'It's time to look ahead to next season. Indeed, it seems more than likely that Penn will not win the Ivy League championship this year.
Princeton sits atop the Ancient Eight at 10-1, while the Quakers trail by two games with an 8-3 record. In order for the Penn-Princeton game on March 9 to have any impact on the Ivy title race, Princeton would have to lose to either Harvard or Dartmouth -- the second-to-last and last-place teams in the conference, respectively -- this weekend.
It will be the first time in three years that Penn has not clinched an NCAA Tournament berth.
Nevertheless, Penn appears to have a bright future ahead.
Penn's non-seniors -- in particular its freshmen -- have emerged as potential leaders.
Junior Tim Begley leads the Ivy League in three-point shooting percentage (.453) and in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.61). The former All-Ivy League honorable mention also ranks in the top 10 in assists (4.18), steals (1.36) and field-goal percentage (.446).
Begley will undoubtedly become Penn's main scoring option next season, even in coach Fran Dunphy's team-oriented offense.
But what separates the Quakers from the rest of the Ivy League is not Begley.
Several Ivy teams will return some of their best players next season. Brown's Jason Forte -- the Ivy League's second-leading scorer -- is a junior, as are Columbia's Matt Preston and Princeton's Judson Wallace.
Indeed, what distinguishes Penn from the other seven Ivy League teams is the depth in its freshman class.
The Quakers' rookie unit -- featuring starting power forward Mark Zoller and reserves Ibby Jaaber, Steve Danley and Ryan Pettinella -- has proven itself to be the premier group of freshmen in the Ancient Eight.
Penn is the only team with two players -- Zoller and Jaaber -- to be named Ivy League Rookie of the Week this season. Zoller received the honor twice.
Dartmouth's Leon Pattman is certainly the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year. The freshman guard averages team highs in points (13.8) and rebounds (4.8), and is ranked second in the Ancient Eight in free-throw percentage (.862).
But Zoller isn't too far behind in the Rookie of the Year race.
The Blue Bell, Pa., native is averaging 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds since entering Penn's starting lineup on Dec. 20 against Bucknell. For the season, Zoller is averaging 8.7 points and 4.8 rebounds, each of which ranks in the top 25 in the Ivy League.
Furthermore, Pattman averages nine more minutes than Zoller, while playing on a team that is 1-11 in the Ivy League.
Even though Pattman is the favorite for Rookie of the Year, Penn has the strongest freshman class of any Ivy team.
Behind Pattman, Dartmouth's leading freshman is Jonathan Blakley, who averages 7.6 minutes and a whopping 0.8 points.
Compare Blakley with Jaaber. Penn's unofficial sixth man averages six points and 1.15 steals.
Against Cornell this past weekend, Jaaber scored 17 points in 25 minutes and against Columbia, the Elizabeth, N.J., native posted 11 points and three blocks in the second half alone.
"He kills us every time," Columbia coach Joe Jones said, referring to Jaaber. "He's an outstanding prospect."
Jaaber earned Rookie of the Week honors on Feb. 16, after scoring 33 points on 12-for-15 shooting and helping Penn to sweep Columbia and Cornell.
Compare that with Columbia freshman Gerard Barrett, who earned Rookie of the Week honors for his eight point, six rebound performance in a 60-57 loss to Lehigh.
Or compare it to Cornell freshman Graham Dow, who earned Rookie of the Week honors on Dec. 8. Dow averages 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds this season.
Princeton's top recruit, Harrison Schaen -- who hails from Mater Dei, one of California's premier basketball programs -- averages just 2.4 points per game.
Penn's third-leading scorer among its freshmen -- Pettinella -- averages more than Schaen with 2.8 points per game, while Danley averages 2.3.
Penn may not travel to the NCAA Tournament this season, but if its freshman class is any indication of the success to come, the Quakers should continue their championship tradition in the near future.
