Basketball and horse racing couldn't be more different, but Penn junior guard Michael Kach and Philadelphia native Barbaro have a striking similarity.
Like the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, Kach has developed an infection in his right foot - not the one he fractured in the off-season.
In contrast to the horse, though, Kach has been playing, and will soon start to get significant minutes again.
Kach didn't play against Illinois-Chicago or Seton Hall, but played 14 minutes (12 in the second half) against now-No. 1 North Carolina, as well as 20 against Elon. Kach put up a key and-1 reverse layup late in the two-point win over the Phoenix, recording four rebounds and eight points on 3-for-4 shooting.
"He had a nice game for us against Elon," head coach Glen Miller said. "He seems to be doing a lot better with his health, so I'm hoping he can keep moving forward without having another setback. And god knows he's had his share of setbacks."
Recovering from the game on Saturday, the guard should be ready to go for the Ivy League opener this Friday against Cornell.
"I wouldn't say I'm 100 percent yet, but when the game time comes, with my adrenaline I feel like I'm 100 percent in my mind," Kach said.
The Carmel, N.Y. native played a significant amount under former Penn coach Fran Dunphy in his freshman year, but quit halfway through the season, as he had lost the passion necessary to play day in and day out. But a lot has changed for the junior since then.
"I wouldn't say I grew up, but it's kind of one of those things where you don't know what you have until you lose it," Kach said of his hiatus. "I just stepped away from the game a little bit and realized that I'm always going to be a basketball player no matter what."
Not a game, practice. As of late, sophomore guard Kevin Egee has played more and more, and he started two games over winter break.
He has shot well (47 percent from the floor), taken care of the ball and played solid defense in his 10 minutes per contest this season, but his hard work in between the games has impressed Miller the most.
"I put a big emphasis on practice performance, and Kevin has been performing well in practice and he also has taken the minutes that he's been given and done good things," Miller said.
"Right now, he'll be in the starting lineup today. . He works extremely hard every day, on both ends of the floor," he added. "He's shown the ability to create some things offensively and pressure the ball defensively, and those are two areas - especially on defense - where we have to show improvements, so we like what he brings to the table."
Egee took the starting place of swingman Tommy McMahon, after the latter's lackluster performance against Seton Hall. (Although McMahon played 19 minutes against Elon on Saturday and is not permanently out of Miller's ever-changing lineup.)
"Tommy's still in our rotation, he's an important player on our team and he may be in the starting lineup again," Miller said. "Those types of things are determined in practice."
One in, one out. As Kach returned from his foot problems, guard Darren Smith got hit with an injury of his own.The freshman separated his shoulder against Seton Hall on Dec. 23, and Miller says he is still day-to-day.
Smith played against UNC, but only seven minutes - slightly below his average of ten per game. He sat out against Elon due to soreness in the dislocated shoulder. The guard has shot poorly from the field (28 percent), but has hit a respectable 6-of-18 on three-point attempts.
His best performance of the year thus far came against Florida Gulf Coast, when he had 17 points in 23 minutes and went 4-for-5 from three-point range.
