A Special Night for Princeton and Coach Levy
On Friday, February 3rd, Mercer men’s basketball team went to a Princeton University game at which their Head Coach Howard Levy was honored before the game. The night celebrated the 25 year anniversary of the 1996, 1997 and 1998 men’s basketball teams, three of the most successful teams in Princeton’s basketball history. Levy was an Assistant Coach at Princeton during this successful run.
Levy joined Bill Carmody’s staff when Carmody took over for the legendary Pete Carrill in 1996. In the 1996-97 season, Princeton went 24-4 and 14-0 in the Ivy League. They ended the regular season with a 19 game winning streak and lost to #5 California 52-55 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. In that regular season Princeton had wins over Marquette, Rice, Rutgers, Texas A & M, and UTEP.
The following season, Princeton rose to #8 in the AP Top 25 poll following a one loss regular season. The only regular season loss came to #1 and eventual NCAA Champion North Carolina. The Tigers entered the NCAA Tournament as a #5 seed and beat #12 UNLV in the opening round 69-57, before falling to #4 Michigan State in the second round, 56-63. The Tigers were 27-2 that season with wins against Texas, NC State and Wake Forest.
Levy coached with Carmody, Joe Scott and John Thompson III. Thompson III coached Georgetown for 13 years, leading the Hoyas to the Final 4 in 2007. Scott is the current Head Coach at Air Force and has previously coached at Princeton and Denver University. Levy described how much he learned from coaching with these three. “I remember being impressed being in the room and talking basketball with these guys. They were so well schooled from Coach Carill. I thought this was high-level stuff and hoped I could contribute something. To have this as my first coaching experience, I thought ‘this coaching stuff is all right.' Almost everything I know about coaching came from those years at Princeton. I worked with terrific coaches all of whom became successful head coaches in their own right. Princeton provided the foundation for everything that I do."
In addition to watching the current Tigers run the famous Princeton offense which Levy has brought to Mercer, the celebration of the 96-98 Princeton teams showed that anything can happen on any night in basketball. In 1996, Princeton pulled off one of the greatest upsets in NCAA Tournament history. The #13 seed Tigers upset #4 UCLA 41-43. To get into the NCAA Tournament that year, Princeton beat Penn 63-56 in overtime in the one game playoff to secure the Ivy League berth.
The Vikings find themselves facing a tough path to get into the Region 19 playoffs and must win one of their next three Region games: Morris on February 9th, Lackawanna on Feb 11th and Raritan Valley on February 14th. The Vikings have won their three Region games since the New Year, including a 2 point buzzer beater win over Morris on January 14 th and wins last week against Del Tech and Essex. Levy hopes the magic of the Princeton teams he coached in the late 90s can inspire the Vikings as they look to make a run into the playoffs and a chance to advance to the NJCAA National Tournament. "The run that we had at Princeton was so special. The team played so beautifully together, something I continually strive for here at Mercer."
In addition to hoping the season can continue into the playoffs, Levy hopes the friendships and relationships made through MCCC basketball continue, like it did for him with his coaches and players at Princeton. "The coaching staff and our families were very close and we remain tight to this day. There was a great bunch of players with whom I have also developed amazing friendships."
Mercer Head Coach Howard Levy with former Princeton University Coaches Bill Carmody and John Thompson III.
Members of Mercer's men's basketball team at Princeton men's basketball game vs Cornell on Feb 3rd.