The Penn men's basketball team comes into its first weekend of play with many more questions than answers. Coach Glen Miller says he hasn't even decided who will start tonight's game against Drexel other than Brian Grandieri. He joked that the senior guard will be "at the one, two, three, four and five."
All kidding aside, almost nobody knows what to expect from the Quakers when they step onto the court for the first time this season, not even their opponents. Both of the weekend's opponents, Drexel and Loyola, will have little chance to prepare for dealing with Penn's players, considering few of them have logged big minutes before.
Miller insists, however, that this lack of experience will not create an advantage for his team.
The Dragons, like Penn, also lost three of their starters from last year's team. But the Quakers are well aware of one key returnee, Frank Elegar, who was named to CollegeInsider.com's Preseason Mid-Major All-American team.
Elegar averaged 16 points and 6.7 rebounds last season on a Drexel squad that went 23-9 and challenged for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. Miller said stopping the 6-foot-9 center will be a team effort.
"We're not going to stop Elegar in a one-on-one situation," he said.
"[Elegar] is definitely one of their best players and we're going to focus on stopping him," said forward Brennan Votel, who will be one of the Quakers platooning defensively on Elegar. "We're trying to limit his touches because once he gets the ball he's a pretty dangerous player."
Recent history is on Penn's side in the series, as the Quakers having won the last four meetings against its neighbor to the north. In a 68-49 win last season, Penn used a patient offensive approach and different defensive schemes to keep the Dragons out of sync and overcome their superior athleticism.
The Quakers' work won't be over after Drexel, though, as they will travel to Maryland Sunday to face Loyola. Unlike Drexel, Penn will know a little more what to expect from the Greyhounds, as they return four starters.
Loyola, picked by many to win the MAAC, has a preseason Mid-Major All-American of its own in Gerald Brown. The senior guard finished eighth in the nation in scoring last season at 22.2 points per game.
Slowing down Brown and his backcourt counterpart Marquis Sullivan (13.1 ppg) will be a key. But with only one day off in between games, the biggest obstacle may be not having enough time to prepare for the Greyhounds.
"In an ideal situation you have multiple days to prepare, especially with a young team," Miller said, but added that he does not want to inundate his team with preparation for its opponents.
"Even with experience it's more about getting your guys to execute your stuff as opposed to over-saturating them with the opponent's."
Miller said he expects to see full-court pressure from both Drexel and Loyola, a legitimate concern considering a starting point guard has not yet been named.
"Our guys know it's coming and we've done everything we can to this point to be prepared to play against that type of pressure," Miller said.
Grandieri added that Penn has "a bunch of pressure releases" prepared if Miller's prediction comes true. Both Miller and Grandieri stressed the importance of not turning the ball over against the press.
With so many questions looming for the Quakers, one thing is for sure: this weekend will provide the first good look at many of the players who will compete for playing time this season. Miller says he plans to include as many as 13 players in the rotation for each game.
