Pete Carril

Peter Joseph Carril (; July 10, 1930 – August 15, 2022) was an American basketball coach. He is best known as head coach of Princeton University for 30 years and for his use of the "Princeton offense". He also coached at Lehigh University and as an assistant with the Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Early life and education Carril was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on July 10, 1930. His father José emigrated from León, Spain and was employed as a steelworker at Bethlehem Steel for four decades and brought up his son as a single father.

Carril was a 1948 graduate of Liberty High School in his hometown, where he was an all-state selection for Pennsylvania. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Lafayette in 1952.

After graduating from college, he served briefly in the U.S. Army.

Lehigh University Carril's first experience as a college basketball head coach was his lone season in 1966–67 at Lehigh University where he led the Engineers to an 11–12 record.

Princeton University

He was appointed in a similar capacity at Princeton University on 7 May 1967, succeeding his mentor Butch van Breda Kolff who had recommended him for the position. He is also the only men's coach to win 500 games without the benefit of athletic scholarships for his players. He won or shared 13 Ivy League championships and led the Tigers to 11 NCAA tournaments and 2 NITs. The Tigers won the NIT championship in 1975. Games against Princeton were typically low-scoring affairs; for example, the 1990–91 and 1991–92 Tigers are the only teams to hold opponents below 50 points per game since the shot clock became mandatory for the 1985–86 season. Partly due to these factors, while his Tigers only won three NCAA Tournament games and never survived the tournament's opening weekend, they were known as a very dangerous first-round opponent; seven of their first round losses were by fewer than ten points.

In 1989, Princeton took first-ranked Georgetown down to the wire, leading by eight points at halftime before losing 50–49. Seven years later, Carril's final collegiate victory was an upset of defending national champions UCLA in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 1996 by a score of 43–41, in what is considered one of the greatest upsets of all time.

Collegiate record and accolades Carill's career collegiate coaching record, including one season at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was 525–273.

Sacramento Kings Carril was an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association for 10 years until his retirement in 2006. After Rick Adelman became Sacramento's head coach before the 1998–99 season, Carril helped Adelman install the Princeton offensive game plan and oversaw the Kings' development into one of the NBA's most potent offensive teams. During his tenure, the Kings were noted for their quick-passing offense, as well as their ability to stymie double teaming attempts from their opponents. In 2007, he volunteered as a coach with the Washington Wizards. He subsequently rejoined the Kings as an assistant for the 2009 season. They eventually divorced. He was 92, and suffered a stroke prior to his death.

Head coaching record

Publications