May 10, 2023
The Legacy of Pete Carril
Mitch Henderson
Head Coach, Princeton Men’s Varsity Basketball
Mitch Henderson and Stephen Schreiber, Introducer
Minutes of the 31th Meeting of the 81st Year
President John Cotton presided at the meeting held at Springdale Country Club. Kathryn Trenner read the minutes of the prior week’s meeting. Nine guests joined the meeting: John Cotton invited David Dominguez, Lynne Durkee invited Betty Sapoch, BF Graham invited Mark Brahney, Dick Scribner invited Bill Hardt, Bob Varrin invited Bill Welland, David Scott invited John Guthrie, Bruce Schragger invited Paul Levy, Lee Gladden invited David Lewis, and Ann Damsgaard invited Bob Baldwin. Total attendance was 108.
Teri Lemischka led the election of seven new members: Dulcie Bull, Stanley Corngold, Paul Fitzgerald, Archer Saint Clare Harvey, George Harvey, Robert Holly, and Stephen Silverman.
Stephen Schreiber introduced the speaker, Mitch Henderson, Head Coach of Princeton Men’s Varsity Basketball since 2010. The title of Coach Henderson’s talk was “The Legacy of Pete Carril.” Coach Carril was head coach at Princeton for 30 years, from 1967-1996. He died in August 2022 at the age of 92. The 1996 team, Pete’s final season at Princeton, defeated arch-rival Penn in an Ivy League playoff game; the Tigers went on to defeat UCLA, 43-41, in the NCAA opening round. Mitch Henderson was an important starter on that team.
During Carill’s long career, two important innovations changed college basketball. In 1985, the NCAA instituted a 45-second shot clock (now shortened to 30 seconds). In 1986, the NCAA adopted the three-point arc, establishing a higher value for longer shots. Carril was way ahead of his time responding to these rule changes. Princeton often shot half their shots from behind the arc, while many other teams only shot 20-30%. Carril’s Princeton teams were known for their ball movement, screening, passing, and signature backdoor cutting, often used to frustrate opponents.
Princeton basketball became one of the biggest stories in college basketball this March as they won the Ivy League tournament (played in Jadwin for the first time this year) and then won two games in the NCAA tourney, including a first-round win over number two seed Arizona.
Bill Carmody coached Mitch his last two years as a player at Princeton and hired Mitch as his assistant when he moved to coach at Northwestern and the Big Ten in 2000. Mitch returned to Princeton to become Head Coach in 2010. Carmody says, “Mitch sees the way the game is evolving; he sees it, he gets it, he pushes the ball, he’s put his stamp on it, it’s his offense, and it’s his team.”
Mitch shared his perspective with the Old Guard on what he learned from Coach Carril and what he has learned from many other coaches who have helped him to develop and improve his approach for the Princeton men’s team. Coach Henderson helped us to understand the needs of college players and the constant communication required to build a successful team culture. Mitch emphasized that infusing the core values into every aspect of the team experience is key to the success of his program. These values are clearly understood by everyone associated with the team: Focus, Humility, Joy, and Light-heartedness.
The coaches talk constantly about how to communicate successfully to guys in this age group. It takes hundreds of conversations and meetings to get through to them, and it takes humility (from the coaches and the student athletes) to be successful. For example, in the recruiting process, they look at how the player treats his mom and how he behaves on his visit. Joy is important. The team went through a low point in February after some tough losses, so it is important to have joy baked into the fabric of the program and culture. Light-heartedness helps to get away from the fear of failure.
Coach Henderson said they never compromise on character. They look for high quality individuals, selfless people, and they need guys who buy into the team’s program-first approach. Mitch said, “If I had a jerk in the program, no matter what I did, all it takes is one bad attitude and it brings you down. It is always selfishness that ruins the culture and team success. I’ve had more talented teams, but no better teams than this year’s group.”
The coaching staff works hard to help the team to get better every day. They focus on player development, attention to detail, and try to stay two steps ahead at all times. It helps when your best player, Tosan Evbuomwan, is the humblest guy. They try to help each player become the best version of themselves.
