When Shawn Trice's playing career at Penn ended with a loss to Alabama in 1995, it was assistant coach Gil Jackson who was there to give him a sympathetic hug in the locker room.
Ten years later, it was Jackson's departure that enabled Trice's return to the Quakers.
The former Quakers forward was named the volunteer assistant coach for the upcoming season. Matt Langel, another former Penn player, will become the team's second paid assistant, joining Dave Duke.
He should prove to be a nice complement to Langel -- a guard -- on Fran Dunphy's staff.
Trice was at Penn for one of the program's most memorable eras -- a run that included three consecutive perfect seasons in Ivy League play.
Along with Jerome Allen and Matt Maloney, Trice was one of the cornerstones of the 1994 team -- the last Penn squad to win an NCAA Tournament game.
The following year, Trice was named to the All-Ivy second team after finishing sixth in the conference in rebounding with 6.9 per game. He also scored 26 points in a victory over Princeton that season.
He finished his career averaging six rebounds and a shade under eight points per game, shooting 51.6 percent from the floor.
After leaving Penn, Jackson played overseas in Sweden and Taiwan, but neither stint lasted long, and Trice soon found himself back in the United States.
He worked the last seven years as the sports coordinator at the YMCA in his hometown of Detroit.
