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Venable's Versatility, Unselfish Approach Enhancing His Value to Tiger Men's Hoops
By Bill Alden
Judging by the stat sheet for the Princeton University men's basketball team, it would appear at first glance that junior guard Will Venable has regressed.
After scoring 10.6 points a game as a sophomore, the 6'3, 200-pound Venable has seen his scoring average dip to 6.8 points per game so far this season.
But the versatile Venable, who plays outfield for the Princeton baseball team in the spring, will tell you that his dip in scoring is the product of a conscious effort on his part.
"Going into this season, I realized that this team is not going to work if I'm trying to score," said Venable after Princeton's 67-52 win over Monmouth last Wednesday before 3,225 at Jadwin Gym.
"There are a lot of other things I can do that we need. I take pride in doing what the team needs me to do on a specific possession whether it be rebounds, assists, or whatever. I'm proud of giving myself up to the system."
Indeed, the athletic Venable's contribution can be seen with a closer look at the numbers as he is second on the Tigers in assists with 44, second in rebounds with 54, and second in steals with 15.
More importantly, the muscular and speedy Venable is Princeton's most tenacious defender, customarily drawing the other team¹s leading scorer and utilizing much of his energy in carrying out that task.
The team's balance and depth led Venable to reach the conclusion that he need only pick his spots for scoring.
"That's the great thing about this team, there are so many good players that we're all going to have our moments," said Venable, who scored eight points and pulled down eight rebounds in the Tigers' win over Monmouth.
"Ed [Persia] has runs and they focus on him and then Jud [Wallace] has his runs. I'm looking to score when the opportunity arises but I'm not going to force things. They can't concentrate on one person, that's what we're trying to take advantage of."
Princeton head coach John Thompson III knows full well that Venable's value to the Tigers can't be measured by just focusing on his scoring average.
"The 'Will of old' is still here," said Thompson emphatically in the media conference after the Monmouth win. "I told him I thought he was very, very good today. Will is going to score for us. He is guarding the other team's toughest player on most nights. I think Will is playing very well for us. I think that Will is just a good basketball player."
In Thompson's view, Venable's contribution on the defensive end has helped set the tone for the 6-6 Tigers, who lost a 57-53 nail biter at Minnesota last Saturday.
"Overall, I think our defense this year has been very good," maintained Thompson, whose club held Monmouth to 30.6 percent from the field (15-49).
"Sitting here on the sidelines tonight, you just get nervous. I don't that we've ever had a game against these guys that wasn't close. I think we did a good job of making the shots that they got tough."
While Thompson acknowledged that the team's hard-nosed defense has put it in foul trouble in times, he is willing to live with that situation.
"I think we have more depth this year so we can be more aggressive," explained the fourth-year head coach who now has a 54-40 record in his Princeton tenure. "When you get one or two fouls you can keep playing hard. If you're playing good, hard, aggressive defense, you're going to get fouls."
With the Tigers on exam break until they host Southern Vermont on January 26 and then kick off their Ivy League campaign with games at Brown on January 30 and at Yale on January 31, Thompson gives his team a passing grade.
"In many regards, you want to be 11-0 right now but at the same time we've put ourselves in position to know what we have to focus on," said Thompson. "That's what you get from the pre-league schedule. We could've scheduled differently and my record might look better but I don¹t know whether that would be the best thing for this team."
Venable believes the best is yet to come for the Tigers. "We're disappointed overall with the way we've handled certain games," asserted Venable, a native of San Mateo, Calif. and the son of longtime major league baseball player Max Venable. "We've played well at times. Going into the break, we're going to ready and confident that we can beat everybody we should beat."
With Venable serving as a jack of all trades, the Tigers have every reason to be confident as they head into Ivy play.
