While most were feasting and relaxing over break, Zack Rosen was studying his next opponent and reflecting on what’s gone wrong.
An 0-4 start will do that to you.
Hoping to break out of their early-season funk, Rosen and the Quakers will travel to Annapolis, Md., and Alumni Hall tonight to take on Navy (3-4).
The Friday night start time means Penn will have enjoyed a ten-day layoff since dropping its last game to Drexel — a break that its floor general hopes cleared some heads.
“I think it was good to go home and get refreshed,” Rosen said, “and take your mind off anything that was going on.”
Rosen, for one, isn’t resting until his team gets a tick in the win column.
Though the coaches didn’t go over scouting reports until Wednesday, the Colonia, N.J., native got a first impression of the Midshipmen by watching their game (a 65-56 overtime loss) against Mount St. Mary’s Saturday from a familiar spot — his couch at home.
“They’re a tough team, and they play hard as hell,” Rosen said of Navy. “They’re not going to feel sorry for us.”
The Midshipmen are feeling anything but sorry after topping Quinnipiac Monday on a half-court buzzer-beater by senior Chris Harris. The 45-foot game-winner is just one of many shots in Harris’ arsenal.
“He scores in a variety of ways,” Penn coach Glen Miller said of Navy’s leading scorer. “He’s a huge key for us. We’ve got to contain him.”
After being tormented by Penn State’s Talor Battle, Delaware’s Jawan Carter, and Drexel’s Jamie Harris, the last thing the Quakers want to see is a 6-foot-2 guard who puts up close to 22 points per game. But at least heading into tomorrow’s matchup with Harris, Penn has been schooled on what to do and what not to do against a prolific backcourt scorer.
“We have to play defense as a unit of five,” sophomore guard/forward Rob Belcore said.
Explained Rosen: “The guy with the ball has to see five guys. It can’t be one-on-one. Any good player is going to be able to do whatever he wants to do one-on-one.”
The explosive Harris, who has already notched two 30-plus point games this season, is joined in the backcourt by the also dangerous Jordan Sugars. Sugars’ stroke is as sweet as his name, as the 6-3 sophomore guard has hit from beyond the arc at a 47-percent clip thus far to go along with an impressive 7.4 rebounds per game.
With two other productive guards in Romeo Garcia and O.J. Avworo joining 6-11 center Mark Veazey in the Midshipmen’s starting lineup, the Navy assault is tough to defend.
“Their whole offensive system [is challenging],” Miller said. “They’re always on the attack.”
At the moment, the same can’t be said for Miller’s motion offense, which has looked lost at times this season. The coordinator of that offense took responsibility for the offensive struggles that include 16 turnovers per game.
“It’s all communication,” Rosen said. “It’s on me to get guys going and get everybody in the spots they need to be in and get guys doing what they’re comfortable doing.”
Tonight, Penn will need to take advantage of the size mismatch that comes with facing a four-guard lineup. That responsibility will fall on the broad shoulders of second-leading scorer Jack Eggleston, a 6-8 forward who comes in shooting 51 percent on the year. Sophomore center Mike Howlett, who has two straight double-doubles, will also be counted on to control the paint for Penn.
The toughest battle for the Quakers, though, remains the mental one.
“0-4 is a tough start but it’s so early that you’ve just got to keep your mind right,” Rosen said. “It’s a time to keep it simple.”
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