Mitch also talked about strategy on the court. Defensive philosophy is important to success. Mitch adopted some ideas about defense and rebounding from other teams. The Princeton coaches then developed their own approach to motivating, monitoring, and recognizing the players when they make the right plays. When the team looks at game videos, they learn to be inclusive and together. They own their mistakes and help others see how they can improve on defense by denying their opponents any easy scoring opportunities.
Mitch said that Coach Carril was often brutal with his assessments. He told Mitch when he was being recruited, “You can’t dribble, you don’t shoot well, but we’d like to have you.” Mitch said that he was hooked! But that doesn’t work now. So, Mitch waits until much later in the conversation to discuss a player’s needs and weaknesses, and then he sees how they react.
When Mitch played for Carril, they had four-hour practices! Coach [Carrol] would tell an assistant, “Call the Annex [a restaurant on Nassau Street],” and the team knew there was an hour and a half left in practice. At 8:30, they would all go to the Annex for mozzarella sticks. Mitch said you can’t coach like that anymore.
You can’t practice too much or berate the kids. Now they practice one and one-half hours per day. The third day before each game, they don’t practice (they learned this from studying load management and how to avoid tissue damage).
One chart they use measures points per possession (for Princeton and each opponent). Mitch adopted this from Bo Ryan, the great coach at Wisconsin. Their goal is to average 1.0 point per possession on offense and 0.9 points on defense (there are 70-85 possessions per game depending on the pace of game). Looking at the bar graphs of points per possession, Coach Henderson explained what happened in the team’s big win over Arizona in March Madness. “We scored only 59 points (making only 4 of 25 shots from 3), but we advanced because we held them to only 55 points, although Arizona averaged 86 points per game this year! Normally, historically, we Princeton would have lost this game.”
As a player, Mitch was on the 1996 team that beat UCLA in the first round of the NCAAs and then lost badly to Michigan State in the second round because Michigan State University was bigger, tougher, and stronger. As a coach, Mitch wondered how can we win a game like the Arizona game, a bad shooting night on the road, playing poorly on offense? Physicality is the answer. The team needs to play tough physically, particularly rebounding and on defense, making their opponents uncomfortable and taking away what they want to do, without fouling.
Princeton coaches lead 145 practices per year. They prepare a detailed practice plan daily, proceeding at breakneck speed. How do they talk to the team? They ask: What do you see? Is that as fast as you can move? You came here to be special—what can you do to be better? What are you thinking when you’re playing your best? The most common answer is “I’m not thinking.”
Mitch also tries to help his players reduce the stress from all aspects of their lives as a student on campus. For example, where do you think African American guys get a haircut? Trenton. Barber shops are different there, so it becomes a big deal. Students have to get an Uber; it takes several hours. Now the entire team wants to go there. Looking for ways to provide the resources to make life better for his team is a passion project for Mitch. They need more resources so his athletes can be their best selves right here in Princeton.
Mitch highlighted Coach Carril’s achievements and the impact he had on the teams after he retired: all time most wins in Ivy history (514-261); 13-time Ivy champions. It was a tough act to follow, but Pete supported Mitch and attended every practice. If he saw Mitch being too tough on himself or a player, Coach would remind him, “Be yourself.” He would say, “Don’t be me!”
After the presentation, there was a lively Q&A.
One question concerned how they use technology to monitor the health of players and improve performance. An alumnus donated WHOOP bracelets to monitor how much sleep the guys are getting. They believe this directly relates to performance. Scooters and bikes also help to reduce fatigue from walking long distances to and from classes and meals.
Why change from the Carril style of holding the ball until the final few seconds of the shot clock? Answer: Recruiting! (Other coaches used to say you don’t want to go to Princeton—they will hold the ball for 30 seconds). To attract the best athletes, Mitch now plays a style that is a blend.
Do you provide help with academics? The coaches help each player to map their classes and schedule by season and semester. We work on their daily habits. Mitch and the coaches go to lunch with the players—talking about non-basketball things. It takes a lot of time together to figure out the best approach. Everyone struggles. Coaches always ask the players, “How are you doing? Maybe the fifth time we ask we get the real answer.”
