On Friday, former Penn basketball coach and current Temple head man Fran Dunphy celebrated the official kickoff of the season with a "Midnight Madness" celebration.
His replacement, new Penn coach Glen Miller, began the new era of Quakers' basketball in a more subdued way - with a practice that was closed to the public and the media.
That workout was followed by an open practice on Saturday morning. By the end of that session, a two-hour and 45-minute workout, the differences between a Glen Miller practice and one of Dunphy's had become apparent.
Miller's are "a lot more intense," senior guard Ibrahim Jaaber said. "There's a lot more conditioning, a lot more up-and-down running."
Conditioning could figure to play an increased role for the 2006 Quakers under their new leadership.
Miller brings the quicker pace he preached at Brown to the Red and Blue, a stark contrast to the calculated, methodical Dunphy offense.
"Dunph obviously did a real good job with spacing and some things that were his pet peeves," senior forward Steve Danley said. "Miller has a different set, and he's real focused on footwork and things like that.
"Dunph looked to run in certain spots, and Miller looks like he's going to run a little more than that. It's an exciting time."
Still, things aren't totally different under the new management.
Miller said that although his practices are heavy on fitness work, endurance-building only comes into play within the larger scheme of preparing for the season.
As a result, Miller added, the Quakers' increased focus on conditioning doesn't come from traditional techniques such as "suicides" and other line drills.
"We like a good pace with our practices, so naturally there's going to be a lot of conditioning at practice," he said. "No matter what style you're going to use, you have to be well-conditioned.
"I'm just really trying to focus on the guys on the team and their improvement."
But even beyond the nuts-and-bolts differences between the two coaches, there is a more general adjustment to be made.
When Miller was introduced as the new Penn coach, doubts surfaced as to whether he was the best man for the job.
That initial trepidation seems to have subsided, but Jaaber said the jury is still out on how the players will ultimately react.
"It's hard to see right now - it's only the second day," he said. "We'll see more when guys start getting mentally fatigued and how they handle it."
Until then, Penn will look ahead to the next task at hand - the BCA Invitational at Syracuse - with an eye to the new style they've adopted.
"We're just trying to implement our system," Miller said. "I'm pleased with the guys' work so far. There's been good intensity, and I'm sure it was the same at Coach Dunphy's practices."
