COLUMN: Waiting for a pro success

The great Penn teams were, of course, products of great players. One of the great things about supporting those teams was knowing that the end for, say, Jerome Allen would not coincide with the end of the NCAA tournament. Now, with the departures of All-American wide receiver Miles Macik and quarterback/shortstop Mark DeRosa, all recent Quakers athletes with a chance to make a national impact have entered the rough-and-tumble world of professional sports. If their predecessors' experiences are any guide, things don't look good. After the 1993-94 season, Allen, the Ivy Player of the Year, looked a sure bet to become a household name. A projected first-round pick, Allen would have enjoyed a guaranteed contract and the patience of his NBA organization. As it was, a poor senior campaign dropped the Penn star to the late second round and the black hole that is the Minnesota Timberwolves roster. A year on, Allen's time in the Land of 10,000 Lakes has ended. Midway through the season, the T-wolves fired head coach Bill Blair, who had been playing Allen sporadically, and hired Flip Saunders, who never gave him the time of day. Now Allen is out of contract, last sighted playing with the guard-weak New Jersey Nets in the NBA summer league. He'll surely find his way into someone's training camp, but the promise he showed in four Palestra seasons has faded. Allen's backcourt mate Matt Maloney went undrafted, but just missed making the Golden State Warriors. So Maloney took his game to the Grand Rapids Mackers of the CBA. Seemingly just one injury away from an NBA roster spot, the 1995 Ivy Player of the Year never got the call. Now, he's starting over with the Houston Rockets (see box, page 7). Although not a part of the same era of dominance, former Penn outfielder Doug Glanville was ticketed for stardom with the Chicago Cubs. The 1991 first-round pick, who commanded a $350,000 signing bonus, has largely failed to live up to expectations. Just last weekend, the Cubs ended his first stint in the majors, a seven-week run, by sending him back to AAA Iowa of the American Association. Although he will probably be called back up eventually, perhaps in September when rosters expand, the time is running short for the soon-to-be 26-year-old to establish himself. Penn's other pro baseball hope is Mark DeRosa, last year's starting shortstop, who left school in June to sign with the Atlanta Braves organization. Presently stationed in short-season A ball as a shortstop for the Eugene Emeralds, DeRosa has gotten off to a slow start. His average is hovering around .240, and his defense has been questionable at short. Even if he catches fire, DeRosa is only one player of many prospects in baseball's premier organization of the 1990s. That leaves one -- one star with a chance to hit the big-time and stick. Macik, one of the great receivers in Ivy League history, is reportedly comporting himself well at training camp with the Detroit Lions. No one, not coaches or Penn teammates, doubts that Macik has the football sense and hands to play in the NFL. The question is whether he will get a chance on a team jam-packed with receivers. Even if he makes the team, Macik is stuck behind Herman Moore, Johnny Morton, Brett Perriman and several others. Still, Macik is Penn's best hope. The Lions coaching staff is supposedly not turned off by the 6-foot-4 receiver's lack of breakaway speed, believing his flypaper hands compensate. Just catching the ball can go a long way in the NFL, even if it does not make for highlights. Add to that Macik's auxiliary skills, like holding on field goals, and he may just make a career of football. Penn fans got a lot of mileage out of the Allens and DeRosas. If one could break through in the national scene, the legacy of Penn's great early 1990s teams will be all the greater.

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