W. Hoops on verge of breakout year

Caramanico looks to take Penn to top Diana Caramanico is good. Very good. What else can one write about the Penn women's basketball team's returning star and preseason All-American? Penn's junior forward and tri-captain is already fifth on the Quakers' all-time scoring list with 1,144 points. She is the only hoopster, male or female, to score 1,000 points in less than two years at Penn. "She's a very special athlete, a special basketball player, and a pleasure to be around," first-year Penn coach Kelly Greenberg said. Last year, she scored 590 points -- second most in Quakers history -- en route to becoming the nation's seventh-leading scorer. She also topped the Big Five and the Ivy League in scoring and was named Player of the Year in both leagues. Caramanico isn't looking to rest on her countless laurels, though. She was in the gym all summer, working on her game. "She was just working, working, working," Greenberg said. "In the summer, in the hot months, her work ethic is really unmatchable. What she does in games is not a surprise. You don't put that much time and effort into something and not be very good." What was she working on this summer, besides staying in shape? "I mostly worked on my outside game," Caramanico said. "I did a little bit of stuff off the dribble, ball-handling, but I mostly hung out with the guards and worked on my outside game." Most coaches would probably cringe at the thought of a 6'2" all-league forward with visions of three-pointers dancing in her head, but not Greenberg. "I told her that our offense was going to allow her to shoot the three and she was pretty excited about that," Greenberg said. "She's going to take more threes as the season goes on. The three is all about preparation before you catch it. It's just going to be another weapon." Another weapon for an already formidable warrior on what could turn out to be a very formidable Quakers team. "I've been telling all the reporters how we're a new team, and we're not a two-person team anymore, and I believe it," Greenberg said. "Diana had a very quiet 30 points [Saturday against Temple], and that's how it should be." Greenberg wants Caramanico to score the way she did on Saturday, when she had 30 points while attempting just 13 field goals -- she was 10-of-13 from both the floor and the foul line. "She knows that she's the go-to player, but she also has somewhat of a different role this year," Greenberg said. "She's not the only player, and she kind of likes it." Caramanico can score; that much is certain. But that isn't what most impresses Greenberg. "She brings a lot to the table," Greenberg said. "More than her scoring, she rebounds the heck out of the ball." In addition to leading the Ivy League in scoring last season, Caramanico was also the league's leading rebounder -- by a long shot. She averaged 12.8 boards per game, the second-best total in the country and a whopping five more per game than the second-best rebounder in the Ivies. "A lot of girls score 25 a game," Greenberg said. "Not many score and rebound. She rebounds out of her own area, and they're not easy rebounds. She really gets after it. I think that her [scoring and rebounding] coupled together makes her an All-American." Caramanico doesn't believe the hype. "I didn't even know about that whole freakin' All-American thing until I got to school and read our media guide," she said. "I'm not really concerned with it. I would just as soon not be in that situation. It would be a lot easier to sneak up on teams." Caramanico's had all the accolades. Now she just wants to win. "It's just so exciting for us to win as a team," she said. "We got a little taste of that the other night, and we're not planning on giving that feeling up. If I score eight, or two, or 30, I don't care, as long as we win." That's what the Quakers are trying to do this year, with a new run-and-gun offense that one hopes won't be entirely dependent upon Caramanico's success. Caramanico is happy with the new offense and with the changes Greenberg has made, except for one. The sportsbras. "That's got to be the one thing I'm having a hard time with," the somewhat superstitious Caramanico said. "I have lucky sportsbras. They were all different colors and had wacky designs, and I liked to wear them. Some of them even had won-loss records." This year, though, Greenberg has mandated that only gray or black sportsbras be worn on game day. "It's not going to hinder me physically during the game or anything," Caramanico said. "I just feel more comfortable in my own choice of underwear." But with All-America candidate Caramanico on the court, the Quakers might not need any lucky underwear.