June 10, 2023
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NCAA basketball: Princeton’s Bill Howard played for Princeton University NCAA teams in 1963, 1964

By Kevin Hieronymus
Bill Howard turned his Princeton High School jersey in for a Princeton University.

Bill Howard turned his Princeton High School jersey in for a Princeton University one. (Photo provided by the PHS yearbook)

Princeton University is making a surprising run to the Sweet 16 in this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The Tigers’ run this year marks Princeton’s 60th anniversary of its 1963 NCAA Tournament berth in which Bill Howard of Princeton, Ill. was a team member.

Howard was a Princeton co-captain with All-American Bill Bradley, who went on to NBA fame and became a US Senator. Kevin Howard said his uncle Bill liked to joke that the two of them averaged 37 points between them with Bradley scoring 30 of them.

Howard and Princeton advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1964. After Howard graduated, the Bradley-led Tigers reached the Final Four in 1965.

At Princeton High School, Howard became the Tigers’ third 1,000-point scorer in a five-year period. He is now ranked No. 9 all-time with 1,026 career points.

Howard passed away on Nov. 3, 2018, after a long battle with cancer.