Bernstein | A captain asks: Is anyone else going to step up?

As Brian Grandieri was whisked away from the post-game press conference on Saturday, one thing was clear: This team is in serious trouble right now.

The Quakers' 80-65 loss to Howard- yes, the same Howard that lost its first two games by a combined 109 points - prompted Grandieri to call out the rest of the team, questioning their effort level, desire and tenacity.

"The guys just don't come in with a great mentality," said Grandieri, one of Penn's captains. "Some time you gotta man up, and we don't have those guys yet."

Coach Glen Miller once again went with a crowded 12-man rotation, where nine guys saw more than 10 minutes of action. Grandieri was the only one who stood out. It's an outcome that, just three games into the season, is getting old.

"I just want guys that wanna play hard with me," Grandieri said. "It's just frustrating that there's so much time out there for guys, but no one wants to step up. No one likes the spotlight."

With three consecutive Ivy titles to its name, Penn isn't used to being without self-motivators. Grandieri was a major part of two of these championship teams, and he knows what it takes to be a winner.

And it's safe to say he isn't impressed with the character of his young teammates at this point.

"To be honest I think it's just something you're born with, in my opinion. If you get banged around and you can keep taking it, that just shows - I think - what kind of person you are," he said. "Apparently we don't have a lot of guys that, when they get hit around, that gets them pissed off.

"I think it really comes down to guys digging down deep and willing yourself to victory in a game like this. We don't have those guys."

With 2:31 left to play and Howard leading by 12, a media timeout provided a pause that should have given the Quakers an opportunity to get on the same page and fire each other up.

As Howard coach Gil Jackson was tapping his chest and telling his players, "It's all in here!" Penn didn't get the same message. There was no heart to speak of in those final two and a half minutes.

Grandieri's diatribe was certainly close to meltdown territory - you know it's not good when you're taken out of the media room midway through the press conference. But Penn needs him, and the rest of the veterans, to get angry, or at least angrier.

Miller is sure to do his fair share of chewing out during practice and in the locker room if he sees any lack of desire from his players. But what the Quakers need is for one of their teammates to do it, too.

When the message - that being outhustled by any team, let alone a team like Howard, is unacceptable - comes from one of the guys on the floor, it should hit home even harder.

There's a long way to go until the Ivy schedule begins, so there's no need to panic before we've even gotten to Thanksgiving break.

The Quakers have 14 nonconference games to gel, get to know each other and settle into their roles on the team.

Eventually Miller will have to pare down the rotation a bit, and settle on a relatively consistent starting lineup. Swapping out four players from the starting five from the previous game is fine on Nov. 17, but much less so on Dec. 17.

Right now, Penn needs to look itself in the mirror and go back to square one.

"I guess the only thing we can do is get better," Grandieri said. "We pretty much can't get worse."

If the Quakers want to revert to the form that this program is used to, they'd better listen to their captain.

David Bernstein is a junior Economics major from Washington, D.C. His e-mail address is davidkb@sas.upenn.edu.

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