Men's Hoops boosted by new recruits

What exactly happens when seven freshmen and a junior transfer join a basketball team losing just three players to graduation?

The answer is... heck, no one knows the answer. For now, the philosophy is to just wait and see.

"It's hard to say how it will filter out," Penn men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy said of the large recruiting class ready to suit up for the Red and Blue. "Everyone will be given an opportunity and we'll see how it all shakes out.

"We'll wait and see."

The Quakers -- fresh off one of the worst seasons in recent memory -- will certainly have a lot of question marks going into their 2001-2002 campaign.

Gone is the strong senior tandem of Lamar Plummer, Penn's leading scorer and top outside threat, and Geoff Owens, the team's captain and most potent inside force.

Coming back for another crack at it are three sophomores, five juniors and a pair of seniors hungry to rescue the Ivy crown from Jadwin and return it to its rightful place in the Palestra.

And entering the picture are eight newcomers, primed to taste the pureness and competitive spirit of the Ivy League.

The only problem is 10 returners plus eight new faces equals a roster that the NCAA simply won't allow.

But while some of the newcomers might not have a spot ready for them on the Quakers' bench, there are at least a couple that are expected to be major contributors to Penn's run in 2001-2002.

And it just so happens that they're a couple of old high school teammates, coming from different directions, but ending up together in basketball's most historic gym.

When Tim Begley was a freshman on the basketball team at the Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, N.J., Andy Toole was a senior on the squad.

The two will be teammates again, as both CBA alumni will suit up for the Quakers for the first time next season.

Toole transferred to Penn after spending two years at Elon College, and was forced to sit out for all of last season due to NCAA regulations.

Toole, who averaged 15 points per game as Elon's starting point guard, was active during Penn's practices last season, and will be looked upon right away to help lead the team to success.

Begley joins the Quakers after a stellar high school career at CBA. The guard averaged 14.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.6 steals in his senior season, and was a Daily News/MSG Network first team All-Area selection.

Also coming into Penn's crowded backcourt are a couple of 6'2" players in Mike Barker and Pat Lang.

Barker, a local product out of St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia, averaged 17.6 points, seven rebounds and six assists per contest in his senior season as the team's point guard and captain.

Lang, a combo guard out of the Marist School (Atlanta, GA.), threw in an even 20 points per game in his senior season, a year removed from leading his team to the state championship.

Both Lang and Barker, however, will have a difficult time cracking the rotation in their freshman seasons.

The Quakers will also add some size to their lineup next season. Owens, who clogged the middle for five years for the Red and Blue, will have to be replaced, and Penn has found a seven-footer that may be up to the task.

Conor Tolan, originally from Artane, Ireland, spent last year at the Berkshire School in Massachusetts, where he compiled solid numbers. The seven-footer swatted five blocks and pulled down seven rebounds, to go along with his 14 points per game.

"He has some terrific upsides," Dunphy said of Tolan. "He's a big, big person. He's different physically [than Owens]. He's much bigger and wider."

Also ready to bolster the Quakers' frontcourt are Jan Fikiel of Florida's Westminster Academy, Greg Kuchinski of St. Joseph's H.S. (Metuchen, N.J.) and Nameir Majette of Hertford County H.S. (Ahoskie, N.C.).

The 6'10" Fikiel, who hails from Ulm, Germany, tallied 21.3 points and 8.8 rebounds down in the Sunshine State, and was named first team All-State his senior year.

Kuchinski, a 6'5" forward, was named All-County, All-Area, All-Division and All-Conference as a junior and senior at St. Joe's.

In Majette, the Quakers discovered an extraordinary athlete. Not only was he the captain of the basketball team, the 6'9" power forward also had a distinguished high school career on the track, winning a state title in the high jump.

"He can run the floor very well for his size," Dunphy said. "That kind of athleticism is very unique to what we now have."

The Quakers will certainly have a lot of new faces for next year. How they'll work into the lineup, we'll have to wait and see.

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