M. HOOPS NOTEBOOK: Rookies hoping to see more minutes

With the heart of the Ivy League season rapidly approaching this weekend, coach Fran Dunphy may have the perfect opportunity to look to the future. The Penn men's basketball team swept the 14-game league schedule last year, and only one contest was not won by a double-digit margin. With this in mind, and realizing all five starters are seniors, Dunphy may give future Quaker stars valuable playing time in the upcoming weeks. But to date, the five starting seniors each average over 25 minutes per game, and juniors Ira Bowman and Tim Krug each see the floor for about 20. No one else can claim to have seen action in every contest or average more than six minutes. "I try to give as many guys an opportunity to play as possible, but I can't say it's specifically focused on the future," Dunphy said. "There's a natural course that it will take after the seven players in the rotation." Specifically, Dunphy is referring to Nat Graham, Donald Moxley and Jamie Lyren. "They're all going to be a big part of our future," Dunphy added. However, beyond Graham, who has slowly earned increased playing time in the frontcourt rotation, no one else sees significant action when the outcome of the contest is still in doubt. In Saturday's contest against Princeton, the Quakers were trouncing the Tigers by 30 points with eight minutes showing on the clock. Dunphy chose to keep the starters in even longer. In fact, not one of the key parts to the future Penn squad besides Krug, Bowman and Graham played for more than three minutes during the game. "There's no set plan that at the five-minute mark if we're up by so much we're going to put this group in because they're our future," Dunphy said. "I just try to get as many guys as many minutes as possible." That plan may start to be employed this weekend if the Quakers continue their domination of the Ivy League. Last year at Brown, Moxley chipped in 15 minutes on the floor, more than he played against any other team. That playing time paid significant divends when Moxley drilled a key three-pointer in Penn's NCAA tournament victory over Nebraska last March. Last year, however, Dunphy had the comfort to know the nucleus of his team was returning. He does not have that luxury heading into the 1995-96 season. In fact, not one starter will be returning next year. "Playing time is very helpful," Dunphy said. "It's time on the floor. There's people in the stands. There's still concentrations you have to stay up with. It's very helpful." The other parts of the future also include the three freshmen newcomers this season -- Vigor Kapetanovic, George Zaninovich and Garett Kreitz. While Kapetanovic and Zaninovich have seen more playing time, Kreitz has lit up the opposition during his limited action. He's hit four-of-six shots, including three-of-five three-point attempts. But the real test may begin this weekend. If the future of Pennsylvania basketball is going to earn the right to see significant action, it probably will begin in the Ivies.

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