At Courtside: Rookies impress in debuts

Jordan, Langel and Owens proved that their future is right now. Scan the roster of the Penn men's basketball team, and you'll see a lot of youngsters. In terms of sheer numbers, sophomores and freshmen dominate the Quakers lineup. Two exceptions can be found in the Penn backcourt, where senior Jamie Lyren and junior Garett Kreitz return to lead the Quakers guards. They've been part of coach Fran Dunphy's program the longest, and their experience should help everyone. "I think it helps out, especially early in the season," Lyren said. "You've been there before, you know what to expect, you don't really have any questions to be answered." Lyren, the lone senior on the team, was voted captain by the rest of the players. But oddly enough, this will be his first full season as a starter. The native of Wadsworth, Ohio, spent most of his first two years at Penn on the bench, making spot appearances in 27 games. Last season, Lyren began the season as the Quakers' top point guard, averaging 7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. But a foot injury suffered against Penn State in the fourth game forced him to miss the rest of the season. After surgery in February, Lyren says he's as good as ever and ready to resume his duties at the point. "I look at playing the point guard position as establishing the team atmosphere, where everyone should get a touch," Lyren said. "Everyone has to be involved to be successful. That's what I try to incorporate when I'm on the court." While Lyren is a distributor, Kreitz is a pure gunner. As a sophomore, he emerged from the bench and was a starter by the fifth game of the season. He became Penn's best three-point threat, shooting 40.6 percent from behind the arc. And with the graduation of Ira Bowman, Tim Krug and Donald Moxley, Kreitz (9.0 ppg) is the Quakers' top returning scorer. But Lyren and Kreitz won't be alone in the backcourt. As indicated by last night's exhibition game, freshmen Matt Langel and Michael Jordan will see plenty of action immediately. "They're very good basketball players, Matt and Michael," Dunphy said. "So they have a nice feel for the game to start with. All it is is just getting a feel of how we're going to do things offensively and defensively." Lyren and Kreitz have been doing their part to help the youngsters adjust to their new surroundings. "They've been here longer," Jordan said. "They gave me the mentorship that I needed on how to run the offense and what role I have in the system. So they helped me a lot in getting used to the system." When he recovers from his recent surgery, sophomore swingman Frank Brown will essentially be a third guard. Until then, the competition for the three spot is wide open, according to Dunphy. "Right now we have Garett and Jamie, Matt Langel, Mike Jordan probably vying for three spots as we speak," Dunphy said. "Jed Ryan can swing back to that three spot should we need him. So that would probably be the rotation at this point." Regardless of who starts and who comes off the bench, all four of the guards will see lots of time on the court. Junior Mike Dzik, sophomore Nate Allison and freshman Mike Koller could also get playing time if needed. Dunphy will stick with whoever produces. "I'm not much on starting," Dunphy said. "Finishing is much more important. That's always a function of who plays the best during the course of a game." And though Lyren and Jordan both exhibit pure point guard tendencies, and Kreitz and Langel are bombers, the Quakers guards won't be locked in at one spot in the backcourt. In yesterday's game, for example, Langel started at small forward, and Lyren, Jordan and Langel were often on the floor at the same time. "At this point, Jamie's a point guard and Michael Jordan's pretty much a point guard, but you could play both of those guys at the two or three spot as well," Dunphy said. "The way we play our system, once you're into your offense, everybody's a point guard. Whoever has the ball is a point guard."

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