Princeton University

We woke up this morning and said good-bye to New York. It actually worked out to be great timing, because the weather outside was just awful. Worst weather we have seen in 10 days. The timing was good because that weather easily could have happened on one of the days that we were scheduled to be in Manhattan and / or walking the Brooklyn bridge. Luckily for us, the weather in New York was good to us. We got a quick bite to eat, and headed for Princeton, New Jersey. Traffic was bad for the first half an hour, and I am sure the terrible rain contributed to a couple of the accidents that we saw along the way. We actually drove through Canal Street, so our kids were interested in what was going on around them.
We pulled into Princeton University and made our way to the basketball facilities. On the way I briefly discussed the history of the basketball program with our players, but I think once we walked inside our guys realized that they were seeing some big time facilities, and were very impressed. The arena was nice, the weight room was just re-done and looked very impressive, and the team locker room was great. The best room was a room they call the "team room", which was home to 4 big screen TV's, a nice leather sofa set, a room for the team to meet, and also a mini-kitchen with refrigerator and microwave. Coach Greenman and Coach Earl were very, very warm and welcoming to our players, and certainly made all of us feel good about Princeton Basketball. The coaches spoke to us in an informational setting that discussed the benefits of Princeton University, the absolutely ridiculously tough admission standards, and that 92% of all applicants to Princeton get denied entry. He also mentioned that US News and World Report had ranked Princeton the number 1 educational place in the USA for 8 of the last 10 years. Impressive.
At the conclusion of the visit, Coach Greenman recommended that we try a local favorite for lunch. He said "Hoagie Haven" was the favorite place for lunch for the students and the basketball players, and that when he was attending school here that it was the place he frequented most often. We were sold on the idea, and headed over to the small store. The place was great, and we were happy. Talk about a small store - this place did not have any place for you to eat the hoagie once you have purchased it - only to stand outside and eat it. Luckily, the down pour of rain had slowed to a mini drizzle, and we were OK.
We then headed to the City of Brotherly Love. We arrived in Philadelphia at our hotel (Sheraton Suites), checked in, and were able to get about an hour of relaxation time along the way.
We spent the evening together at the mall in King of Prussia. It is a beautiful mall, with very, very good food options. Chick Fil-A was the most popular amongst our team, yet again.
Tomorrow will mark the beginning of the Temple team camp, and I am anxious to get back onto the basketball court and compete.