 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction)
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The name Petrie looms large in the lore of the Princeton University men's basketball program.
In the late 1960s, sharpshooting guard Geoff Petrie scored 1,172 points for the Tigers, a figure that stands seventh all-time in Princeton history.
Petrie went on to enjoy an outstanding career in the National Basketball Association, being named Co-Rookie of the Year with Dave Cowens and averaging 21.8 points a game during his six-year stint with the Portland Trail Blazers.
After the 1975-76 season, Petrie retired from playing and went into private business. In 1989, Petrie returned to basketball as a front office executive with the Blazers.
In 1994, Petrie went to the Sacramento Kings to head the franchise's basketball operations. Showing his deep ties to the Tiger program, Petrie brought in Princeton legend Pete Carril as an assistant coach with the Kings.
Now Petrie's nephew, Chris Petrie, is poised to make an impact on the Princeton hoops scene as he hones his skills on the Hun School squad as a post-graduate, having already committed to play with the Tigers next season.
Last Thursday, Petrie displayed his prowess as he scored nine points to help the Raiders beat visiting Solebury School 39-33.
With Hun having fallen to Solebury earlier in the season at the Peddie School Invitational, Petrie and his teammates were determined to turn the tables.
"That was a really good win," said Petrie. "The game was never in doubt. I thought we controlled the tempo. It was ugly at times but a win is a win and that's all we cared about."
The curly-haired Petrie acknowledged that his play hasn't always been a thing of beauty this season.
"I've had good games and bad games," said Petrie. "I'm just trying to get to the point where it's consistent and I bring the same thing every night and help this team win."
For Petrie, a native of Gettysburg, Pa. where his father, George Petrie, coaches the Gettysburg College men's basketball team, coming to Hun was an easy choice.
"I looked at a couple of schools in this area and I thought Hun was the best one for me," asserted Petrie. "It's great being five minutes from the Princeton campus. The basketball has been unbelievable. I couldn't have asked for a better year; the competition we play and the team I'm on."
Hun head coach Jon Stone is glad to have Petrie in town. "I think he's getting better with every game," said Stone, whose team fell to 8-5 with a 66-43 loss at Mercersburg last Saturday.
"I think he lends us a certain stability. He's an excellent passer. He can shoot the ball, although he hasn't shot as well as he's going to. He brings a little bit of everything to us. In our last game he was our leading rebounder. Tonight he made some big free throws."
Stone knew he needed a big game from his team if Hun was to avenge its earlier loss to Solebury.
"We didn't let them get on any big runs," maintained Stone, who got 16 points from junior star Idris Hilliard in the victory.
"We were able to a control the tempo a little bit more. We made plays down the stretch. We got a nice charge from Michael Russo and a nice steal from Idris. We did a better job taking care of the ball."
Hun needs to do a better job of taking care of the little things if it is to develop more consistency.
"I think we need to work on the little things that we do in practice between the offenses and the defenses," said Stone, whose team plays at Blair on January 11 before hosting Peddie on January 14 and Academy of New Church on January 17.
"We've yet to play a whole game; we have little lapses here and there. We're hopeful that we'll get rid of those lapses. You want to get a little better every game; you don't want to play the perfect game in early January."
Petrie, for his part, is hoping that Hun can peak at the right time. "We're shooting for the prep playoffs," said Petrie. "We want to be in the championship game and get another shot at St. Benedict's. We want to give them another go."
As for his basketball future beyond the prep playoffs, Petrie has been getting some valuable insight from his uncle.
"I think it's a little different than when he went there and Carril was just coming in," said Petrie. "It's always nice to chat with him and see what his experiences were like. I want to create some of my own."
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