G_M
Starter
Going Pro
By Karl Micka-foos The Daily Princetonian
Princeton, NJ (U-WIRE) -- Though he's most often recognized as the president of basketball operations for the NBA's Sacramento Kings and one of the league's most respected masterminds, Geoff Petrie '70 might easily be mistaken for a traitor.
Petrie, after all, chose not to follow the path so many former Princeton basketball stars have taken, returning to their alma mater to protect the purity of the college game and mold the basketball ambassadors of tomorrow into model citizens.
Instead Petrie bolted for the big time, where he contributes to the success of a league so often blamed for the death of team basketball and the corruption of virtuous collegiate athletes.
A glance around today's NBA, however, reveals the truth about the motivations and repercussions of Petrie's career choice. By promoting teamwork and unselfishness at the game's highest level through the installation of the "Princeton offense," Petrie has created a ripple effect throughout the league. Some version of the Princeton system is now being run by a number of NBA teams, starting with Petrie's Kings and including the New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards and New Orleans Hornets.
Since arriving in Sacramento's front office in 1994, the two-time NBA Executive of the Year has not only led his team to seven playoff appearances but has also keyed a resurgence of the college sensibility in the NBA.
"The whole concept behind [the Princeton system]," Petrie said, "started with five guys playing together and sharing the ball, with an emphasis on passing and cutting and shooting."
Petrie has been aided in his quest to spread that concept by a man whose name is synonymous with Princeton basketball - the legendary Pete Carril, his former coach, who left the Tigers and joined Petrie in Sacramento as an assistant coach in 1996.
Together, the two have racked up a good number of converts as they turned Sacramento into a perennial NBA powerhouse.
"We feel [the Princeton system] is a very entertaining style of play," Petrie said. "It allows players with multiple skill sets to really be effective. We've had a lot of success playing the way we play, but it wouldn't work for everybody, depending on the kind of personnel they have."
Personnel matters, of course, are Petrie's forte. Over the past decade, Petrie has demonstrated a knack for finding diamonds in the rough, dealing for such blossoming stars as Mike Bibby and Brad Miller, drafting a then-unknown Peja Stojakovic and acquiring outstanding role players like Bobby Jackson via free agency.
Petrie's most notorious personnel move, though, was made in February of this year, when he dealt franchise cornerstone Chris Webber to the Philadelphia 76ers for a trio of players generally regarded as above average at best. While early returns suggest that neither team has particularly benefited from the trade, it is a testament to Petrie's stellar reputation that naysayers have, for the most part, been silenced.
Indeed, people around the NBA seem hesitant to question any move resulting from Petrie's historically successful basketball formula, produced by what Petrie calls "a lifelong association" with the revered Carril.
"[Coach Carril] has really enriched my life in so many ways," Petrie said, "and a lot of other people's as well. So much of my thinking about the game and about players is strictly related to things that I've either learned with him or discussed with him over the years. I never tire of talking with him about things that are going on in the game."
The relationship between the two began during Petrie's successful college career. A six-foot, three-inch guard, Petrie scored 1,321 points, the seventh-highest total ever amassed by a Tiger, during just three seasons on the varsity squad. In 1969, the two reached the NCAA Tournament, each for the first time, after leading the Tigers to the first 14-0 Ivy League season in school history.
After graduating from Princeton, Petrie became the first player to be drafted by the expansion NBA Portland Trail Blazers.
"I think the greatest thing [about my NBA career] was being a part of an expansion franchise that grew into being part of the fabric of a new community," Petrie says, "When the league expanded to Portland, a lot of people didn't even know there was a Portland, Oregon."
He was named NBA co-Rookie of the Year for the 1970-71 season and went on to average 21.8 points per game and to be named to two All-Star teams over six years. Though chronic knee problems cut short what may well have been a Hall of Fame career, Petrie stands behind only Bill Bradley '65 in terms of success achieved by a Tiger basketball player in the pros.
"I wasn't really emotionally prepared for [my playing career] to end that way," Petrie said, "so that was a tough time for me. I was really just coming into my prime, or would have been, I guess."
But Petrie couldn't remove himself from the basketball realm entirely, and by 1985 he was doing radio color commentary for the Trail Blazers and serving as the team's shooting instructor. Before joining the Kings, Petrie spent five years in Portland as senior vice president of basketball operations, helping the Blazers reach the NBA Finals twice during the early 1990s.
Since arriving in Sacramento Petrie has become one of the league's most well-known front-office figures, but the responsibilities of keeping a winning franchise from failing to meet expectations have taken their toll.
"This life doesn't really allow itself too much time for other things," Petrie said. "Pretty much everything I do revolves around our team or our community or my family, in one way or another. There are no weekdays or weekends in these positions - it's just days."
Regardless of his busy schedule, actually playing basketball is out of the question.
"It's too painful," Petrie said. "Once your jump shot becomes a set shot, it's time to give it up."
