The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

Last Sunday marked the first day of official practice for the men's basketball team. Even though there were a lot of new faces for coach Fran Dunphy and his staff, Dunphy is optimistic. "I'm pleased with the work ethic," Dunphy said. "Everyone came back in relatively good shape." Dunphy did confirm that expected started George Zaninovich was not present at the first several practices and is not expected to play at all this season. The reasons for Zaninovich's departure from the team are said to be personal and not related to basketball. Senior Ira Bowman will be moved to point guard, the position he played at Providence as a freshman. Senior Donald Moxley is the favorite to earn the starting nod at shooting guard, while senior Tim Krug will anchor an inexperienced frontcourt. The Quakers have just over a month to prepare for their season opener -- USC comes to the Palestra November 27. · Former Penn stars Jerome Allen and Matt Maloney are still alive and well in their respective NBA preseason camps. Allen signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves over the weekend. The Wolves also signed free agent point guard Terry Porter, a bad omen for Allen fans. He scored five points on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor in last night's game against Portland. As for Maloney, he had a potential game-winning shot blocked at the buzzer Tuesday night when his Golden State squad fell to San Antonio. · The Palestra is nationally renowned as college basketball's most historic gymnasium. Unfortunately, its luster and greatness are getting pushed further and further into the past. Yesterday, the Palestra lost another of its cherished tenants when the Atlantic-10 signed a four-year deal to play its conference championships at the CoreStates Spectrum every March. This year, the 12-team league, which includes national powerhouse UMass in addition to local favorites Temple and La Salle, will play its championships at the Civic Center. Starting in 1997, the week-long tournament will move to Broad and Pattison. This will enable the conference to play all of the games at one sight, instead of playing early rounds at the Palestra and the finals at the favored team's home court as they have in the past. Although saddened by the A-10's decision, Penn athletic director Steve Bilsky was realistic about the conference's needs. "They felt the need to play the entire championships at one sight," Bilsky said last night. "Because they now have 12 teams, they feel they need a larger arena. "This further highlights the need for us to renovate the Palestra. We just don't offer the amenities for these schools to entertain high-profile corporate clients." Plans are currently under way to modernize the Palestra, possibly beginning as soon as this summer.

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.