COLUMN: 8 played great, but 10 would be heaven

Commentary, Scott Miller Of the eight Quakers who saw minutes, three players had one assist, while everyone else dished the rock twice or more, including Lyren, who made eight scoring passes. Of the eight Quakers who saw minutes, all but one grabbed a rebound and all but two stole the ball at least once. Of the eight Quakers that saw minutes, every single one of them proved that they were just as capable as any other teammate and were able to create scoring chances when their own shots weren't falling. And it is exactly that team character that will carry Penn above all expectations this year. It's not the perennial unselfish play that is unique to this team, but the fact that there is no clear-cut star who is a head and shoulders above the rest of the gang talent-wise. Yes, Kreitz did shoot the lights out with his 24 points, but in the two exhibition games, it was freshman Matt Langel who supplied the firepower. The point is every one of those eight players has the ability to step up and be the team leader for any particular game. And when the other seven aren't busy leading the team on the court, they are helping each other out. Each of those eight players combined for an average of about four assists. Defensively, those eight swarmed their opponents to create nine steals and 21 turnovers. And even though the Quakers were outrebounded 36-22, every player in red and blue grabbed at least one, except Jed Ryan. If there is one exception to the rule, it was the play of the three freshmen versus the play of the five veterans. When the game was on the line, the experienced players -- Lyren, Kreitz, Ryan, George Mboya and Paul Romanczuk -- finished the game with clutch play. But when all was said and done, it was the play of each and every one of those eight guys that earned the Quakers victory No. 1. So why does something not feel right? There were eight players in the game -- eight players out of a possible 15. While Frank Brown will see plenty of time on the floor after his knee is back in shape, there will be essentially nine players who will spend considerable time on the hardwood. That is not much different from any of Fran Dunphy's recent teams, but this year it could kill the Quakers. Two years ago, when Jerome Allen, Eric Moore, Matt Maloney, Scott Kegler and Shawn Trice graced the Palestra floor, Penn had a seven-man rotation, with then-juniors Tim Krug and Ira Bowman subbing in. Last year, Dunphy again had a seven-man rotation, although it changed with injuries and players leaving the team. At the end of the season, Bowman, Krug, Donald Moxley, Kreitz and Romanczuk started and got breaks when Cedric Laster and Brown entered. This year, Dunphy seems to be breaking from his seven-man tradition and moving to a nine-man rotation. Good -- right? Sort of. With three of those nine players being freshmen, Dunphy needs to rely on them more than he relied on then-freshmen Romanczuk and Brown last year -- which was the first year in many that Dunphy actually gave freshmen considerable playing time. Let's be honest: rookies make rookie mistakes. It takes time and game experience to work out those kinks. With that in mind, Dunphy is not working with a full nine-man rotation, but a six-man unit with three students of college basketball subbing in. And while nine men seeing a good number of minutes is probably the most in the Ivy League, it still may not be enough. If freshman mistakes become a problem or if fatigue sets in, then Dunphy will regret not looking to new faces earlier. In order to be competitive in the Big 5 and non-conference play, Penn needs to use substitution more wisely. Maybe if Dunphy could give some time to Mike Sullivan, a former JVer who pours all of his heart and soul onto the court. Or maybe if Nate Allison got the ball more often, he could step up to give Penn's four guards a break. Foul trouble and sheer exhaustion have been one of Penn's few plagues in the past, so expanding the rotation past Dunphy-esque tradition could be beneficial.