If you closed your eyes last night at the Palestra, it felt like basketball season was in full swing.
The voice of public address announcer John McAdams echoed off the freshly painted walls, as did the voice of infamous student heckler John Lubin.
But Penn's basketball season doesn't officially begin for 11 more days, when the Quakers face off against Quinnipiac in the Preseason NIT.
Yesterday was simply a time for both the men's and women's squads to scrimmage in front of a small Palestra crowd at the annual Red and Blue game.
The men took the floor first.
Leading all scorers in the 20 minute game was freshman guard Michael Kach, who tallied 11 points.
The Carmel, N.Y., native was able to take the ball down the middle to the basket with relative ease.
Teammate Ibby Jaaber feels that Kach has the chance to be an impact player early this season, similar to himself and classmate Mark Zoller last year.
"He can bring what me and Mark especially brought last year," Jaaber said. "He's a very athletic player. He can get up the court, beat some guys off the dribble."
Jaaber was the game's second- leading scorer with eight points.
The sophomore guard was two-for-three from beyond the arc in the game, showing an improvement in an area which he struggled in 2003-04.
Last season, the Elizabeth, N.J., native shot 31.4 percent (11-for-35) from three-point range.
This year "I'm relying not so much on touch," Jaaber said. "I'm just trying to shoot it the same way every time."
New Penn assistant coach Matt Langel, a former Quakers guard, has been working with Jaaber on his shot.
The leading scorers for the Red team were senior captain Tim Begley and junior North Carolina transfer Adam Franklin, each of whom scored five points.
Ryan Pettinella had four points, Steve Danley had three points and Lorenz Manthey, Nameir Majette and Zoller each had two.
The only players who played but did not score were Jan Fikiel, Joe Gill and Friedrich Ebede.
Eric Osmundson, Brian Grandieri, Eric Heil and David Whitehurst all did not play due to injuries.
The men's team will next return to action this Saturday when it scrimmages against Fairfield. This event will be closed to the public.
When the women's team took the floor for its scrimmage, Penn fans got their first taste of first- year coach Patrick Knapp's sideline theatrics.
The former Georgetown coach was quite vocal, despite the fact that this was simply an intrasquad scrimmage, yelling at his players to get back on defense and push the ball up the floor.
He even called a 30-second timeout in the middle of the scrimmage to talk things over with his players.
Senior Cat Makarewich was the leading scorer with 11 points. The New Fairfield, Conn., native was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Diminutive 5-foot-4 guard Joey Rhoads had nine points, making shots both inside and out.
Sophomore Lauren Pears had five points and freshman Kimberly Franklin had three points.
Rachel Wilson, Henley Hansen, Karen Habrukowich, Jennifer Fleischer and Brilynne Parrish all had two points.
The women's team will officially start its season on Nov. 21, when Northeastern comes to Philadelphia.
Those who made the trek through the rain to the Palestra were able to see several cosmetic changes to the arena.
The bleacher seats, which used to be painted a pale blue color, are now royal blue.
Also, the press box above the stands which once read "Pennsylvania" is now simply painted red. It will eventually be repainted to say "The Palestra."
