Recruits may decommit if Allen isn't hired

While Athletic Director Steve Bilsky has conducted a thorough search for Penn’s next men’s basketball coach, one member of the incoming recruiting class says a choice other than interim coach Jerome Allen could have serious ramifications.

Class of 2014 basketball recruit Dau Jok said yesterday that “there is a real possibility — I would say half of the recruits probably would not come” if Allen and assistants John Gallagher and Mike Martin do not remain at Penn.

Jok cited the recruits’ close relationships with the incumbent coaches both on and off the court as a factor in their decisions to come to Penn.

“Those are the guys we believe in. Those are the guys we have our loyalties with,” he said.

Jok declined to provide names or speculate which of the seven recruits would rescind their commitment to the program.

But one potential recruit who still remains a 6-foot-8 question mark on the next Penn roster is Kevin Panzer.

A source within the Penn basketball program said that Panzer is ready to announce his commitment to Penn for the 2010 season pending the announcement that Jerome Allen is named head coach.

The source, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid interfering with the recruitment process, went on to say that several current players felt that they, if in Panzer’s position, would also wait to commit until receiving confirmation that their desired coach would be hired.

Panzer verbally committed to Penn in late August, according to The Los Angeles Times’ Varsity Times Insider blog. But in late November, the ESPN Insider blog reported that the forward from Capistrano Valley High School in Los Angeles had decommitted.

Fellow recruit Casey James, a high school teammate of Panzer, confirmed last week that Penn remains a top choice for Panzer.

“I tell him all the time that he should come. We talk about [how] Penn is still his number one choice,” James said. “There is still a really good chance he could be going there.”

Panzer could not be reached for comment.

As the coaching staff remains in limbo and awaits a decision from Athletic Director Steve Bilsky, they continue to maintain close ties with the incoming recruits.

“I usually talk to them probably twice, three times a week,” Jok said.

According to the Iowa native, the coaches told him that a decision should be announced either this week or next.

Bilsky, who recently told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the coaching search is in its “final stages,” downplayed the impact on recruiting that waiting to announce a new coach would have.

“I think when people make commitments to Penn in any sports, they’re making it to Penn as an institution and to the basketball program and to the coach, and so it appears at this point that the people are solid.”

Though he also stressed the importance of recruiting for the class of 2015, Bilsky’s comments stand in stark contrast to Jok’s.

The incoming recruiting class has already seen one head coach removed, after Glen Miller — who was the first contact for some of the recruits — was dimissed Dec. 14.

And, if Jok’s estimates are correct, removing another may be catastrophic.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.