Just 10 days before the official start of the men’s basketball preseason, Penn coach Jerome Allen has chosen his captains for 2010-11.
Junior Zack Rosen, one of two captains last year, will be joined this season by seniors Jack Eggleston and Conor Turley. They’ll lead the team in what it hopes will be a resurgence after last year’s 6-22 finish.
“They have demonstrated leadership qualities throughout their careers here at Penn, and I expect them to continue to be great representatives for our program,” Allen said in a statement.
According to Eggleston, the announcement from Allen came as a bit of a surprise. In past years, the players have voted for their captains, though this year Allen chose them at the beginning of the preseason.
Rosen gets the nod again, after being the youngest captain in team history during his sophomore year. His leadership skills both on and off the court manifested themselves in the stat sheet. After Penn’s 2009-10 campaign, he led the Ivy League in scoring (17.7 points per game) and minutes played (37.1 per game) and was third in assists (4.4 per game). On top of that, Rosen finished the season a unanimous All-Ivy selection after last season.
Eggleston was a constant on the court last season. With much of the Penn squad battling injuries last season, Eggleston was the only Penn player to start every game.
His most notable performance was a career night against Cornell, where he scored 24 points in Penn’s upset of the then-No. 22 Big Red. The loss knocked Cornell out of the top 25.
“It’s an honor,” Eggleston said. “You look at the guys who have been captains through the history of the program; I probably don’t belong on that list just in terms of my career so far … I want to make them proud.”
Turley is the least expected of the three. The senior made 13 starts last season before breaking fingers in both hands diving for a loose ball. The elder of the team, Turley took two years off to serve in a Mormon mission in Chicago before coming to Penn. He turns 24 on Thursday.
“He’s been around a bit longer than the rest of us,” Eggleston said. “He has life experience. He knows how to handle some situations better than us younger guys.”
The captains bring a variety of perspectives to team leadership.
“We’re three different personalities. I think that’s going to be good,” Eggleston added. “We’re all very committed to the success of this team, and hopefully that will result in us being successful this year.”
In addition to turning around the program, seniors Eggleston and Turley will have to impart their wisdom on a crop of new Quakers this season.
“It started this summer. Zack and I played on summer league teams with them in the gym every day, just slowly trying to show an example of what it would take to be successful this year — instill the right kind of habits. You gotta show them you care,” Eggleston said.
Allen is looking for players of all ages to take charge.
“We are excited to get going,” the coach said, “and while these three guys will serve as our captains, I expect everyone in the program to take ownership as we get our program back to where we think it belongs.”
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