The recently released film Glory Road depicts the unlikely NCAA championship run of the 1966 Texas Western- -now Texas-El Paso - team. That team of 40 years ago is just about as similar to this year's UTEP squad as last year's was.
And it is that largely new team that Penn will face in its first game under coach Glen Miller in the first day of the Black Coaches Association Invitational in Syracuse, N.Y.
UTEP returns with just three players from last season along with a new coach, Tony Barbee. Barbee spent seven years assisting John Calipari at Massachusetts and then in Memphis.
"With UTEP, there's a lot of unknown," Miller said.
According to Miller, Barbee will use a system similar to that used by Calipari - high-pressure defense as well as screening, creativity and athleticism on offense.
UTEP's two returning starters are both in the backcourt: senior Kevin Henderson - 7.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season - and sophomore Stefon Jackson - 8.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
"We know they're going to be pretty athletic; we know they're going to get down the floor pretty well," Penn senior forward Steve Danley said.
Despite Penn's uncertainty, Barbee seems to have a good sense of the Quakers, who are bringing back three full-time starters in Danley, senior guard Ibrahim Jaaber and senior forward Mark Zoller, in addition to three other players who have seen significant playing time- - junior guard Brian Grandieri, junior guard Michael Kach and sophomore swingman Tommy McMahon.
"Honestly, we're not looking forward to playing against those guys," Barbee said in a conference call with reporters earlier this week.
"Their experience speaks out for itself against our inexperience," he added.
No. 20 Syracuse
The host Orange is the most recognizable team in the BCA field and is returning four starters from last year's Big East Tournament championship run - seniors Demetris Nichols, Terrence Roberts and Darryl Watkins, along with sophomore Eric Devendorf.
That, along with their coach of 30 years, Jim Boeheim, and his patented 2-3 zone, makes Syracuse the most familiar of Penn's opponents.
Despite the fact that the Quakers had their troubles with the zone last year, they are insisting that they will be able to match up better this time around.
"If we can get up and down the floor and not allow the zone to set, it will be a lot easier to work against," Danley said.
Jaaber said that, in addition to the good shooting that is usually necessary to beat the zone, the Quakers also need to penetrate well in order to keep the Orange moving around.
He added that, when Penn was not having success against the zone, it was not a focal point of practice. But that has changed.
"We've been working on it now," he said.
The Quakers will need to have that mastered in order to pull off the upset against Orange.
Saint Francis (N.Y.)
Last year's Terriers squad went 10-17, and 7-11 in the Northeast Conference. SFC is also a team with a good deal of turnover from last season, returning only five letterwinners and only two players with two varsity letters - senior Ruandy Melo and junior James St. Robert. The duo was not so impressive last season, though, combining for only 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
The best two returners for the Terriers are 5-foot-8 junior Jamaal Womack and 6-5 senior Allan Sheppard. The diminutive Bronx native Womack started in 23 of and appeared in all 27 SFC games last season, averaging 5.9 points and a team-high 2.7 assists per game, while Sheppard led the Terriers with his 11.6 points per game.
Terriers coach Brian Nash was also impressed with the Quakers' veteran team.
"The one thing that just sticks out with me is just Penn's experience," he said in the conference call.
With the three different teams in three days, Penn has stressed that it needs to play its own game in order to have a successful weekend.
"I think we have to just focus on the fundamentals of what we have to do against every team," Jaaber said.
"This early in the season, the focus is much more on what we're going to do, how we're going to play, than it is on what our opponents do," Miller said.
Penn will be looking to win its third-straight Ivy title this season. A successful opening weekend will go a long way to showing its rivals that the Quakers are ready to defend their crown.
