Coach Dunphy, please start Mark Zoller.
And I'm not just saying that because he has cool hair.
The sophomore was the best player on the court last night against Drexel, turning in a 22-point, 12-rebound (three offensive) performance as the first man off the bench for the Quakers.
However, he had a much larger impact on the game than even his impressive stat sheet reveals.
As the team's sixth man, Zoller gave Penn a jumpstart just as it looked to be going under.
Early in the game, the Dragons looked as good as advertised. Guard Phil Goss hit two three-pointers early and forward Sean Brooks, clearly the strongest man on the court, punished Penn defenders in the key.
Penn could not score in the first 10 minutes of the game. It was Drexel's sloppy defense that kept the Red and Blue close.
In for senior starter Jan Fikiel, Zoller gave his teammates exactly what they needed -- a three-point bucket off the backboard to tie the game at 20.
This is hardly the shot fans expected from the second-tallest Penn player on the floor. Zoller even cracked a grin in surprise as he ran back on defense.
The Dragons scored a couple more baskets, slowly trying to inch away again, when they left Zoller open at the top of the key a second time.
Zoller drained another three -- this time a much prettier swish -- that tied the game at 25 with 2:12 left in the half.
This was the shot that broke Drexel.
It took the Dragons almost six minutes before they could score again.
The Quakers, on the other hand, went on a 24-1 run thanks to Zoller's clutch shots and tough play.
The Blue Bell, Pa., native continued to work against Drexel, finishing the first half with a layup off a baseline drive and a long two-pointer to put Penn up, 33-25.
Even in the second half, Zoller looked unstoppable.
After reaching over a sea of Drexel big men to grab a rebound on defense, Zoller finished the play by converting a scoop shot around a Dragons defender to increase his team's lead to 18.
Another long two-point shot by Zoller put Penn up by 20.
Believe it or not, his scoring contribution was not even his most valuable contribution of the game.
It was Zoller's relentless style of play on both offense and defense that rubbed off on his teammates, who seemed to play with new-found energy as he began to thrive.
Zoller left his mark all over the Palestra floor, diving for loose balls and crashing the boards against players up to four inches taller than him.
With Penn falling down early to Drexel, it needed Zoller's intangibles to turn its game around.
On offense, Zoller kept loose balls inbounds when no other Penn player attempted to save them and created his own shots when Penn could not buy an open look to the basket.
On defense, Zoller drew charging fouls, caused turnovers and put defensive stops on Brooks that led to fastbreak points on the other end for the Quakers.
On the boards, Zoller's three offensive rebounds led to five second-chance points for the Quakers.
So now the question is, if Penn played so well last night, why mess with a good thing? Zoller obviously excelled as a sixth man, so maybe keeping him on the bench to start the game is the best decision.
But you said it yourself, coach: "He's not really a substitute. He's a starter that happens to be coming off the bench."
I know you need him to give a big lift off the bench, but imagine him giving you that same tenacity starting at the opening tipoff.
If Zoller started the game, Drexel may not have even had a chance to compete.
Either way, you have no reason to worry -- you are stacked at the forward position and have young guys who can score on the floor at all times.
The people that need to worry now are opposing coaches, because Zoller isn't going anywhere.
But picture this, coach: not only will Zoller make your team play better for longer, but droves of Penn fans will start coming to the Palestra adorned in wigs of large curly hair.
It would make quite the pretty picture.
Andrew Goodman is a junior history major from Washington. His e-mail address is agoodman@sas.upenn.edu.
