Brennan Votel's play in his first few games this year raised a question for coach Glen Miller: What if Votel was not the big man of the future for Penn?
Before Tuesday, it was an open question. He had his high points, dishing out seven assists in five games from the forward position.
But he had also hit just four of ten shots, turned the ball over six times and committed 13 fouls - the same number as his classmate, Tommy McMahon, who had been averaging almost twice as many minutes.
However, after seeing Votel in Penn's 80-66 defeat of Monmouth, Miller should be optimistic. The 6-foot-7 sophomore was a force on the glass in his 17 minutes, pulling down six rebounds (two offensive) against the Hawks' powerful - but slow - frontcourt. He also accounted for two of Penn's three blocks on the night, one of them sandwiched in between two layups he worked himself open for. That sequence stretched Penn's lead from 11 (54-43) to a far more comfortable 15; it never again fell into single digits.
"We're trying to develop more guys into the rotation," Miller said. "We would like nothing better than to be able to play nine or ten guys in a game on a regular basis."
Nine or ten may be a stretch now, but if Votel's performance is any indication, the rotation could be more to Miller's liking in the coming weeks.
Hail to the thief. Move over, Ibrahim Jaaber: There's a new thief in town.
Jaaber still owns the Penn career record for steals, and the mark will not be eclipsed any time soon. And he is currently picking opponents' pockets at a healthy clip, 2.2 per game before Tuesday.
But Brian Grandieri, who has made a name for himself by doing a little bit of everything, now stands as an equally large headache for opposing point guards.
Grandieri's 17 steals now put him tied with Jaaber, and the two sit among the Ivy leaders.
On Tuesday, Jaaber stole the show with six steals but also left his man open on occasion.
The Quakers average 10.2 steals per game, compared to 9.2 by their opponents. And with inexperienced players coughing up the ball with regularity for Penn, robbing the opposition of an advantage is now just one more thing Grandieri does well.
Most-favored status. On Nov. 10, The Daily Pennsylvanian carried a story that called Jaaber the "odds-on favorite" to win Ivy Player of the Year for the second time in a row.
Odds don't lie, but neither do numbers. And they paint a picture of the race as far from clear-cut and of Jaaber as far from the favorite.
Mark Zoller broke out for a career-high 29 points on Tuesday, while Jaaber had an off night from the field and managed just five. Zoller now carries a 21.2 scoring average, far and away the best in the Ivies and well ahead of his nearest teammates, Grandieri (14.0) and Jaaber (12.8).
Zoller attributes the groove he has found to the tempo his teammates - and especially Jaaber - are helping to push.
"I think we get out on the break a little bit more," Zoller said.
His partner in crime agrees. "If teams are getting lazy and not getting back, then why not push it?" Jaaber asked.
Jaaber's 28 assists have played a big part in that. But someone still has to put the ball in the basket, and Zoller has filled that role much the way Jaaber did last year. Numbers don't lie.
