Baseball powers past La Salle

For the Penn men's basketball team, the just-completed recruiting season would seem to have been a crucial one. The Quakers are coming off their worst finish since the 1990-91 season and will lose two key starters -- center Geoff Owens and shooting guard Lamar Plummer -- to graduation. While Dunphy can't comment on accepted players until they send in their deposits to Penn, several sources have reported commitments from as many as six players. Perhaps the most high-profile recruit is 6'5" swingman Tim Begley, who told The Daily Pennsylvanian that he was committed to Penn upon acceptance. Begley said that, though he hadn't met Dunphy before last summer, the Quakers coach -- as well as Philadelphia -- were major factors in his decision. "Coach Dunphy and I have a really good relationship," Begley said. "Also, I really fell in love with Philadelphia. I've always been a Jersey City-New York guy, but I like the tradition of the Big 5 and Philly basketball." Begley recently finished up a stellar basketball career at Christian Brothers Academy in Middletown, N.J., where, in two years as a starter, he led the team to a 50-2 record. Begley sees himself as a definite swingman. "I guess I really don't have much of a position," Begley said. "I like to chuck it up from outside, and I'm not the most athletic or the quickest guy in the world. I try to outsmart the opponent, I guess you could say." Begley is already quite familiar with several of the Quakers. Transfer Andy Toole attended Christian Brothers while Begley was a freshman, while junior David Klatsky and sophomore Jeff Schiffner are both New Jersey natives. * Also pounding the Palestra hardwood next year, pending an acceptance letter, will be 6'9" forward Namier Majette, out of Hertford County High School in Ahoskie, N.C. "I liked the winning tradition at Penn," Majette said. "I've made one official visit and watched practiced a couple of times." Majette, from a rural area of North Carolina, will probably endure a bit of an adjustment period. "I went to a 3A school in a pretty strong conference," Majette said. "[Coming to Penn] should be a totally different experience, for sure." * According to the Philadelphia Daily News, point guard Mike Barker, a Philadelphia native out of St. Joseph's Prep, has been accepted and will enroll at Penn in the fall. "I've had my eyes on [Penn] for a long time," Barker told the Daily News. "Really, it's where I've wanted to be from the start." * Other players, who could not be reached but are listed as committed to Penn, according to the Web site www.ivybasketball.com: *Conor Tolan, a seven-foot center from Dublin, Ireland, via Massachussets' Berkshire school, has "reportedly committed," according to the Web site. * Patrick Lang, a 6'1" guard from Atlanta's Marist school has "committed." *Frederich Ebede, a 6'6" swingman and native of Cameroon, who currently attends Wilmington Friends, has "committed."

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