Models, bottles, good weather, and college basketball. Yes, the true Penn fan can have it all this winter break in sunny Florida.
Early details of next year's schedule are starting to come out, and it looks like the Quakers will be enjoying part of their winter down south. Two games have been scheduled, against Miami and Florida Gulf Coast that will take them to the Sunshine State over New Year's.
But the Red and Blue would best be advised to not party too hard on Jan. 1, because the Miami game is slated for the next night. The meeting between Penn and the Hurricanes will be the first ever between the two schools.
Last year, Penn opened up its schedule against then Division-II Florida Gulf Coast with a resounding 97-74 victory at the Palestra. Things will be different this year: FGCU is now a D-I program, and the game will take place in Fort Myers, sometime around the Miami game. While the game itself is confirmed, the date still needs to be finalized.
Earning her stripes
Princeton announced last Thursday that Courtney Banghart, an assistant head coach at Dartmouth, will become the ninth head coach in Tigers women's basketball history.
She replaces Richard Barron, who resigned in early May to take the position of associate head coach of women's basketball at Baylor University.
In his six years at Princeton, Barron was 74-91, but won an Ivy title in the 2005-06 season.
However, the team that Banghart is taking over is one that had very mixed results last season and finished fifth in the league with a 13-15 record.
The Tigers are hoping that Banghart will be able to translate her success as both a player and assistant at Dartmouth into more sustained success in New Jersey. While starring for the Big Green, she won two titles in 1999 and 2000. As an assistant, she also went back-to-back as the team topped the league in 2005 and 2006.
Reaction around the league has been positive and welcoming.
"She's a quality hire," Penn coach Pat Knapp commented. "I know her and she's a great person. I truly wish her well."
It's pronounced "Dench"
Cem Dinc, the 21-year old Turkish basketball player, may be taking his game and his bizarre story to Harvard next year.
The six foot, 10 inch Dinc has been a member of Turkey's national team since 2005. He played one season at Indiana University in 2005-06 and then declared for the NBA Draft.
But nobody was willing to draft Dinc, and with good reason - he played just 12 minutes total and scored three points in his freshman year. Local journalists had lambasted his work ethic and basketball IQ.
Without much room or desire for him at Indiana, Dinc transferred to Marshalltown Community College in Iowa where he played last year.
Now, he's looking to transfer back to Division I, and Harvard seems to be a leading candidate. Always known for his intelligence, observers are not surprised Dinc would be attracted to the school.
Crimson coach Tommy Amaker would not confirm that Dinc was being actively recruited, but did confirm that he had applied to Harvard for fall enrollment.
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