Today, the college basketball world is mourning the death of one of the greatest players of all time.
Former Princeton basketball coach Pete Currill died on Monday. He was 92 years old.
Currill joined the Tigers in 1967 after working one season at Lehigh. He was an instant success, leading Princeton to consecutive Ivy League titles, scoring 39-13.
In 1975, Currill led the Tigers to one of the best seasons in their history, with a score of 22-8 en route to winning the NIT Champion. He led the Tigers to the NIT tournament five more times, but took Princeton to the NCAA tournament much more often.
Between the start of the NCAA tournament seeding era in 1981 and Pete Currill’s final season in 1996, Princeton competed in the NCAA tournaments eight times.
Wins were harder for the Tigers, as they were eliminated in the first round six times. Their major NCAA tournament wins came in 1983, when they knocked out No. 5 Oklahoma State with the 12th seed, and in 1996-Curril’s last year-when they beat No. 4 UCLA with the 13th seed. His last record was 525-273.
After leaving college, Curril worked as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings for another 10 years.
Since then, Curril has been inducted into both the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Our hearts go out to Coach Carril’s family and loved ones.
