Inside Out

After transfering from Rice, George Mboya waits patiently until he is eligible nexy year At first glance, George Mboya doesn't stand out much at practice. He goes through the same drills as the other men's basketball players, diligently working through his paces. However, when taking a closer look, something seems different about him. During every team gathering on the court, Mboya often finds himself on the periphery of the huddle, looking almost as if he were eavesdropping on a conversation. When the team lines up for wind sprints, Mboya inevitably drifts to the far end of the hardwood. As a transfer from Rice University in Houston, NCAA rules stipulate Mboya, a sophomore, must sit out this season. Officially, he is listed as a redshirt, which means he will have three years of eligibility remaining, starting next season. Still considered a member of the Quakers' squad, he participates in practice everyday, regardless of the fact he is not allowed to suit up for games. "The toughest thing is that I come out every day, and it's just practice, not a game," said Mboya. "I don't have the same incentives the other guys on the team have. Sometimes you can feel like you're not a part of [the team]." "The biggest thing for me was being so far away from home," said Mboya. "I was in a situation where I didn't think I'd be comfortable for four years." In Penn, which recruited him as senior out of Landon Prep in Bethesda, Md., Mboya found the ideal environment to continue his collegiate career. Like Rice, Penn offered him an excellent academic opportunity. Here, though, Mboya also saw the chance to achieve his long coveted athletic goals -- an NCAA tournament bid. "I'm almost envious of the seniors here," Mboya said. "They don't know what it's like not be in the tournament. At Rice, I didn't think we'd ever get there." Of course the graduation of this year's team captains, Ira Bowman and Tim Krug, will make reaching his goal of a tournament a great deal of work -- work Mboya has shown he's willing to do so far. His dedication at practice has already made quite an impression on his teammates. "George expects a lot of himself and, working as hard as he has, he has really demonstrated his determination," Bowman said. As a transfer from Providence in 1992, Bowman is quite familiar with what he described as "the feeling helplessness" a player undergoes while waiting to become eligible for competition. He has helped Mboya deal with his year away from game action by encouraging him to give his all at practice. According to the senior swingman, the key factor in Mboya's being able to overcome the travails of this year is for him to maintain a strong mental focus on improving his game. Mboya credits Bowman's guidance with helping him to keep his aim of making a contribution to the Penn basketball program in focus. The general consensus is that the size of this contribution will be directly linked to the amount of work Mboya does to improve his game this year. "So much of what George will be will depend on how bad he wants it," said Willis Wilson, Mboya's coach at Rice. As a freshman, Mboya's aggressive play drew attention to his game, making him a factor each time he stepped on the court. Wilson reserves his highest praise for Mboya's athleticism, quite a compliment considering he played in the Southwest Conference, the same league which produced both Hakeem Olajuwan and Clyde Drexler and is known for the breakneck pace of its games. While the talent level in the SWC may be a cut above the Ivy League, Penn fans must remember it is neither the Southeastern Conference nor the Big East, the former stomping grounds of transfer phenoms Matt Maloney and Bowman, respectively. Comparisons to those players are as dangerous as they are tempting, according to Penn coach Fran Dunphy, labeling such expectations both ridiculous and unfair. Nonetheless, the Quakers coaching staff already has high hopes for Mboya next season, when he will primarily see action at the power forward spot. "He'll get the opportunity to compete for a staring spot and play upwards of 30 minutes a game," Dunphy said. Looking ahead to next year, Mboya's versatility should be his most significant contribution to a team which figures to be hit hard by the graduation of Bowman and Krug. If players who left the team this year, like junior forward Nat Graham, do not return, Mboya's presence under the hoop could prove all the more valuable. "He has the ability to come into a game and do all the physical things a coach can't teach," Wilson said. "He can really create a lot of mismatches." Right now, though, next season looks to be light years away for Mboya, who admits he is still getting acclimated to life at Penn. Besides, after dealing with the stress of his decision to transfer, the anxiety of being on the outside of the Quakers program looking in, doesn't seem so daunting.

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