GUEST COLUMN: "The Helping People"

Over the last three years, the team has collected 43 consecutive Ivy League victories -- a record that may never be broken. The team is only one of four teams in NCAA history to go undefeated for three league seasons in a row. A Penn player has been Ivy League Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons -- Jerome Allen for the last two years and Matt Maloney this year. The team has three straight Ivy League championships and has played four National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament games. Last year the team defeated then-Big Eight champion Nebraska University in the first round of the Tournament, giving the University its first NCAA win since 1980 and the Ivy League its first win since 1984. But the team has meant more than excellent statistics. It was a team with class, never taunting or bragging, representing our school with dignity. It was a team that never gave up, and was never intimidated, especially when defeating Michigan and St. John's this year. And even when down by nine points in overtime to Alabama in this year's Tournament, Jerome Allen's two consecutive three pointers almost had us believing another comeback was possible. Thanks to the basketball team, fans have experienced it all -- national rankings, national exposure and a Tournament victory. And there were other, more vivid memories -- defeating Princeton in front of a frenzied, sold-out Palestra; Jerome Allen's off-balance leaner to beat Michigan; Matt Maloney's 37-point performance against American two years ago. The joy students felt following the many Quaker victories and the agony of the occasional defeats created an emotional wave that University students, faculty and staff have ridden for three years. Thank you for the ride. We will all miss you.

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