. The pair decided to do what they had been doing the latter part of the season- play smart, defend and work hard.
NIT week also presented a few logistics issues for Princeton. Mickey Steuerer, a key player, planned a spring break trip with friends to Florida. Cancel the trip to the Sunshine State. Mark Hartley was getting over an injury and was concerned how the games would affect his trying to catch up on course work by completing several term papers. Tim Van Blommesteyn, another vital and versatile performer, was busy utilizing an atomic absorption spectrophotometer in the geology lab to analyze Princeton water samples.
In the ‘94 by ‘50 classroom the first test was Holy Cross. The Crusaders under George Blaney were 20 game winners posing a threat with their full court pressure. To counteract the pressure Steuerer would inbound. Armond Hill would step out of bounds to receive Steuerer’s pass. Hill would then look for an open teammate breaking down the floor. Van Blommesteyn would look to get behind the defense. It worked like a charm. In clinic-like fashion Princeton won big, 84-63. Steuerer, Hill, Barnes Hauptfuhrer and Van Blommesteyn came up big. Other key contributions came from Hartley and senior Brien O’Neill. Injuries and papers aside Hartley tripled his scoring average, hitting for 16 points in relief. O’Neill battled back from a broken cheekbone in the season opener. A steady contributor O’Neill added a dozen points.
Next was South Carolina, a team that rolled over Princeton in December. In Walters’ estimation the Gamecocks “had no visible weakness.” Princeton got out to a fast start, building an early 11-point lead. South Carolina coach Frank McGuire switched from a zone to man-to-man. That move played into the hands of Carril, who felt his team did not have consistent outside shooting to solve a zone. Against the man, Hill’s penetration plus backdoor cuts by the wings could not be stopped. On defense Hauptfuhrer stayed with Alex English, who would go on to a Hall of Fame NBA career. Van Blommesteyn forced highly recruited Jackie Giloon into an off shooting night. South Carolina struggled on offense and was dazed and confused on defense. The final, 80-67 in Princeton’s favor, sent the Tigers into the semifinals against another heavyweight.
Oregon presented an imposing task. In round one Princeton defeated a ‘Cinderella’ Holy Cross. The win over South Carolina was a conquest of a heavyweight, a victory that gave Carril’s group a boost of confidence, something they would need facing Oregon of the Pac Eight. A physically imposing team and one of the most talented in the field, Oregon presented several challenges. In addition, Oregon coach Dick Harter’s previous stop was Penn, so he knew all about Carril’s schemes, including the signature back door. Oregon’s key player was Ron Lee – a fleet and physical 6’4” specimen. Carril felt Hill might get into foul trouble guarding Lee, so he put Steuerer, a defensive specialist, on the Duck standout.
From the outset Princeton was not in sync. Only the play of sophomore center Ilan Ramati kept the Tigers in the hunt. In a game where points were at a premium, Oregon capitalized on a few Princeton errors to stake a four-point lead early in the final half. Defense, a trademark during the latter part of the season, was the difference for Princeton.
Oregon was held to one field goal the final seven minutes. A one-possession game saw Princeton milking the minutes in this pre-shot clock contest. Two Hill free throws gave the Tigers a 58-57 lead. Ramati had an opportunity to ice it with 13 seconds left but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Oregon had one last chance. The ball was in the hands of Lee, their marquee player. When it counted most the Tigers came up big as Lee was forced by defensive specialist Pete Molloy into an off-balance shot at the buzzer that Hill slightly blocked. Princeton prevailed in a game that saw the Tigers actually hold a 30-24 rebounding edge, largely due to Ramati, who Carril once thought, “couldn’t rebound his way out of a test tube.”
The final matched the Tigers against Providence, who defeated St. John’s in the other semifinal. Of the four teams Princeton faced in the tournament, Providence, interestingly, was the one Carril felt his club could exploit. Bruce ‘Soup’ Campbell, excellent up front, struggled to go to his right. Joe Hasset, a deadly outside shooter, had difficulty going left. Coach Dave Gavitt’s Friars liked to run, so Carril simply preached getting back quickly on defense to slow any transition.
Princeton got out to an early 11-point lead. The Tigers were hitting on all cylinders and threatened to make the final a rout. Providence regrouped. The Friars ignited the break and Princeton played into their hands by abandoning their normal slower tempo by attempting to keep pace on offense. The result saw Providence make a run to cut the deficit to one at the half.
At the half Carril reiterated the game plan of getting back quickly on defense but NOT speeding things up on offense. Steuerer ignited an early second half run that pushed the lead to seven. With ten minutes left and Princeton up three, Carril, utilizing Molloy as a setup man, went into a four-guard offense. The objective was to spread the floor for scoring opportunities while eating valuable time off the clock. Van Blommesteyn led another run, increasing the lead to nine. From then Princeton was in the driver’s seat. The final score read 86-67 in favor of Princeton.
Princeton, with no scholarships nor freshman eligibility and rigorous admission standards, pulled off the virtually impossible. The Tigers were National Invitation Tournament champions. An ecstatic Carril beamed in front of the television cameras, “I’ve got a bunch of terrific kids. They’ve got brains and courage. How can you ever beat that?”
The tournament MVP honors went to Lee of Oregon, who led his club to a consolation victory over St. John’s. No argument with the choice. Princeton was a unit providing not one but a number of MVPs given the situation. Steuerer, Van Blommesteyn, Hill, Ramati, Hartley, O’ Neill, Hauptfuhrer, Molloy et al, all rose to the occasion proving valuable in their own right. Each answered when called on at different junctures. From the New York Times to Andy’s Tavern, Carril’s local haunt on Alexander Road in Princeton, the Tigers were the toast of more than just their Central New Jersey town.
* The writer, during pre-journalist time, paid the way to MSG for the semifinal action. The rooting (no impartiality needed) interest naturally was Princeton. To this day the memory of those heart-stopping latter minutes in that Oregon game, capped off by jubilation at the buzzer, remains ever vivid. One of the most exciting games in over five decades of following and covering the NIT. A sincere thank you to the Princeton Alumni Weekly for providing background on this article.
