Every spring, tens of thousands of high school seniors pray to a higher being that they can gain entry into the college of their choice.
Because Princeton and Yale are among the most selective in the country, most students would be thrilled to go to either one of these institutions.
Yale's Dominick Martin has had the unusual experience of attending and playing basketball at both schools.
The 6-foot-10 center suited up for the Tigers during his freshman season --2001-02 -- and started 21 games, averaging 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest. He played so well that he was ahead of current Princeton standout Judson Wallace on the depth chart.
However, after his first season in New Jersey, Martin had a change of heart and transferred to Yale, where he had to sit out a season due to NCAA regulations. According to Martin, he changed schools for personal reasons, not because of basketball.
"I wasn't very happy where I was," he said. "It wasn't anything about the coaches."
While Martin is much happier at Yale now, he does have fond memories of playing in the Penn-Princeton rivalry.
"It was great. The enthusiasm from both crowds was great," he said.
When he returned to action last year for the Elis, he had a breakout season. The Asheville, N.C., native made huge strides and finished the season with 11.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Martin also became the most efficient shooter in the Ivy League and third best in Yale history with his .603 field goal percentage.
Perhaps his best game of the season came during a 69-61 Quakers' victory at the Palestra on Feb. 21, 2004. Martin made nine of 11 field goals en route to a season-high 20 points. He also pulled down seven rebounds.
After such a strong performance last year, Penn made sure Martin did not see as many open looks in Penn's 65-41 laugher earlier this season.
"We concentrated a lot of our efforts on him," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "He's an outstanding player, he's got very good inside moves."
Dunphy pointed to Martin's foul trouble as a reason why the center was ineffective against Penn back in January. Hampered by four fouls, Martin played only 15 minutes and scored two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Martin agreed with Dunphy.
"I just have to be patient offensively," he said. "Silly fouls are my achilles heel."
Despite his poor showing against the Quakers, Martin has posted solid numbers this season. He's scoring at a pace of 12.7 points per game, good enough for second on the Elis squad, and hauling down 7.4 boards, which is third in the Ancient Eight.
According to sophomore forward Steve Danley, the Quakers will be ready for the challenge his inside game poses.
"Martin's a pretty good basketball player; he gets those hooks off pretty well inside, kind of a Princeton guy," Danley said. "I have some tricks up my sleeve, but if I told you them they wouldn't be tricks."
In addition to Martin, senior guard Edwin Draughan has come on strong recently, scoring 13 points in each of the Elis' victories over Dartmouth and Harvard last weekend. Partly because of Draughan's strong play, Yale has won three of its last four games and will be an opponent the Quakers will not take lightly.
"We played well defensively the first game," Dunphy said. "But they're a different basketball team right now and we're going to have our hands full right from the very start."
Note: Penn can clinch a share of the Ivy League title with two wins this weekend as well as a Yale loss against Princeton tonight, a Harvard loss to Columbia tonight and two Cornell losses this weekend.
