Now Glen Miller can finally concentrate on coaching basketball.
After weeks of searching, Miller has rounded out the coaching staff for his inaugural season at Penn, bringing in former Quakers player Perry Bromwell and hiring Chris Sparks away from Central Connecticut State as well.
The tandem will join Mike Martin, one of Miller's former assistants at Brown, who has already been hired.
Both coaches have wasted no time reacquainting themselves with the Palestra, as they were working there yesterday running a camp.
Bromwell and Miller have never served on the same staff, but they do have a connection that runs through one of the best programs in the nations -- UConn.
"We knew some of the same people,"Bromwell said. "He coached for Jim Calhoun at Connecticut, and I was recruited by Calhoun."
Bromwell spurned Calhoun's Northeastern squad and chose Manhattan out of high school, but quickly transferred to Penn and was a three-time All-Ivy performer under Craig Littlepage. He continued his playing career overseas after graduation, logging time in England, Norway and the Philippines.
He will fill the role vacated when now-Temple assistant Shawn Trice left for the Owls. His position is a volunteer one, and his duties will include coaching the junior varsity team.
When asked what he believed he could bring to the team, Bromwell said that his emphasis would be primarily on defense, where he said that his focus has been on creative defensive techniques and helping out the team's skill players.
Meanwhile, Sparks, one of the first two assistants hired, forged his connection with Miller when the two were at Brown during the 2003-04 season. He called the decision to jump ship and join Miller in West Philadelphia a "no-brainer."
"Even when I left [Brown], our relationship got stronger," Sparks said. "Knowing the way the admissions requirements and financial aid [work], it's kind of an advantage for me. I'm not coming in blind."
Sparks also played for three years at Southern Maine and has coached at Rhode Island College and the University of New England in assistant coaching capacities, including serving as the recruiting coordinator for RIC.
Sparks said that most of his prior experience came working with backcourt players, but he credits Miller for making him more of a complete coach and that he hopes to continue that trend.
"At Central Connecticut, I spent the whole time with the guards," he said. "But at Brown when I was with coach Miller everyone was treated the same, and the staff and I worked with every player, and the forwards and guards were intermixed."
No official announcement has yet been released by the Penn athletic department.
Follow the leader?
Next year, the Quakers' roster could include yet another All-Ivy performer.
Miller said last week that Brown junior Keenan Jeppesen, the Bears' leading scorer last season, is contemplating a transfer to Penn to play for the coach who recruited him.
Jeppesen's application is completed and a decision is "pending," Miller said. He went on to say that Jeppesen would have a spot on the Penn roster were he to make the move.
It is unclear whether Jeppesen has applied to any other schools, or if his decision is solely between Penn and Brown.
Presumably, the contact was initiated by Jeppesen, since Miller had previously insisted that he has not tried to "actively recruit" off of the roster of his old school.
If he were to transfer, Jeppesen would be forced to sit out all of the 2006-07 season, but he would be allowed to practice with the team. He would then have two remaining seasons of eligibility.
