Penn, Princeton and Pete

DP: What about this Penn team makes it so good? CARRIL: Well, for one, they're good players. That's always nice. Then they're awfully good shooters and they play together well. They play very hard. It's rare that they don't give a good account of themselves, no matter who they're playing. And then, of course, they're an experienced team. It's not surprising that they're doing as well as they are. DP: How does this Penn team compare with your glory teams of the late 1980s and early '90s? CARRIL: They might be a little bit better. It's hard to say. Certainly their guard play is very good. The last time we had a guard as good as Jerome Allen was Armond Hill back in 1976. Jerome's just a born leader -- there's something about that guy. I said that the first time I saw him and it's still showing up. The guy was just meant to lead. DP: How do you and Coach Dunphy compare with respect to coaching style? CARRIL: We're pretty friendly. We're adversaries. There are a lot of things we see eye-to-eye on. When my teams play hard, they play as hard as Penn does. Some games down there a few years ago were played as hard as any games ever played. I respect what Fran does. DP: You're seven wins shy of the 500 career victory mark. What does that milestone mean to you? CARRIL: I've been around a long time. I wouldn't have been around this long with 500 losses. DP: How special is it to be in your 26th season as Princeton's head coach? CARRIL: When you're winning it's pretty good. When you lose, it's just like any other place. I never look back. You have to live for each day. As a matter of fact, if somebody didn't tell me about this, I wouldn't know how many wins I had. DP: How has the game of basketball changed during your tenure? CARRIL: The pace has gotten a little faster, the guys are a little taller and the weight programs have become a factor. Everybody's stronger. They're all strong looking, but I don't know that they're playing as smart. I know the pros have been complaining, Barkley in particular, about guys that don't have a game. The limitations that each player has are significant. So, they start to coach by the numbers, so you don't have the free-flowing players, the dexterity of guys like Elgin Baylor that can do that kind of stuff. There are very few complete players. There are a lot of 6-7 players that can go down on the block and that's the extent of their abilities. I'm not saying Barkley's right. I just happen to agree with him. DP: What about your career has been most rewarding for you? CARRIL: The players. Getting close to your players, and hoping you have the kind of guys that you can get along with and deal with and are smart. You hope you have guys that you like and guys that play hard and are competitive and fight hard and work hard. That makes every day good. When you're in a place for a long time, it can't always be that way. You're going to get some guys that just aren't the kind of guys you want. DP: Do you have the same passion for the game that you did at the outset of your career? CARRIL: I think so. I hope so. If I didn't, I'd probably retire. DP: How much longer do you see yourself coaching? CARRIL: About four or five more years. As long as I have my energy and don't cheat the guys when they get out on the floor. I want to go out exactly as I came in -- working hard.