Fikiel, Chubb start strong for new-look Quakers

No one expected replacing Koko Archibong and Ugonna Onyekwe would be easy, but junior forward Jan Fikiel and senior center Adam Chubb filled in admirably during Friday's season opener against No. 15 Wisconsin.

At the beginning of the game, both players came out firing and looked very strong. With off-dribble penetration from the Quakers' guards, Fikiel was freed up for two open jumpers, both of which he buried. Chubb, playing the more conventional big man role, camped out down low, creating his own space and scoring buckets in the low block.

All told, the two combined to score eight of Penn's first 11 points as the Red and Blue sprung out to the early lead.

"I thought [Chubb and Fikiel] did some really good things," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "You just have these guys for x amounts of years. This is a fun time for us because now it's new and different."

The two also combined again in the second half during a pivotal stretch that got Penn back into the ball game.

During the first seven minutes of the second half, Fikiel and Chubb scored six consecutive points for the Quakers and closed an eight-point gap down to just a four-point deficit.

All told, the two contributed 16 points on the night. Fikiel was second on the team in scoring with 10, and Chubb contributed six points on just 3-for-7 shooting.

"It's an opportunity to see other kids get a chance to play, so when Adam Chubb is making a couple of moves inside and finishing plays that's tremendously exciting," Dunphy said. "And I'm hoping that he's going to continue to get better and better as the season goes on. There are a lot of positives out there."

Despite the strong scoring production, there were problems that became more and more apparent as the game progressed.

For Fikiel, in 26 minutes of action he racked up just one rebound. He was active on the offensive end, but one rebound from the starting power forward position is not the type of contribution Penn fans have grown accustomed to seeing.

Chubb was much better in this regard. He was able to pull down seven rebounds, including two on the offensive end, and was constantly going hard towards the glass in search of getting his hands on a rebound.

The Quakers were out-rebounded by 10 on the night, and struggled specifically with offensive rebounds.

In defense of the two big men, Wisconsin -- and the Big Ten Conference in general -- is well known for its ability to rebound and Wisconsin's three big men outweighed Fikiel and Chubb by an average of 13 pounds.

Another problem that the two faced was the lack of time spent on the court.

Both players were in foul trouble throughout the entire game. In the first half, both players could play for only 10 minutes as they each amassed two personal fouls early on. Within the game's opening minute, both Fikiel and Chubb picked up fouls on the same Badger possession.

With very little experience and even less offensive prowes at this point in the season, both big men need to be on the court.

Once both players were on the bench at the midpoint of the first half, Wisconsin took advantage of Penn's lack of inside presence to take control on both sides of the ball. With the two sitting out of the game, the Badgers took a lead that they would never relinquish.

This was the first game of the season and Penn was facing a strong frontcourt. There were aspects of its play that were strong and there are definitely points to build on in the future. However, if the Quakers want to continue their reign over the Ivy League, they will need smart and consistent play from their two big men.

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