The one bit of significant news from a conference call featuring all eight Ivy League hoops coaches was the revelation by Columbia's Joe Jones that transfer Brian Grimes had injured his knee five minutes into the team's first practice and will miss the upcoming season.
Grimes made headlines last summer by saying publicly that he wanted to transfer from La Salle, where he saw few minutes as a sophomore despite valuable size and strength. Grimes narrowed his choices down to Penn and Columbia before eventually choosing the Lions. He was set to be eligible this year.
Meanwhile, Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said that Pat Magnarelli, the Crimson's most potent returning scorer, is recovered from the injuries that knocked him out in the second half of last season.
Conference tourney. Separately, the coaches were polled during the call on their preferences regarding a postseason tournament to determine the Ivy League's NCAA Tournament auto-bid. They came as close to a consensus as possible without reaching one.
"No question," Dartmouth coach Terry Dunn said.
"I'm a huge advocate," said Jones of Columbia.
"It's a celebration, it's a reward . for the athletes," Harvard's Amaker said.
In fact, every coach but Penn's Glen Miller gave the idea almost unequivocal support. And Miller seemed very open to the idea as well.
"Personally, if the athletes want a conference tournament, I would definitely support it. We're coaching for the athletes, and I would assume they'd all want it, but you never know," he said. "My only concern is that when you're in a one-bid conference, I personally always want to see our best team go to the NCAA Tournament."
Stepping up. Seniors Kevin Egee and Brennan Votel both say they're ready to fill the Quakers' leadership void left by the graduation of Brian Grandieri.
"We're trying to, first off, be vocal leaders, and also lead by example," senior guard Kevin Egee said on video report produced by the Athletic Department.
"We're trying to stress what it means to be a Penn basketball player. It's not just on the court, but off the court - how you conduct yourself."
