FINDING HIS FORM: Princeton University men’s basketball player Malik Abdullahi puts up a free throw last Thursday as Princeton hosted Northeastern. Sophomore forward Abdullahi scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to help Princeton prevail 70-57. Last Monday, Princeton fell 88-64 to Bradley to start action in the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational which is taking place from November 24-26 in Kissimmee, Fla. The Tigers, who moved to 3-4 with the loss to Bradley, were slated to play Temple in a consolation round contest on November 25. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Malik Abdullahi prides himself on doing the dirty work for the Princeton University men’s basketball team.
“I think I am an energy plug to the team, I just try to work my tail off on the defensive end and then let the game come to me,” said sophomore forward Abdullahi, a 6’7, 207-pound native of Miami, Fla. “Going into the game, I just think rebound. That is one thing I have been trying to focus on. I feel like those extra possessions and not letting the other team get offensive rebounds helps the team. I feel like it is one underrated skill to have.”
Last Thursday as Princeton defeated visiting Northeastern 70-57, Abdullahi provided points to go with his energy, tallying 11 points and grabbing a career-best nine rebounds.
As the Tigers faced the Huskies, they were determined to bounce back from a disappointing 89-69 loss at Iona two days earlier.
“We had one day to prepare,” said Abdullahi. “I felt like all of the guys were just paying attention to the little things and the details. The coaches came up with a great scout for us. We knew exactly what we needed to do. We came out here and did what we had to do. We paid attention to the scout and it worked for us.”
Playing at the friendly confines of Jadwin Gym gave the Tigers a lift.
“It is making sure that our energy is always high and being grateful to play at home is another thing,” said Abdullahi. “Coach (Mitch Henderson) and I were talking about it. At home you are a little faster, you jump a little bit higher. The juice is flowing. Just being able to play at home against a good team like Northeastern and to come out with the win was great.”
Getting stops on Northeastern’s first two possessions of the night help set the tone as the Tigers built a 33-20 halftime lead. The Huskies drew to within 59-52 as Princeton struggled after star guard Dalen Davis had to leave the game after going down with an ankle injury that left the Jadwin fans in stunned silence as he writhed in pain on the court. The Tigers regrouped, going on an 11-5 run to close out the game.
Henderson liked the progress the Tigers displayed at the defensive end.
“I thought the defense was very good,” said Henderson. “That is what kept us in the game. It was a very physical game both ways.”
The play of Abdullahi helped the Tigers pull out the game. “Malik was terrific, he can be a leader for us and take more ownership of what we are doing in all little parts of the game,” said Henderson. “He can do it, he is so capable. Malik is a really happy person and he just rolls with things. It is OK for him to tell people what to do. They would listen.”
The Tigers needed that leadership after Davis got sidelined. He did return to the bench with an ice pack on his ankle and left the gym on crutches.
“We have some time now to think about it,” said Henderson, whose team fell 88-64 to Bradley last Monday to start action in the Terry‘s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational, which is taking place from November 24-26 in Kissimmee, Fla.“We have to figure it out in a tournament setting. It is opportunities maybe for somebody else to get better. I am hoping for a quick recovery for Dalen.”
While the Tigers have a lot to figure out as they dropped to 3-4 with the loss to Bradley, Henderson believes that the trip to Florida will help with that process. Princeton was slated to face Temple in a consolation round contest on November 25 before wrapping up play at the event on Wednesday.
“I said to myself this is going to be rough and it is rough,” said Henderson. “We get to go down and play three games in Orlando. We are going to be at nine games in in five, six days. It is a really tough November and we need it. We need to play. We have been punched in the mouth really hard with haymakers already. I have had some really good teams that have been in this situation.”
Bouncing back from the punches it took from Iona was a good sign for Princeton.
“We had a really rough game up at Iona on Tuesday,” said Henderson. “We need a standard. We have to make changes in terms of what our standard is and what we stand for together as a group. I thought that they did that. You have to hang our hat on the defensive end. Iona was on pace to get 120 or something like that. They were all over us but we didn’t quit. We got back late Sunday night (from losing to 76-57 at Kansas on November 15) and then all of a sudden you are up there against a good team so this is a good win.”
Henderson was hoping for some more good play at the ESPN event.
“It is just getting better, making improvements,” said Henderson. “We are there right now. We have to keep getting better in the game. We made a lot of mistakes tonight, we were fortunate to win. We have to keep getting in it. We are going to need Malik and his teammates to just keep focusing on little improvements.”
In the view of Abdullahi, the Tigers showed focus as they stuck together after seeing Davis got hurt against Northeastern.
“Just to see him down was tough, obviously he is one of the leaders of the team,” said Abdullahi. “We know he was a very big contributor to the game. To see him going down, we all had to step up and finish the game out.”