 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJSportAction) caption: |
Over the last five years or so, Noah Savage has been one of the foremost gym rats in local basketball circles.
At the beginning of his high school career, Savage honed his skills with hours of work in the Princeton High gym. He transferred across town to the Hun School and became a fixture in its gym.
After a high school career which saw him pass the 1,000 point mark, Savage stayed in town to ply his skills for the Princeton University men's basketball program. Toiling away in Jadwin Gym, Savage's work paid off as he was a starter last season from day one in his Tiger career.
Now as a battle-hardened sophomore, Savage is emerging as the Tigers' most consistent offensive weapon. The 6'5, 230-pound Savage is averaging a team-high 16.5 points for 1-1 Princeton.
In his off-season gym work coming into this winter, Savage focused on becoming more versatile. "I'm working on ballhandling so I won't get pressured as much," said Savage, who scored 6.4 points a game last year in his debut season. "I'm trying to be the guy that gets open. I also want to run our offense better, hopefully I'll get better at that."
Princeton head coach Joe Scott saw a more well-rounded Savage last Sunday at Lehigh as the sophomore forward matched his career high with 18 points in the Tigers' 64-54 win over the Mountain Hawks.
"Noah scored in different ways for us," said Scott, reflecting on an effort which saw an efficient Savage hit on four-of-six shots from the field and eight-of-ten from the free throw line. "He got points in the low post, he got fouled on drives, and he made three-pointers. He has the wherewithal to score in different ways, he just needs to be more consistent."
While Savage's hot start is encouraging, he knows that there is a lot of basketball to be played. "I know how long the season is and up and down it can be," said Savage. "I'm trying to be a little more even-keeled, not letting things destroy my psyche if I have a bad practice or bad game."
Savage and his teammates are concentrating on living in the present and taking care of the little things.
"I know that if I come out hard everyday, it'll get better," added Savage. "I'm hoping that we get better everyday. It's a better way to look at things. All you can do is control what's in your power. You can't worry about winning ten games in a row. If we work as hard as we can, everything should fall into place."
With all the time Savage has put into his game over the years, it's not surprising that things are falling into place for him with the Tigers.
Return to Previous Sports Story | Return to Top | Go to Next Sports Story