Luckily for Petrie, though, he can always remind himself of how many years that old nagging knee injury pushed the development of the NBA game forward. (C) 2004 The Daily Princetonian via U-WIRE
By Karl Micka-foos The Daily Princetonian
Princeton, NJ (U-WIRE) -- Though he's most often recognized as the president of basketball operations for the NBA's Sacramento Kings and one of the league's most respected masterminds, Geoff Petrie '70 might easily be mistaken for a traitor.
Petrie, after all, chose not to follow the path so many former Princeton basketball stars have taken, returning to their alma mater to protect the purity of the college game and mold the basketball ambassadors of tomorrow into model citizens.
Instead Petrie bolted for the big time, where he contributes to the success of a league so often blamed for the death of team basketball and the corruption of virtuous collegiate athletes.
A glance around today's NBA, however, reveals the truth about the motivations and repercussions of Petrie's career choice. By promoting teamwork and unselfishness at the game's highest level through the installation of the "Princeton offense," Petrie has created a ripple effect throughout the league. Some version of the Princeton system is now being run by a number of NBA teams, starting with Petrie's Kings and including the New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards and New Orleans Hornets.
Since arriving in Sacramento's front office in 1994, the two-time NBA Executive of the Year has not only led his team to seven playoff appearances but has also keyed a resurgence of the college sensibility in the NBA.
"The whole concept behind [the Princeton system]," Petrie said, "started with five guys playing together and sharing the ball, with an emphasis on passing and cutting and shooting."
Petrie has been aided in his quest to spread that concept by a man whose name is synonymous with Princeton basketball - the legendary Pete Carril, his former coach, who left the Tigers and joined Petrie in Sacramento as an assistant coach in 1996.
Together, the two have racked up a good number of converts as they turned Sacramento into a perennial NBA powerhouse.
"We feel [the Princeton system] is a very entertaining style of play," Petrie said. "It allows players with multiple skill sets to really be effective. We've had a lot of success playing the way we play, but it wouldn't work for everybody, depending on the kind of personnel they have."
Personnel matters, of course, are Petrie's forte. Over the past decade, Petrie has demonstrated a knack for finding diamonds in the rough, dealing for such blossoming stars as Mike Bibby and Brad Miller, drafting a then-unknown Peja Stojakovic and acquiring outstanding role players like Bobby Jackson via free agency.
Petrie's most notorious personnel move, though, was made in February of this year, when he dealt franchise cornerstone Chris Webber to the Philadelphia 76ers for a trio of players generally regarded as above average at best. While early returns suggest that neither team has particularly benefited from the trade, it is a testament to Petrie's stellar reputation that naysayers have, for the most part, been silenced.
Indeed, people around the NBA seem hesitant to question any move resulting from Petrie's historically successful basketball formula, produced by what Petrie calls "a lifelong association" with the revered Carril.
"[Coach Carril] has really enriched my life in so many ways," Petrie said, "and a lot of other people's as well. So much of my thinking about the game and about players is strictly related to things that I've either learned with him or discussed with him over the years. I never tire of talking with him about things that are going on in the game."
The relationship between the two began during Petrie's successful college career. A six-foot, three-inch guard, Petrie scored 1,321 points, the seventh-highest total ever amassed by a Tiger, during just three seasons on the varsity squad. In 1969, the two reached the NCAA Tournament, each for the first time, after leading the Tigers to the first 14-0 Ivy League season in school history.
After graduating from Princeton, Petrie became the first player to be drafted by the expansion NBA Portland Trail Blazers.
"I think the greatest thing [about my NBA career] was being a part of an expansion franchise that grew into being part of the fabric of a new community," Petrie says, "When the league expanded to Portland, a lot of people didn't even know there was a Portland, Oregon."
He was named NBA co-Rookie of the Year for the 1970-71 season and went on to average 21.8 points per game and to be named to two All-Star teams over six years. Though chronic knee problems cut short what may well have been a Hall of Fame career, Petrie stands behind only Bill Bradley '65 in terms of success achieved by a Tiger basketball player in the pros.
"I wasn't really emotionally prepared for [my playing career] to end that way," Petrie said, "so that was a tough time for me. I was really just coming into my prime, or would have been, I guess."
But Petrie couldn't remove himself from the basketball realm entirely, and by 1985 he was doing radio color commentary for the Trail Blazers and serving as the team's shooting instructor. Before joining the Kings, Petrie spent five years in Portland as senior vice president of basketball operations, helping the Blazers reach the NBA Finals twice during the early 1990s.
Since arriving in Sacramento Petrie has become one of the league's most well-known front-office figures, but the responsibilities of keeping a winning franchise from failing to meet expectations have taken their toll.
"This life doesn't really allow itself too much time for other things," Petrie said. "Pretty much everything I do revolves around our team or our community or my family, in one way or another. There are no weekdays or weekends in these positions - it's just days."
Regardless of his busy schedule, actually playing basketball is out of the question.
"It's too painful," Petrie said. "Once your jump shot becomes a set shot, it's time to give it up."
Luckily for Petrie, though, he can always remind himself of how many years that old nagging knee injury pushed the development of the NBA game forward. (C) 2004 The Daily Princetonian via U-WIRE
