Ibrahim Jaaber has made a living out of patience. But he doesn't have to wait anymore.
In high school, Jaaber was snubbed by the programs he had been eyeing. But he had the good sense to take a prep year and end up at a college that needed his talents.
At Penn, he waited patiently to step into the offense behind Tim Begley - picking his spots, knowing his role and learning what he could along the way.
Last year, he stood behind Eric Osmundson on the seniority chart, even though everyone knew who brought home the bacon for those Quakers, team captain or not.
With such a history, I was beginning to think that Jaaber might never have his time alone in the spotlight.
But there's this funny thing about patience - it leads somewhere. And once that happens, you can afford to look back on what's been done and move on to a better place.
Jaaber is working his way there right now.
This is a program going through changes at the top. That means that the job falls to Jaaber to make sure that the transition from Fran Dunphy to Glen Miller is as smooth as possible.
On the court, that means handling the ball way more than he should have to.
It means stepping back and helping a talented but mistake-prone crop of underclassmen come into their own.
It means being on the floor for 40 minutes as Miller plays musical chairs with the other four spots.
And it means relishing his role as the most talented player on the team, even if he isn't out for the recognition that it will bring.
What it doesn't mean is making it all about you. But that has never been Jaaber's game anyway. Recognized on Saturday night for passing the career 1,000-point mark, he accepted a ceremonial basketball from Miller, flipped it around in his hands for a moment and casually tossed it back.
That was all the attention he wanted. The patience is paying off, and he can let his accomplishments speak for themselves.
For the first time, he is now the face of the program. While that means more will be asked of him, he is also best suited for the task - not many players have the sense to smile and slap an opponent on the back after getting tied up the way Jaaber did Saturday night.
And having the skills to throw down SportsCenter-quality dunks can only help.
His highlight-reel slam Saturday night was not just the best of his career - "close second: my sophomore year, against Dartmouth" was his first, he said - the spectacle took on a sublime quality that only a mature leader could produce.
I'm sure that the dunk against the Big Green meant a lot to Jaaber, who was then a lightweight guard still proving his playing time.
But what about this one, Ibby? In front of the home crowd, as a senior, and now as the team's unquestioned leader on the court?
The Dartmouth dunk "didn't feel the same," he said.
No wonder.
Andrew Scurria is a sophomore in the College from Wilmington, Del. His e-mail address is scurria@sas.upenn.edu.
