M. Hoops' Lang, Tolan part ways with team

Pat Lang will graduate from Penn this spring with a perfect shooting percentage in his time with the Quakers.

That is because the senior guard, who is 4-for-4 from the field all-time, will not be playing basketball for Penn this upcoming season.

Classmate Conor Tolan, a 7-foot center, will also not be returning to the Quakers this winter.

"They've decided that they want to do different things for their senior year, so I am in full support of whatever they want to do," Penn head coach Fran Dunphy said.

Both players' names have been removed from the team's online roster for the upcoming season.

Lang, who will be remembered by Penn fans for his cheesesteak-clinching shot last year on Feb. 6 against Harvard, scored 11 career points for the Quakers. He appeared in 15 total games in his three years with the team, playing in four contests last season.

A native of Dublin, Ireland, Tolan appeared in nine games in his three years with the team, including four last year.

AFTER FAILING TO receive NCAA eligibility last season, Lorenz Manthey, a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard, has been cleared to play this upcoming season.

The NCAA raised questions about Manthey's amateur status, since he had played with a professional squad in his native Germany.

Manthey maintained that he never received any compensation from the squad, and now the NCAA agrees.

ANOTHER NEW FACE on Penn's roster this season could be North Carolina transfer Adam Franklin.

Franklin played with the Tar Heels' junior varsity team last year before seeking out a chance to play for the Quakers.

Dunphy said that he has never seen Franklin play and that Franklin will play with Penn this year "if he's good enough."

A 6-foot-6 junior guard from New Castle, Del., Franklin is already listed on Penn's online roster for the upcoming season.

FIRST YEAR PLAYER Brian Grandieri may not have a chance to step on the Palestra floor this season.

After having surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament in July, Dunphy called Grandieri's chances of missing the entire season "more than likely."

The typical recovery period for such surgery is five to six months.

"If he makes a miraculous recovery, then maybe he can help us at the end of the year, but it's not something that we're absolutely counting on," Dunphy said.

Grandieri, a 6-foot-4 guard from local Malvern Prep, was named first-team All-State in both 2003 and 2004. The Media, Pa., native also earned "AAA" All-State Player of the Year honors last season.

If Grandieri sits out the entire season, he can apply for an extra year of eligibility during his senior year by receiving a Medical Hardship Waiver.

Dunphy also indicated that senior guard Tim Begley and sophomore forward Mark Zoller were also "banged up" in the offseason.

When asked whether those two would be ready for Penn's Nov. 16 season opener against Quinnipiac, Dunphy replied, "I sure hope so. We're counting on them."

OTHER THAN PENN'S preseason NIT game against Quinnipiac, the school has yet to release any other dates for the upcoming basketball season.

Dunphy said that the schedule is complete and it just needs the signatures of several Penn athletic administrators before its release, which he indicated could take place as early as tomorrow.

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