It has been five years since Bill Carmody and the Princeton offense arrived at Northwestern.

When he was named the men’s basketball coach on Sept. 6, 2000, Carmody inherited a team that finished 5-25 the season before and had never been to the NCAA Tournament in the program’s 95 years.

“When we came here, we said, ‘We’ll do this and we’ll see. We want to be competitive in this conference,'” Carmody said.

The Princeton offense was supposed to be the answer to the Wildcats’ losing ways.

And in five years with the Cats, Carmody and the offense seem to be making progress. NU has finished with double digits in the win column in each of the last five seasons. The last time the Cats accomplished that feat was during the 1930s.

“It’s an offense that’s suited for the guys we have and for this place,” Carmody said. “We’re going to continue to use it to varying degrees depending on the players. When you get different players, you do different things.”

That’s not to say the Princeton offense doesn’t have its critics. The slow, methodical style leads to low-scoring games characterized by passing and shooting instead of fast breaks and dunks. Teams that run the Princeton offense sometimes are not the easiest to watch.

The Princeton offense is one of basketball’s most complex offensive systems, but one that has become a staple with many college and some NBA teams because of its ability to keep games close.

Carmody said he hasn’t considered dropping the system at NU but will simply allow it to evolve based on the players in the program.

“We’ve changed some of the things we’ve done based on personnel,” Carmody said. “But the framework is still the same. Like any coach, you look at your players and try to figure out what they can do and do well.

“What else are you gonna do? Roll out the ball and set a ball screen on the guy and do that all day? I’ll fall asleep.”

The Princeton offense gives rival coaches fits trying to prepare for its intricate schemes, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.

“I think the Princeton offense will do just fine in (the Big Ten),” Izzo said. “The Big Ten isn’t like what it used to be. It’s now a touch-and-foul league, so I don’t think it’s anywhere near what it was five to seven years ago when it used to be so physical.”

The overall adaptability of the offense is another selling point. Carmody runs the purest version of the offense, but college teams across the country use parts of the system to suit their individual needs.

North Carolina State coach Herb Sendek utilizes a more transition-oriented, wide-open variety of the offense that is very different from the original developed by longtime Princeton coach Pete Carril, now an assistant for the Sacramento Kings.

“I think (the Princeton offense) is as effective as other offenses,” Carmody said. “I think any offense is as good as its players. This offense is designed to have five people touching the ball, passing and cutting. It’s sort of a little equal-opportunity offense as opposed to some others.”

X’s and O’s

While the Princeton offense is complicated in nature, it’s origins are simple. The basic setup is to have two guards, two forwards and a center on the floor.

From there, each offensive set becomes one continuous stream of motion with dribbling and passing, screening and posting up, along with hard cuts to the basket and plenty of traffic directing.

After 20 or 30 seconds of this basketball tango, one player takes a shot once he finds an open look.

“If you can shoot and pass the ball to the right guy at the right time, this offense is unstoppable,” forward Davor Duvancic said. “I don’t see any other offense that has impressed me as much as this Princeton offense.”

A versatile center is critical to executing the offense effectively.

A center that can come off the block and play on the perimeter is very valuable in this offense. Shooting range and the ability to make quality passes also are assets centers must possess.

“Everything revolves around the center,” Duvancic said. “The center is the main point in the offense. Pretty much everything goes through the center.”

For some players, learning this offense can take quite a bit of time.

While everyone has a different learning curve to pick up the offense’s basic setup, it can take months for an individual to take advantage of the full capabilities of this system.

“You don’t see a lot of young guys playing,” swingman Tim Doyle said. “A lot of freshman don’t come in and play (at NU).

“But once you’re able to figure it out, you can take advantage of little nuances that come with the offense.”

A perfect example of this is Duvancic. Coming to NU from Split, Croatia, knowing very little English, it took time for him to master the offense.

But as the team’s lone senior on scholarship, Duvancic has became a regular in the Cats’ starting lineup, leads the team in assists and is a resource for younger players to go to for help.

“I know a lot of guys had doubts about this offense,” Duvancic said. “Other teams have four or five plays, but this one is just a continuation. Each play doesn’t end. It was a struggle in the beginning for me.”

If The Offense Fits

As a senior at Lisle High School in Lisle, Ill., T.J. Parker ran a specific kind of offensive set.

“I didn’t have an offense in high school,” Parker said. “It was just, ‘Give the ball to me, and everybody clear out.'”

But upon arriving at NU and learning the Princeton offense, Parker had to become less of an authoritarian dictator and more of a democratic floor general.

He also had to become an expert in passing, dribbling and shooting, three fundamentals undervalued in college basketball today.

“As the point guard, it was hard,” Parker said. “At the point guard spot, you run the most. You have to make sure you’re not tired when you’re running everything.”

But some players are unable to change their mental approach from being a star to becoming a role player. The Princeton offense is not the perfect fit for everyone that is has been for Duvancic.

“If you’re a high school guy that’s the go-to-guy all the time, who averages 28 points and 15 rebounds, and if you like to fly down the court with two passes and then a shot, this should not be the offense you’d want to go to,” Duvancic said.

Center Mike Thompson was a McDonald’s All-America coming out of high school, and he chose the school of choice for many prep stars: Duke.

But Thompson was not given an adequate opportunity to showcase himself, so he transferred to NU.

Primarily a post player with the Blue Devils, Thompson faced the difficult prospect of having to expand his game to accommodate being part of a new system.

Playing in just 13 games this season because of a suspension and a foot injury, Thompson may need more time and experience with running the Princeton offense.

“It’s been a little bit of a struggle for Mike (Thompson) because he’s always been a back-to-the-basket big man,” center Vince Scott said. “I think he’s learning that he can do some things from up top. He’s a pretty good passer, so hopefully he grows into the offense a little bit more.”

Instead of forcing its players to do exactly what Thompson has been faced with at NU, Miami (Ohio) coaches decided to drop the Princeton offense this season.

Using a more interior-oriented, set-play offense, the Redhawks have responded to have one of their best seasons in recent years and are a strong contender to receive an NCAA Tournament bid.

“The (Princeton) offense was good to us,” Miami assistant coach James Whitford said. “It’s just that we didn’t feel like it matched the strengths of this year’s personnel quite that well.”

But back at NU, the Cats have found the answers to a few of their personnel issues.

In Thompson’s absence, Scott has blossomed in his second year in the offense. Forward Vedran Vukusic said a
fter the Cats’ win against Penn State on Feb. 19 that Scott was the perfect center for the Princeton offense.

“I’d say I fit the offense pretty good,” Scott said. “My freshman year I kind of picked it up pretty quickly. I wasn’t really confident with myself, so I really didn’t do everything right.”

The Princeton offense allows Scott the opportunity to be a multi-dimensional player and not play as much in the post.

Scott is second on the team with a 43 percent shooting mark from 3-point range and averages about one trey per game, usually from his patented location at the top of the arc.

The other player the Cats consistently point to as the perfect player for the Princeton offense is Vukusic.

The redshirt junior also has flourished in this system, leading NU in scoring with 17 points per game.

“If the offense fits some players better, it means those guys are better players,” Carmody said. “If there’s a guy (the offense) isn’t good for, it’s probably because there’s something in his game he doesn’t do well.”

Reach Zach Silka at [email protected].