Ivy League Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2018-19

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 12: The Princeton Tigers hoist the championship trophy after the win against the Yale Bulldogs in the Ivy League tournament final at The Palestra on March 12, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Princeton won 71-59. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /

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HONOLULU, HI – DECEMBER 25: Devin Cannady #3 of the Princeton Tigers gets a lei from a cheerleader before the start of the 5th place game of the Diamond Head Classic against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at the Stan Sheriff Center on December 25, 2017 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

4. Princeton Tigers

2017-18 season record: 13-16 (5-9)

It was a pretty drastic fall for the Tigers, losing nine more conference games than from the season prior despite having the best trio of perimeter players in the league. One of them, Amir Bell has graduated, taking his 10.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, and team-leading 3.7 apg with him.

But Princeton has been prepared to replace him, bringing in top-100 overall prospect Jaelin Llewellyn. The 6’2 point guard is considered the highest-rated recruit in program history and should have an immediate impact on the team this year.

He’ll play along two outstanding rising seniors in Devin Cannady and Myles Stephens. The duo averaged 16.7 ppg and 5.4 rpg and 15.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg respectively and are two of the best shooters in the Ivy. Neither are great facilitators based on their assists totals so Llewellyn’s ability to lead the offense out the gate will be crucial for the team.

One big reason why Princeton took such a big step back was due to the quality (or lack thereof) of the frontcourt. After losing several key pieces, it was a season-long effort to find the right players to get the bulk of the minutes. Freshmen forwards Sebastian Much and Jerome Desrosiers received the starts at the end of the year and shows promise on the offensive end. However, they each were poor rebounders and couldn’t stop any of the opposing Ivy frontcourts, with many of them returning.

The Tigers still has a high ceiling thanks to their senior leaders. If the sophomore big men continue to develop well and Llewellyn is as good as advertised as a freshman, look for Princeton to get back to the coveted top-4 group.