COLUMN: Jordan back to his old self

After five games, however, it's also safe to say that the Quakers are not in bad shape. Sure, there are obvious areas of concern, such as an inability to get to the free-throw line and the lack of experience for starting forwards Ugonna Onyekwe and Koko Archibong. But one area that looked like a potential problem early in the season seems to be resolved. Michael Jordan. He's Penn's best player and its emotional leader. He's perhaps the main reason for the high expectations of the Quakers. And he's finally back on track. While the Quakers did not pull off an upset in Birmingham over the weekend, none of the blame can be placed on Jordan. The senior co-captain was sharp against the Tigers, and without his fiery play, Penn would not have been able to keep it so close in the 77-70 loss. "[Jordan] really played great. He's a great guard. I haven't played somebody with that much energy in a long time," Auburn guard Scott Pohlman said. "He was just out there running around all kinds of screens. It's just a compliment to him and shows just what a great player he is." From the start on Saturday, it was clear that Jordan would be relentless throughout the night. Two minutes into the game, he made a slashing cut through and past Auburn's big men to score on an impressive, swooping layup. He then came back on the next possession to hit Geoff Owens on a backdoor cut to even the score at nine. He was back to being the Michael Jordan people are used to, the one who led the Quakers to the Ivy title last season -- not the one who opened this season at Kentucky with one of his worst performances ever as a Quaker. In that game in the first round of the Preseason NIT, Jordan was just 2-of-14 from the field and totally off his game. After struggling again two weeks later versus Penn State -- he shot a mere 1-of-12 from the field -- Jordan was understandably frustrated. This is Michael Jordan's team, and if he is not performing up to the exceptionally high standards he sets for himself, he will not be happy. Two games and two losses after the Penn State game, Jordan is still not happy. He will only be satisfied when the Quakers start winning consistently. And from watching Jordan play against the Tigers this weekend, it's easy to see that the wins will start piling up for Penn as it plays its final 23 games of the regular season. "I think gradually my performance is getting better. I'm not happy with the way I've played yet, I'm kind of up-and-down. The first couple of games I played really bad. The last couple of games I played OK," Jordan said. "I have to play well all the time, so until I start playing well game after game after game, I won't be satisfied. If we're not winning, then I won't be happy with the way I'm playing." Against the Tigers, Jordan finished with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting and brought his characteristic fiery leadership to Birmingham. With two straight good games under his belt -- he knocked in 22 points against La Salle on Tuesday night -- Jordan is looking like the player he was last season. Jordan has been named the Quakers' team MVP in each of his first three seasons at Penn. Now, he is on probably the most talented Penn team of his career, and the Quakers, a very young squad with several freshmen seeing a lot of time, need him to be the team MVP now more than ever. Jordan played the entire second half against the Tigers, his aggressive play helping the Quakers keep the score close despite having all of their big men in foul trouble. Throughout the season, freshman David Klatsky has sometimes come in to play the point while Jordan moves to the shooting guard position. In the second half against the Tigers, Klatsky never left the bench. With Jordan running the show for the entire second 20 minutes, he was able to create plays and to dictate the offense. He was allowed to be himself. And he shined like he has so many times during his Penn career. Klatsky is very talented and has a great court sense. His contributions off the bench will be crucial throughout the season, but by keeping Jordan at the point for the whole second half, Penn coach Fran Dunphy gave his star freedom to run the show. If it weren't for the foul trouble that plagued Penn inside, Jordan could have probably led the Quakers to an upset of the powerful Tigers. "I thought Mike did a great job tonight at both ends of the floor, both offensively and defensively," Dunphy said. "He made some big baskets, played very intelligently, and led our team extremely well. I'm very pleased." But Michael Jordan is not pleased. He will only be pleased when the Red and Blue start to win games. From the way he played against Auburn on Saturday, however, it seems as though that time is not too far off. After a shaky start, Jordan is back to his old ways -- old ways that are likely to lead Penn back to success.