When Penn dropped its first two games in the Ivy League, naturally questions were asked about what happened. Coming in as the favorite to win the league, the losses had to be attributed to something.
The trademark of the Quakers up to that point was coach Fran Dunphy's extensive use of his bench and his unpredictable substitution pattern.
Early in the season, it was like playing spin the bottle to choose Penn's sixth man. One night it's Eric Heil, the next game Steve Danley and another game it's Ibby Jaaber.
You can imagine what a crapshoot it was to pick Penn's sixth man for the DP's Princeton preview. We went with Jaaber and Dunphy didn't even play him last Tuesday.
Jaaber then went on to post 16 and 17 points against Columbia and Cornell, respectively, over the weekend.
There's a reason to Dunphy's purported madness and Cornell coach Steve Donahue is well aware of it.
"Early on, there were so many different people getting minutes, in and out," the former Penn assistant said. "People were probably wondering what the heck he's doing.
"Well, he had a bunch of young kids that could play and what they're doing right now is now you've got a bunch of guys who are certainly very confident on the floor because they got time. They keep getting better and they're a typical Penn team, they get better as the season goes along and they're doing a great job right now."
Dunphy knows how to win, as his six trips to the NCAA tournament are evidence enough.
He also knows his team and its weaknesses. Beginning the year with a lineup of Jeff Schiffner, Tim Begley, Charlie Copp, Adam Chubb and Jan Fikiel, Schiffner and Begley were proven starters.
Positionally, the frontcourt and the point were unproven commodities. Chubb and Fikiel had to prove themselves in the post. Dunphy knew it wasn't a sure thing, and thus gave playing time to his freshman big men, Mark Zoller, Steve Danley and Ryan Pettinella.
Fikiel eventually played his way out of the lineup and Zoller stepped into the starting position. Chubb has been reliable on the boards, but lacks fluidity when posting up, as evidenced by numerous traveling violations. Dunphy compensates by giving playing time to Danley and Pettinella, who are smoother offensive players.
At the point guard position, it is without a doubt that Charlie Copp is a solid fundamental player; however, the senior lacks the scoring mentality that is sometimes needed at the point.
Who fills that gap? Jaaber.
Over the weekend, the freshman made a statement with his offensive output. Seventeen points in 15 minutes and having the confidence to take on Cornell star Ka'Ron Barnes -- who leads the Ivy League in points, assists and steals per game -- off the dribble speaks volumes about his promise.
Penn's tough nonconference schedule gave Dunphy ample opportunities to get his freshmen acclimated to the environment of the college game. After playing Saint Joseph's in front of a sold out Palestra or taking on Manhattan at Madison Square Garden, it is hardly intimidating to walk into Columbia's Levien Gym or Cornell's Newman Arena.
Also, it is this point in the season that the freshmen are not so much freshmen any more after learning the plays and the coach's ideology.
After the Columbia game, Columbia coach Joe Jones spoke about Dunphy's ability to rotate his younger players into the game.
"A kid like Ibby Jaaber comes in as a freshman ... and has a really good understanding of their offense, that's more than talent," Jones said. "He gets great players to play within a system, they understand what they're doing."
As exemplified this weekend, this system has been enough to pull Penn right back into the thick of things in the Ivy League title race.
