Rookie tearing up Ivy League

This season Jason Forte has registered 259 points, 111 assists and 39 steals.

His big brother, meanwhile, has put up precisely four points, three assists and zero steals -- and has yet to make field goal.

But don't be confused -- the aforementioned big brother happens to be Joseph Forte, a rookie guard for the Boston Celtics and a former first-team all-American at the University of North Carolina.

Joseph has yet to make his mark in the NBA, but his little brother, Jason, is certainly making his mark in the Ivy League, albeit a much smaller stage.

In his first season at Brown, little Forte has earned a spot as the Bears' starting point guard and has shined in that role.

"It's definitely a difficult situation for a first-year guy to step into," said Penn point guard Andrew Toole, who has had to deal with a similar situation, manning the point for the Quakers in his first year at the Palestra. "Sometimes it's hard to get the respect of the other guys, especially for a freshman."

But Forte has handled the transition with relative ease. He currently ranks second in the Ivy League in assists (4.83 per game) behind only Harvard's Elliot Prasse-Freeman. He is also 12th in the league in scoring with 11.3 points per game and fourth in steals with 1.70 takeaways per contest.

So far this season, Forte has garnered four Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors, not to mention a Player of the Week nod on Jan. 22.

"He's a tough guy to guard one-on-one, and he draws a lot of help," said Toole, who will have the primary responsibility of guarding Forte when the Bears come to town tonight. "He's able to find the open man. Whether he's passing to the open three-point shooters or driving and laying it off to guys hitting layups, he does a good job of getting into the lane and creating.

"He's a reason why they score so many points."

While Earl Hunt deserves a lot of the credit for Brown's high-octane offense -- Hunt leads the Ivies in scoring at a 20.3 ppg clip -- Forte is, in fact, a major reason why the Bears have put so many points on the scoreboard this season.

Scoring an average of 78.4 points per contest, the Bears have emerged as the Ancient Eight's most prolific offense this season -- thanks in large part to the quickness and precision passing of Forte.

The Quakers got a glimpse of the Bears' newcomer when they played Brown in Providence, R.I., on Feb. 9. Despite holding the freshman guard to nine points on just 3-of-12 shooting, Forte still sliced the Penn defense for 10 assists.

Tonight, the Quakers hope to limit Forte's penetration and keep him out of the lane. The problem, however, lies in the fact that the pesky guard has improved his shot as of late, making his offensive game all the more scary.

"If he really develops his jump shot, he's going to be a very tough guy to guard," Toole said. "Give him space, he'll be able to knock it down. Brush up on him, he'll be able to go by you -- he can go by a majority of the guys in the league."

Bottom line is the new guy can play -- and Jeff Schiffner has a good idea why.

"Obviously he's got a very good bloodline," the Penn guard said. "I'm sure he's followed a lot of what his brother has done."

If that's the case, the rest of the Ivy League had better watch out.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.