A Matter of Minutes

Fan favorite Cedric Laster is finally seeing quality time Cedric Laster's prospects for playing time were dim at the beginning this season. He remembered recently what was going through his mind during preseason practice: "It'll be a near miracle if I play this year." Apparently, miracles do happen. "I'm getting a chance to play," Laster said. "I'm starting to feel more confident and relaxed on the court, and my confidence is starting to grow because of that." Laster's productivity, in his role as first man off the bench, is growing, as well. In his last five games, Laster has averaged 8.2 points and 2.4 rebounds. To be sure, the stats aren't earth-shattering. But they are certainly valuable to a Penn team that usually only goes seven players deep and needs all of the contributions it can get. "He's been a great spark for us off the bench," Quakers coach Fran Dunphy said. Besides, Laster's numbers are far and away better than could have been predicted before the season began. In his three previous seasons on the team, Laster had played in 40 games. His totals: 54 points and 25 rebounds, with individual-game highs of five points and four rebounds. A major factor in Laster's paltry playing time and output, of course, were the abilities of the people ahead of him on the Quakers depth chart. Laster was buried on the bench of a Penn team that was winning three-straight Ivy League titles. "He hasn't had much of an opportunity," Dunphy said. "He's kind of like Donald [Moxley, the Quakers senior starting guard] in that respect. This is the first year for him to show what he can do." But the wait was tough on Laster. At the beginning of each year, he hoped that if he worked hard and things went his way, he just might get a bit of playing time. But the minutes were never there for the taking. "It looked really bleak for me," Laster said. "I could tell I really wasn't going to get that look. There were other guys ahead of me." His high school career in Clayton, Mo., was much different. Laster was the all-time leading scorer at Clayton High. He put up 26.2 points and 11.1 rebounds a game as a junior. And as a senior, he averaged 25.0 points and 10.6 boards, earning first-team all-state honors. Laster says he was recruited by every Ivy League team except Princeton and Yale and several mid-level Division I programs, such as Wichita State and Northern Illinois, which offered him scholarships. Laster was looking for a college that met his particular requirements. He wanted a school in a metropolitan area with good academics and "big-time potential basketball-wise." Penn obviously fit the bill. But what sold Laster on coming to Philadelphia was his recruiting visit, which took place during Penn Relays. "I had a good time," Laster said. "I really felt comfortable here. I could see myself as a student." But after arriving on campus, could he see himself as a basketball player? With few minutes coming his way in his first three years, Laster said he seriously considered leaving the team on a number of occasions. "Coming out of high school, I felt really positive about playing," Laster said. "[I thought] wherever I went, I would have a chance to play well and contribute to the team. "I never thought I would ride the bench for four years." Yet that was the situation he was facing earlier this season. After starting the Quakers' first two games, including a six-point homecoming performance at Saint Louis in December, Laster saw his playing time drop. "He played just OK in the first two games," Dunphy said. Laster played only three minutes in Penn's next two games. After sitting out three more games to resolve some academic problems, he returned to the Penn bench against Brown on January 12. It appeared Laster would stay there. But injuries and academic difficulties hit the Quakers hard. And when senior forward Nat Graham left the team, citing a loss of interest in basketball, Laster was there to fill in. "When he came back and Graham left, the opportunity presented itself," Dunphy said. "And he's taken advantage of it." It ended up being a good thing for both Penn and Laster that he hadn't quit. His strong religious faith and his friendships on the team had convinced him to keep playing. "I had come so far and wanted to see it through," Laster said. "It was what God wanted me to do. That and the camaraderie on the team were what kept me playing." And finally, halfway through his senior season, Laster is getting a chance to play and contributing to the team. He chipped in eight and six points two weekends ago versus Cornell and Columbia, and scored 16 points last week in a win over Lehigh. "I've had to go back to the room on nights maybe where I've played well, and we've won games," said Ira Bowman, who is Laster's roommate. "I can feel for him knowing that he's not getting the opportunity to play, and he's working just as hard as me during the week in practice." Last Saturday against Harvard, Laster filled his sparkplug role perfectly. He scored nine points in a key first-half stretch during which the Quakers took the lead for good. "With his ability to shoot and his athleticism, it was just a matter of his getting the right opportunity," Dunphy said. "I'm happy that he's taken advantage of it."

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