Quakers upset with announcement

Last night, after Penn coach Fran Dunphy met with his players and assistant coaches, junior guard Matt Maloney sat still in his high rise dorm room. He was being comforted by Eric Moore and Andy Baratta, but nothing will make this pain go away but time. Maloney was depressed due to the announcement that Penn coach Fran Dunphy will be leaving the Quakers. "I thought for sure he'd be here until at least our class graduated," Maloney said in reference to Dunphy's departure to take the helm at La Salle. "When I transferred here, he promised me he'd be here for at least as long as I was here. This hurts now, but I know it will go away, especially come January 13." The other players expressed similar sentiments about missing Dunphy, who had coached the Quakers to two consecutive undefeated Ivy League titles during his five-year tenure. The players also, however, wished their coach well, with the exception of one game, next season's La Salle-Penn matchup January 13. "I think coach will do well wherever he goes," Penn junior guard Jerome Allen said. "[The La Salle-Penn game] will be very emotional for all of us. It will be hard to see him on the other bench, but we'll still do our best to win that game. I just can't believe he left us before [the junior class] graduated." Dunphy addressed his players and assistant coaches last night. Assistant coach Fran O'Hanlon, who had been rumored to be leaving the Quakers for the Boston University head coaching position, appears to be the favorite among the players to take over at the helm for Penn after Dunphy officially leaves. "O'Hanlon should be hired [to replace Dunphy] today," senior captain Barry Pierce said. "There's no question about it. He's the most qualified candidate and knows our system extremely well. There isn't a more qualified candidate in all of basketball." The announcement of Dunphy's replacement is expected to be approved by Athletic Director Steve Bilsky shortly. But the players are strongly behind O'Hanlon. "O'Hanlon is the best person for the job," sophomore forward Tim Krug said. "Who else is there out there? O'Hanlon should be our coach next season, no doubt about it." But no one will know the whole impact of Dunphy's departure until next season, which starts November 15 in the preseason NIT, which coincidentally Dunphy arranged for the team. "We're all going to miss him," Allen said. "I'm just shocked by all of this. What is going on here? I hope coach does well at La Salle, but I really can't believe he left us. He's been the greatest and I just hope La Salle realizes what they're getting. He's not just a great coach, but he's a great person."