Pete Carril, the scruffy, cigar-smoking basketball coach who guided Princeton to 11 NCAA Tournament berths, where his teams rocked March Madness with traditional basics and frightened powerful opponents, passed away on Monday. He was 92.
In a statement from Carril’s family, Princeton confirmed that he passed away “peacefully this morning.” The reason of death was not stated.
“Please accept our need for privacy at this time while we grieve our loss and take care of the required preparations.
More details will be released in the coming days, “The declaration read.
The Princeton offence, which is characterised by patience, intelligence, continuous motion, rapid passing, and backdoor cuts that often result in layups, was taught to his teams by Hall of Famer Carril.
It was an offensive strategy that could be used at any basketball level.
Players who are often disregarded or rejected by some of the nation’s basketball heavyweights typically did it at Princeton.
However, Princeton’s strict discipline may be able to make up for the discrepancy in skill when the NCAA Tournament rolls around.
The method performed well throughout Carril’s 29 seasons as the Tigers’ head coach. Without the aid of scholarship players, his teams amassed a 514-261 record and won 13 Ivy League championships.
Princeton topped the country in scoring defence in 14 of his last 21 seasons, including the last eight in a stretch that ended in 1996, thanks to its methodical strategy that saps the high octane from many opponents.
In 1975, he led Princeton to victory in the National Invitation Tournament, and in 1997, he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Basketball enthusiasts enjoyed seeing the havoc Carril’s teams in March wreaked.
That was undoubtedly the case in 1989 for Georgetown’s John Thompson, the legendary coach who was sweating profusely with his recognisable towel slung over his shoulder at the end of the game.
As a No. 16 seed, Princeton gave a No. 1 Georgetown team that included Charles Smith and Alonzo Mourning all it could handle and was on the approach of a historic upset.
The Tigers had two chances to send Thompson and his squad home in the final seconds but were unable, falling 50-49.
One of the highlights of Carril’s last season in 1996 was an NCAA win against the reigning champion UCLA in the first round, which many believe to be one of the greatest upsets in tournament history.
In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on July 10, 1930, Peter Joseph Carril was born to Spanish immigrants.
At Lafayette College, he competed under a renowned coach named Butch Van Breda Kolff.
After serving in the Army, Carril coached at Pennsylvania high schools in the 1950s and 1960s before landing the position of head coach at Lehigh.
He played there for the 1966–1967 season, finishing 11–12, and then left for Princeton.
More than just a basketball coach, Carril was. He was clever, philosophical, an excellent character judge, honest, and kind, according to friends and former teammates.
He was not a country club kind of guy. He was unassuming, wearing unironed sweaters and open-collared shirts, and his thinning hair was never fully combed. There might sometimes be a sport jacket.
Carril was demanding on the court. He gave his guys a lot of effort and pursued excellence.
After a poor pass, a mistake, or a missed layup, he wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to be sitting on the bench with a 20-point lead and a hurt expression on his face.
Never mind the result; what mattered was the craft and the process.
He would remember what his father had told him as a child growing up in Bethlehem, one of the nation’s steel centres, if pressed about it.
Carril often observed, “When you reduce your standards, they may turn around and attack you.”
Carril’s on-court success did not alter him. He enjoyed cigars. Before it changed into a sushi bar in the 1990s, he used to have a drink, a coffee, or simply sit and talk to folks at Andy’s Tavern in Princeton.
One of his favourite places to go was Conte’s Pizza. He would periodically visit Mitch Henderson, who took over as Princeton’s coach in 2011, in the team’s headquarters to speak basketball.
Carril moved to uncharted territory after leaving Princeton: the NBA.
He served as the Sacramento Kings’ assistant coach for ten seasons. He aided Rick Adelman’s Kings in reaching the 2002 Western Conference Finals and winning two Pacific Division crowns.
In 2007, he joined the Washington Wizards staff. In 2009, he returned to the Sacramento Kings, where he had previously helped revive the Princeton offence at the highest level of basketball.