After hearing from Coach Henderson, the Old Guard developed a greater understanding of how multi-faceted and demanding it is to build an unselfish team-first culture. It is exciting to see how the coaches work to build the character of the players in their four years at Princeton along with their success on the court. Go Tigers!
Respectfully submitted,
Lee Gladden
Teri Lemischka led the election of seven new members: Dulcie Bull, Stanley Corngold, Paul Fitzgerald, Archer Saint Clare Harvey, George Harvey, Robert Holly, and Stephen Silverman.
Stephen Schreiber introduced the speaker, Mitch Henderson, Head Coach of Princeton Men’s Varsity Basketball since 2010. The title of Coach Henderson’s talk was “The Legacy of Pete Carril.” Coach Carril was head coach at Princeton for 30 years, from 1967-1996. He died in August 2022 at the age of 92. The 1996 team, Pete’s final season at Princeton, defeated arch-rival Penn in an Ivy League playoff game; the Tigers went on to defeat UCLA, 43-41, in the NCAA opening round. Mitch Henderson was an important starter on that team.
During Carill’s long career, two important innovations changed college basketball. In 1985, the NCAA instituted a 45-second shot clock (now shortened to 30 seconds). In 1986, the NCAA adopted the three-point arc, establishing a higher value for longer shots. Carril was way ahead of his time responding to these rule changes. Princeton often shot half their shots from behind the arc, while many other teams only shot 20-30%. Carril’s Princeton teams were known for their ball movement, screening, passing, and signature backdoor cutting, often used to frustrate opponents.
Princeton basketball became one of the biggest stories in college basketball this March as they won the Ivy League tournament (played in Jadwin for the first time this year) and then won two games in the NCAA tourney, including a first-round win over number two seed Arizona.
Bill Carmody coached Mitch his last two years as a player at Princeton and hired Mitch as his assistant when he moved to coach at Northwestern and the Big Ten in 2000. Mitch returned to Princeton to become Head Coach in 2010. Carmody says, “Mitch sees the way the game is evolving; he sees it, he gets it, he pushes the ball, he’s put his stamp on it, it’s his offense, and it’s his team.”
Mitch shared his perspective with the Old Guard on what he learned from Coach Carril and what he has learned from many other coaches who have helped him to develop and improve his approach for the Princeton men’s team. Coach Henderson helped us to understand the needs of college players and the constant communication required to build a successful team culture. Mitch emphasized that infusing the core values into every aspect of the team experience is key to the success of his program. These values are clearly understood by everyone associated with the team: Focus, Humility, Joy, and Light-heartedness.
The coaches talk constantly about how to communicate successfully to guys in this age group. It takes hundreds of conversations and meetings to get through to them, and it takes humility (from the coaches and the student athletes) to be successful. For example, in the recruiting process, they look at how the player treats his mom and how he behaves on his visit. Joy is important. The team went through a low point in February after some tough losses, so it is important to have joy baked into the fabric of the program and culture. Light-heartedness helps to get away from the fear of failure.
Coach Henderson said they never compromise on character. They look for high quality individuals, selfless people, and they need guys who buy into the team’s program-first approach. Mitch said, “If I had a jerk in the program, no matter what I did, all it takes is one bad attitude and it brings you down. It is always selfishness that ruins the culture and team success. I’ve had more talented teams, but no better teams than this year’s group.”
The coaching staff works hard to help the team to get better every day. They focus on player development, attention to detail, and try to stay two steps ahead at all times. It helps when your best player, Tosan Evbuomwan, is the humblest guy. They try to help each player become the best version of themselves.
Mitch also talked about strategy on the court. Defensive philosophy is important to success. Mitch adopted some ideas about defense and rebounding from other teams. The Princeton coaches then developed their own approach to motivating, monitoring, and recognizing the players when they make the right plays. When the team looks at game videos, they learn to be inclusive and together. They own their mistakes and help others see how they can improve on defense by denying their opponents any easy scoring opportunities.
