COLUMN: Palestra: a court of dreams

Summer workouts showcase Philly's best hoopsters and suggest an Ivy title for Penn.Summer workouts showcase Philly's best hoopsters and suggest an Ivy title for Penn.Kent Malmros, Commentary And yet some of the best basketball is being played there now, not in memories -- and no one knows it. If you step inside the Palestra, you'll get chills. During the past two weeks, chairbacks at the Palestra have been free. You could sit as close to the action as you like -- and most likely, there would be no more than five or ten other spectators in the entire arena. Every summer, the Sonny Hill League congregates to give the best college hoopsters in the area a chance to mingle with the pros, competing fiercely and learning comfortably. The workouts, which have been held in the Palestra, are some of the best kept secrets in a city rich with basketball tradition. The likes of former Temple standouts Eddie Jones, Aaron McKie, Marc Jackson, William Cunningham and Rick Brunson show up. Former Villanova stars Alvin Williams and Jason Lawson bring their NBA experience to the Palestra floor again this summer. There are appearances by former 76er Tim Perry, Rhode Island stars Tyson Wheeler and Cuttino Mobley, La Salle sensation Donnie Carr, UMass star Lari Ketner, St. Joe's Rashid Bey and on and on. If it sounds like a list, it is -- a who's who of Philly basketball. That's only the beginning. The best part is watching three guys who call the Palestra their home take part in all of this -- Michael Jordan, Matt Langel and Geoff Owens. For any spectator, to watch is a special event. But for the Penn fan, the most intriguing aspect of watching the workouts is seeing Owens post-up Lawson, or "D"-up soon-to-be first round NBA draft pick Brian Skinner of Baylor. Watching Jordan match up with Brunson and team up with Bey or Carr causes blurry vision from the speed of the guards. A basketball junkie sits there and feels like he has found the perfect game-day tickets. But what has more importantly been found is the training ground for Ivy League championship hopes. It's nice to see Eddie Jones score at will, out of his gold and purple uniform, and in a Palestra instead of a Forum. But the Palestra is still the house of Ivy championship aspirations, and with each Owens slam and Jordan penetration, the dream falls from the rafters a little and gets closer to the floor. Owens may be the greatest beneficiary from this experience. The formats used in the workouts have given the big man not only the ability to, but the need to, expand and explore all aspects of his game. Playing three-on-three and four-on-four, Owens has been forced to run the floor more than usual. More spacing on the floor has created seams for Owens to work more off the ball and create more passing lanes for his teammates. It takes little hesitation to say there won't be any Jackson, Lawson, Cunningham -- or even La Salle's Dezell Wesson -- to body up with Owens in the Ivy League. With only two others on his team, no double team help comes into the lane -- it's just Owens and his NBA-bound counterparts. Yet, Owens's improvement has been monumental, and his skills continue to blossom in front of his peers and all ten people in the stands. Owens is running the floor, playing with his back to the basket, facing the basket and blocking shots like a true center that rarely exists in the Ivies. Langel's game emerged this season. For the 6'5" Jersey kid, Sonny Hill workouts are giving him tougher challenges than he saw all year. Langel continuously gets bodied by larger small forwards, who he has to defend in the low post. But for every time he gets taught a low-post defense lesson, Langel seemingly shows these big men what their jump shot should really look like. MJ has just shown people what he can do when he has a big man in the middle. He gets in the lane, someone else gets two. That simple. There is still work to be done for this squad. For now, though, playing the competition at hand makes moving into next March seem a little more promising. Sonny Hill workouts, and in a week, the actual games, are a well-kept secret for many reasons. If you sneak into the Palestra, you'll see some of the best basketball you may ever see on the floor. But what's more is the development of the Quakers basketball players. The threesome of Jordan, Langel and Owens will be crucial to the success of Penn's season. When June 15 rolls around, Paul Romanczuk and Jed Ryan will take to the floor with the league as well. For now, the nuclear structure of Penn's team is getting a basketball education. The teachers are the Jason Lawsons and Marc Jacksons of the summer, and the pupils may not earn an "A", but an Ivy title will suffice.