M. Hoops to brush up on Spanish

The Quakers head to Puerto Rico to take part in the San Juan Shootout during the Thanksgiving Break. Palm trees, lagoons, warm weather, beautiful beaches. These and other distractions will undoubtedly be on the minds of the members of the Penn basketball team while they lie awake in their hotel awaiting bed checks. Penn's destination this weekend is Puerto Rico, where the team will participate the 1997 Thanksgiving San Juan Shootout. The Quakers (1-0) may be giving thanks for their victory against Rice last Saturday, but not for too long. "It's three extra games that we otherwise wouldn't have," Penn sophomore guard Matt Langel said. "Guys are pretty excited. Granted, we have to be away from our families for Thanksgiving, but it's something we are excited about." The win Saturday may give the Quakers momentum to build on, but more importantly, it gives them a focus for the tournament which guarantees at least three games of competition. "The reason why we are going to the tournament is for a lot of issues to get taken care of," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "One is it gives these guys three extra opportunities to play games against quality opponents. The NCAA allows it, our administration supported it and hopefully it will turn out to be a real positive experience for them." Penn is again faced with improving the hindrance they dealt with in the Owls game -- its lack of height. The success they found in the Palestra, shooting the ball impressively from the outside, cannot be the focus as the season progresses, according to Dunphy. "I think we have got to be ready for any style of play and athleticism," Dunphy said. "It is important to give them as many experiences as possible." Their first test will be Dayton (0-2) Friday at 2 p.m. The Flyers are an Atlantic-10 team that may give the Quakers similar problems on the glass and down in the block as seen versus Rice. Their top returnee is senior Ryan Perryman, who at 6'7" doesn't present a height mismatch for the Quakers. However, Perryman has proved a rebounding machine, pulling down 13 boards per game in the Flyers' first two games, including a 19-rebound effort in a double-overtime loss to Miami (Ohio). Penn's Jed Ryan, George Mboya, Frank Brown and company will have to work on boxing Perryman out to keep him in check. His 13.5 points per game will also be a concern of the Quakers. Junior forward Paul Romanczuk, still recovering form a stress fracture will play sparingly, as he is day to day. While the big men are dealing with Perryman's presence, Michael Jordan and Garett Kreitz are going to have to deal with Dayton's freshman standout shooting guard Tony Stanley. The 6'4" A-10 Rookie of the Week in his first week of play, Stanley laid out 40 points in his first two games. Dayton has not been able to come away with a victory, losing its first game to Murray State, 76-69, in addition to the Miami loss. Perryman will be enough for the Quakers to worry about. "I think part of our problem on Saturday was that we made a lot of shots," Dunphy said. "Making a lot of shots gives you false sense of security a little bit." The Quakers hope their field goal shooting (51.9 percent) against Rice continues in the tournament. Their outside touch was even more devastating, nailing 52.9 percent of their treys. No matter which direction the Quakers move in the tournament bracket, the inside game will not be easy. If Penn can prevail against Dayton, it is likely to face the No. 2 seed of the tournament, Washington State on Saturday. The PAC-10 team has only seen game action once this year, demolishing Brigham Young, 78-49. The mainstays of the Cougars' offense are a pair of 6'7" forwards, Rodrigo de la Fuente and Chris Crosby. The two scored 22 and 21 points, respectively, against BYU. "Some of the teams we play early [in the season] have extremely big players, and the Ivy League won't have those type of players, so we will take what they give us right now," Langel said. "But we definitely want to work the inside-out game." The other option in Penn's bracket is South Florida (0-0). In two preseason games, the Bulls were powered by a core of youth. Four players averaged double-digits in scoring, none of whom were seniors. A duo of sophomores made their mark immediately. Dan Luczyko (6'9") averaged 12 ppg and Scott Johnson (6'10") came away with 11. Both would be taller than any Quaker guarding him. Artha Reeves, a 6'7" forward, has been their most dominating presence down low. The junior averaged 13.5 ppg and 11.5 rebound in the Bulls' victory over Lithuania Select (94-66) and their loss to the California All-Stars (76-78). While the success of the Quakers at home last weekend should give them reason to look ahead, the work yet to be done needs to remain their biggest concern. "Coach talks about when we are shooting the ball real well like we did, it kind of covers up some of the bad defensive plays we made, or the poor decisions we made, we can make up for them by making some shots," Langel said. "I think the team realizes that and will continue to work hard and get through it."