Mitch said that Coach Carril was often brutal with his assessments. He told Mitch when he was being recruited, “You can’t dribble, you don’t shoot well, but we’d like to have you.” Mitch said that he was hooked! But that doesn’t work now. So, Mitch waits until much later in the conversation to discuss a player’s needs and weaknesses, and then he sees how they react.
When Mitch played for Carril, they had four-hour practices! Coach [Carrol] would tell an assistant, “Call the Annex [a restaurant on Nassau Street],” and the team knew there was an hour and a half left in practice. At 8:30, they would all go to the Annex for mozzarella sticks. Mitch said you can’t coach like that anymore.
You can’t practice too much or berate the kids. Now they practice one and one-half hours per day. The third day before each game, they don’t practice (they learned this from studying load management and how to avoid tissue damage).
One chart they use measures points per possession (for Princeton and each opponent). Mitch adopted this from Bo Ryan, the great coach at Wisconsin. Their goal is to average 1.0 point per possession on offense and 0.9 points on defense (there are 70-85 possessions per game depending on the pace of game). Looking at the bar graphs of points per possession, Coach Henderson explained what happened in the team’s big win over Arizona in March Madness. “We scored only 59 points (making only 4 of 25 shots from 3), but we advanced because we held them to only 55 points, although Arizona averaged 86 points per game this year! Normally, historically, we Princeton would have lost this game.”
As a player, Mitch was on the 1996 team that beat UCLA in the first round of the NCAAs and then lost badly to Michigan State in the second round because Michigan State University was bigger, tougher, and stronger. As a coach, Mitch wondered how can we win a game like the Arizona game, a bad shooting night on the road, playing poorly on offense? Physicality is the answer. The team needs to play tough physically, particularly rebounding and on defense, making their opponents uncomfortable and taking away what they want to do, without fouling.
Princeton coaches lead 145 practices per year. They prepare a detailed practice plan daily, proceeding at breakneck speed. How do they talk to the team? They ask: What do you see? Is that as fast as you can move? You came here to be special—what can you do to be better? What are you thinking when you’re playing your best? The most common answer is “I’m not thinking.”
Mitch also tries to help his players reduce the stress from all aspects of their lives as a student on campus. For example, where do you think African American guys get a haircut? Trenton. Barber shops are different there, so it becomes a big deal. Students have to get an Uber; it takes several hours. Now the entire team wants to go there. Looking for ways to provide the resources to make life better for his team is a passion project for Mitch. They need more resources so his athletes can be their best selves right here in Princeton.
Mitch highlighted Coach Carril’s achievements and the impact he had on the teams after he retired: all time most wins in Ivy history (514-261); 13-time Ivy champions. It was a tough act to follow, but Pete supported Mitch and attended every practice. If he saw Mitch being too tough on himself or a player, Coach would remind him, “Be yourself.” He would say, “Don’t be me!”
After the presentation, there was a lively Q&A.
One question concerned how they use technology to monitor the health of players and improve performance. An alumnus donated WHOOP bracelets to monitor how much sleep the guys are getting. They believe this directly relates to performance. Scooters and bikes also help to reduce fatigue from walking long distances to and from classes and meals.
Why change from the Carril style of holding the ball until the final few seconds of the shot clock? Answer: Recruiting! (Other coaches used to say you don’t want to go to Princeton—they will hold the ball for 30 seconds). To attract the best athletes, Mitch now plays a style that is a blend.
Do you provide help with academics? The coaches help each player to map their classes and schedule by season and semester. We work on their daily habits. Mitch and the coaches go to lunch with the players—talking about non-basketball things. It takes a lot of time together to figure out the best approach. Everyone struggles. Coaches always ask the players, “How are you doing? Maybe the fifth time we ask we get the real answer.”
After hearing from Coach Henderson, the Old Guard developed a greater understanding of how multi-faceted and demanding it is to build an unselfish team-first culture. It is exciting to see how the coaches work to build the character of the players in their four years at Princeton along with their success on the court. Go Tigers!
Respectfully submitted,
Lee Gladden