Quakers get chance to mingle with pros

While the rest of campus was winding down last week, 33rd Street was just beginning to heat up. Some of the best basketball players in Philly were honing their skills at the Palestra, as basketball gurus John Hartnett and Fred Douglas brought their pro and college workout sessions to Penn for two days. "Fred and I have gotten together in the last four years and put together a workout situation for pro players and returning college players," Hartnett said. "They can work on the fundamentals and strengthen their games in different aspects." The who's who of Philly basketball working out at the Palestra included, to name just a few, former Villanova stars Toronto Raptors guard Alvin Williams and Orlando Magic forward and '97 Big East Defensive Player of the Year Jason Lawson, as well as Rhode Island senior and NBA hopeful Cuttino Mobley. Also working out with the group were Penn's Michael Jordan, Matt Langel and Geoff Owens. "This is where you work on your game down here, playing against guys like Cuttino, Al, big guards like that, Rashid Bey [of St. Joe's], guys that are trying to go to the NBA," Jordan said. "You figure if you can play down here -- you don't have to dominate, you just need to play well -- then you can play anywhere." Hartnett and Douglas are each mainstays of the Sonny Hill Community Involvement summer basketball league. Douglas is a commissioner of the Baker League, the pro division of Sonny Hill, while Hartnett is involved in the younger divisions of Sonny Hill. As a result, the two have formed bonds with the players, who return to the 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. workout sessions year after year. "We get to know them from the crib all the way up till the time when they get married and when they retire," Hartnett said. Jordan, who first met Hartnett while playing in the Sonny Hill youth league in eighth grade, is Penn's liaison to these summer-long workouts, which Hartnett and Douglas normally run at Gustine Lake rec center. The workouts were moved to the Palestra Tuesday and Wednesday after a rim broke at Gustine. "It's not really an invitation thing, but it's like if you grew up around John [Hartnett] or know John you're welcome to come," Jordan said. "I brought Geoff last year and this is Matt's first year." The workouts, which include scrimmages as well as instruction and drills for big men and guards, have existed in various forms for several years, and draw Philly ballplayers long after their college days are finished. "This thing is daily, and it's been going on since even before I started playing. John Hartnett had players working out at different gyms here in the city," Alvin Williams, who averaged six points per game as a rookie with the Raptors, said. "Now that I'm playing professionally, I have to make sure that my skills are sharp, but I also come back to help guys out and have fun."