There’s no quit in Quakers

Coming off a draining one-point loss to Columbia and a blowout at the hands of Cornell, some might say most of the Penn men’s basketball team’s significant contests are behind them.

But head coach Jerome Allen disagrees.

“This game [against Harvard] is the most important game of the season for us,” Allen said after a morning practice Wednesday. “I think these last three games will show a lot about who we are as a team.”

The Quakers will have three good chances to show just who they are when they host Harvard(20-6, 9-3 Ivy)Friday and Dartmouth Saturday before heading to Princeton on Tuesday.

Penn (5-20, 4-7 Ivy) has already lost its chance at both the Ancient Eight crown and an at-large tournament bid, so these final match-ups will mark the end of a season that Allen has characterized mainly as a “learning opportunity.”

Despite the fact that many of the goals Allen and the Quakers had for this campaign are now moot, there is no denying the team’s strong desire to improve.

“These three games — we’re treating it like a championship,” sophomore point guard Zack Rosen said. “I love the game. You only get so many [games as a player].”

Now the Red and Blue has to suit up for two of the most dynamic and unpredictable scorers in the Ivy League.

First, the team will face Harvard guard Jeremy Lin, who is averaging 16.8 points, 4.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game this season.

The senior from Palo Alto, Calif., posted 19 points along with 5 steals and 6 assists in the Crimson’s 80-66 victory over Penn in Cambridge, Mass. last month.

Lin also dropped 25 crucial points in the Crimson’s December win over cross-town rival and Atlantic Coast Conference member Boston College.

But as Allen has declared throughout his time at the helm of the Quakers hoops squad, he still emphasizes the importance of the entire team, rather than one or two players, in putting the pressure on Lin.

“It’s gonna take a concerted effort from five guys on the defensive end to win a game,” Allen said. “Everybody has a role to play.”

And the players will likely take on similar roles when Penn heads to New Jersey on Tuesday to try to contain Princeton’s Douglas Davis.

A Philadelphia native, Davis is averaging 12.5 points per game for the Tigers (17-8, 8-3 Ivy) but played little part in Princeton’s 58-51 win at The Palestra, where he scored no points and recorded just three assists.

His expected presence will make team defense that much more important for the Quakers.

Sandwiched between these games is Saturday’s home contest against last-place Dartmouth (5-21, 1-11 Ivy).

But no matter how inconsequential any of these games seem, the Quakers are not taking them lightly.

When asked if he had any desire to just get the season over with and move on, Rosen had a simple, succinct reply:

“No.”

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