COLUMN: Dunphy will get tested by young team

From Lee Goldsmith's "Standing Room Only," Fall '95 Two years ago, I had the good fortune of being The Shredder's sports intern at WTXF. He's a great guy, and we've kept in touch since then. As I watched this year's edition of Penn hoops battle an assortment of middle-aged Siberians last Saturday, I couldn't help but remember a classic Shredder moment. It happened at last year's pre-NCAA Tournament media day at the Palestra. As the two of us watched Dunphy and his five senior starters talk to the media about their upcoming clash with Alabama, Shredder nudged me and delivered the following words of wisdom: "I'll tell ya Flea [Flea is my nickname in the FOX sports circle] -- next year we're gonna find out if Dunph really can coach." You could say that again. Indeed, this season's Quakers are quite the enigma. That goes for both the students sitting (not standing, of course, but sitting) in Section 115 and for Dunphy, now entering his seventh year with keys to the Palestra's front door. The longer you look at the roster, the cloudier things become. If Penn is to win games this year, it must consistently get big-time production from senior co-captains Tim Krug and Ira Bowman. This much is a given. If Krug and Bowman don't set the tone, as they were able to against Russian Select, then the Quakers could be in for some long nights. After that, the fun begins. Dunphy has it rough -- after all, he's lost every starter -- but maybe not that rough by traditional Ancient Eight standards. Along with Krug and Bowman, he has eight players capable of holding their own against Ivy-caliber competition. The problem lies in their inconsistency. Each of those eight roster spots have fundamental skills, but each also has glaring vulnerabilities. On a given night, either one of those two factors could outweigh the other. From game to game, and often from quarter to quarter, Dunphy must figure out whose strengths can help and whose weaknesses will be too much to overcome. By no means will it be an exact science. In recent years, of course, Dunphy has not faced such dilemmas. Allen, Maloney and Co. were basically invincible against league competition -- the talent differential was really that great. Ivy coaches could do anything they wanted, and Dunphy would change nothing because he didn't have to. Oddly enough, the closest Dunphy came last season to intense lineup manipulation involved his use of this year's two givens -- Bowman and Krug. If Scott Kegler was hot from behind the arc, Bowman's minutes off the bench usually would suffer. If the opposing frontcourt proved too quick for Eric Moore, then Krug became more of a factor. In the backcourt, Donald Moxley and Jamie Lyren have greatly improved. But neither has consistently led the team and both lack the shooting touch of departed sophomore George Zaninovich. Dunphy must find a hot hand. Freshman Frankie Brown appears to have limitless potential, but when will his inexperience show? Dunphy must allow him to develop without costing the team. The frontcourt, too, has its questions. Nat Graham saw quality playing time last season against the likes of UMass and Alabama, but his rebounding still appears suspect. Vigor Kapetanovic has undoubtedly progressed, but his post game is still a bit raw. Cedric Laster has never faced pressure situations and Bill Guthrie is returning from a year off. Freshman Paul Romanczuk has thus far been the most impressive contributor, but inexperience again is a factor. Dunphy would appear to have his work cut out for him. As Mayor Ed Rendell told me last night, "You've got Ira and Tim and a whole lot of question marks." Whenever a team has extraordinary talent, people debate the role of its coach. Does the coach transform that talent into wins, or does he just throw the ball and shoes on the court? As far as I'm concerned, Roger Rabbit could have won the Ivies with last year's Penn team. But that doesn't lessen Fran Dunphy's ability at all. In fact, I've come to see him as one of the best at his craft. And with this year's Penn team, Dunph will sure get his chances to prove me right.