Hall of Fame basketball coach Pete Carril dies at 92

One of the coaching icons of the 20th century in college basketball passed away Monday morning. Pete Carril, the Princeton coach for nearly 30 years, was 92 years old as of his passing. Here was the report from Sports Illustrated:

“Legendary Princeton men’s basketball coach Pete Carril, who authored the revolutionary Princeton Offense passed away Monday morning at Penn Hospital in Philadelphia.

“Carril was 92 years old.”

Rest In Peace to a coaching legend at the college level. Carril is the ultimate Princeton coach, manning the position for nearly 30 years from the late 1960’s all the way through 1996.

His teams never had much success in the NCAA Tournament, but the Tigers did get there 11 times under Carril’s leadership. Though they only won two postseason games total over that span. However, they did dominate the Ivy League on the basketball court, winning 13 conference championships under Pete Carril. Including four outright titles in a row from 1989-92.

That last stage of Carril’s may have been his best. Obviously, Princeton was a dynasty in the Ivy League and made four straight NCAA Tournaments as a result, despite going 0-4 in them. However, in his final year, 1996, Carril and Princeton upset UCLA in the first round.

It was the style of play that also made Carril’s teams, especially later on, so distinct. He invented the appropriately-named “Princeton offense” which was complicated, required a lot of cutting and ball movement, and was slow. Very slow. Their games usually ended in the 50s.

The last eight years of Carril’s career with Princeton, they led the nation in scoring defense, generally allowing opponents to score barely 50 points a game.

A legend and icon on the sidelines for an Ivy League giant.