At this time last year, the storied tradition of Princeton basketball appeared to have gone down the drain.
Going into the Ivy League season, the Tigers were in a six-game tailspin that started with a 21-point performance against Monmouth and was exacerbated by an embarrassing home loss to Division III Carnegie Mellon.
Even the famous backdoor cuts and milk-the-shot-clock approach of the Princeton offense couldn't save the Tigers' season.
At least, that's what the Ancient Eight basketball community thought.
Princeton rose from the ashes to go 10-4 in the Ivy League, even defeating Penn in the season finale.
But this year, the Tigers won't be taking anyone by surprise.
Princeton doesn't have an epic slump to rebound from - it sports the second-best record in the Ivies at 9-4 and recently downed Rice after hanging tough with South Carolina - and the Tigers graduated just one starter.
Princeton lost guard Scott Greenman, who was good for 10.8 points per game in his senior season, but they seem to have found a successor who will be orchestrating those backdoor cuts for the next three years.
Freshman Marcus Schroeder appears to have already gained the trust of Princeton coach Joe Scott; the guard is logging 38.5 minutes per game and has started every contest for the Tigers.
Schroeder isn't flashy in the way of putting up points, but he leads the team in assists (3.2 per game) and steals (2.0).
The Concord, Calif. native will be accompanied at tip-off by a diminutive frontcourt trio whose average height is under 6-foot-6.
Sharpshooter Kyle Koncz leads the team with 11.1 points per game, almost solely on the power of his 2.7 threes per game. The junior will frequently be accompanied on the perimeter by senior forward Luke Owings, whose 8.5 points and 1.8 treys per game are both good for second on the team.
With a couple of gunners at two of the forward spots, Princeton's true big man comes in the form of a guy who is, well, not so big.
Six-foot-four senior center and former JV player Justin Conway logged his first serious minutes for the Tigers last season, and is now Princeton's leading rebounder.
Conspicuously absent from this lineup is Noah Savage, who led the Tigers in scoring for most of last season but has found himself relegated to the role of eighth man this season, logging just over 12 minutes per game.
But whatever Joe Scott is doing, it seems to be working thus far.
And if last season is any indicator, the Tigers may yet have their best basketball ahead of them.
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