Hielscher overcomes tendinitis, expectations to shine for Tigers

PRINCETON, N.J. -- It is still the most celebrated Ivy League near-win, but the heir to Princeton's center position didn't watch the game. The Tigers' aura, which reached legend status with a near-upset of top-ranked Georgetown in the NCAA tournament March 17, 1989, was somewhat foreign to Rick Hielscher. Apparently the lofty shadow of diminutive Princeton coach Pete Carril hadn't reached Hielscher's hometown of Wilmette, Ill. Now a senior, Hielscher will make his final appearance at the Palestra Saturday looking to regain the title Princeton won for the fourth straight time his freshman year but has not won since. He needs just 17 points for 1,000 in his injury-plagued Tigers career. Hielscher followed a legend at Princeton -- center Kit Mueller. He doesn't feel the pressure anymore, but as a freshman he knew it existed. It was a team that returned the rest of the starting unit, including eventual player of the year Sean Jackson. "The comparisons annoyed me because it's childish to always want someone to come back who was so great," Hielscher said. "And I just wish that people could have forgotten him a little bit." But things were going well. Princeton won its fourth straight title. And Hielscher averaged 10.3 ppg to edge out Penn's Jerome Allen for rookie of the year. Then the knee problems began. There was no one incident. No limp as he walked around campus. No crutches. No tangible sign for Princeton basketball fans to understand why the consistent production stopped his sophomore year. Just tendinitis in the knee. The only thing that heals it is rest. But Hielscher really didn't know what was wrong, nor did he know how to treat it. Playing on it was the worst thing he could do, yet he did. It just got worse. "I think it did generate frustration," Hielscher said. "It was frustrating for me." His production dropped, and so did public opinion. Playing after a legend isn't easy. Playing after a legend and playing injured is unfair. Carril, who has seen people turn on him when he doesn't win consistently, can identify. "I used to be a great coach too. And now that we're losing, I'm no longer a great coach," he said. "It happens. You're only as good as your last shot. You're only as good as your last victory. And when you shoot pool, you're only good until you make the eight-ball, unless you scratch." There is a bright ending though. Hielscher may never regain the Ivy title -- a loss to Dartmouth this season figures to take care of that hope -- but he has rebounded personally. He was named to the first-team all-Ivy squad last season, and leads the Tigers this season with 11.3 ppg despite only averaging 21.7 minutes. On a squad which relies heavily on three freshmen and a sophomore sensation named Sydney Johnson, Hielscher has been an important factor. "His maturation has been right on target," said Frank Sullivan, whose Harvard squad took the Tigers to double overtime Jan. 7 before falling. "I think the knees have held him back, so you do feel for that. But he's certainly one of the premier guys in the league." Still, to win an Ivy League title freshman year, to get to the NCAA tournament, and then never return is frustrating. Hielscher knew he would have a good team his freshman year and a chance to win the league. But after that it depended on recruiting. Who Princeton recruits. Who the other Ivies recruit. "I don't want to worry so much about winning the league," Hielscher said. "I mean, that's the goal of our whole year to win the Ivy League. But I think it's just as important to play well. It's a great Penn team, and no matter what happens in the game we have to concentrate on playing well the whole rest of the year. "To win the Ivy League. That's really the only goal we have. And then if we don't win the Ivy League, then just to play our best every game that we play." The pressure of replacing Kit Mueller -- the pressure he felt his freshman year -- is long gone now. The hope the title would come down to Penn and Princeton still exists, despite the loss to the Big Green. "It's a huge game for us since we lost at Dartmouth," Hielscher said. "It would have been a big game anyway."

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