Kasper | Cartwright leads Quakers’ ascent up learning curve

Fifteen minutes in, it seemed like the season was already over.

Penn was in shambles. UMBC was grabbing offensive rebounds, forcing turnovers by the minute and adding a tomahawk dunk or two, leading to a 22-point first-half advantage for a squad that won all of four games last season.

It looked like the time to put the streamers away. Start the talk about building for next year. Stop the talk about competing for an Ivy League title.

An entire season was wasting away before the eyes of the Palestra crowd Friday night, and it was a moment of truth for the Quakers. Would they accept defeat and admit they had lost too much talent to their last graduating class? Would their season end before it had even started?

These questions almost certainly occupied the minds of everyone present — except, seemingly, the Quakers themselves.

In a moment that could have incited outright panic, Penn was generally unfazed. And bit by bit, the Red and Blue started to turn the game around.

Fast forward to the end, and the Quakers were shaking hands with a demoralized UMBC squad and acting as if they’d done it a dozen times before. This from a team that returned just 43 percent of its minutes from last season.

What accounts for this surprising state of calm, this wisdom beyond the team’s years? The stat sheet will tell you that Miles Cartwright led the onslaught in the second half with 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting. But what the numbers don’t reveal is the way Cartwright guided the Quakers’ offensive effort.

To start the game, freshman Tony Hicks played point guard, and while he showcased his scoring ability, he was flustered bringing the ball up the court. It was a classic case of a freshman adapting to the faster pace of the college game.

Enter Cartwright. The junior captain took over point guard responsibilities for much of the second half, and the difference was palpable. He brought the ball up the floor with the effortless confidence of a veteran, and in the half-court set, he facilitated ball movement around the perimeter, found Fran Dougherty and others inside and took his own shot when available.

For all he did, however, Cartwright never once tried to make it a one-man show. He didn’t force the issue. Instead, he simply let the game come to him — and the rest his teammates followed suit.

Jerome Allen has emphasized the importance of taking “baby steps” with this relatively inexperienced squad. The Red and Blue made a few crucial steps in their first outing of the season.

They reduced their turnover margin from 15 in the first half to six in the second. Defensively, they transitioned from giving up 48 points in the first half to just 27 in the second.

For a young team, sometimes the hardest part is not trying to do everything at once — to be patient and simply take baby steps with each game. The Quakers have at least 10 nonconference games to move forward just a little bit at a time, including games Monday and Tuesday at the NIT Season Tip-Off in Charlottesville, Va.

If the Red and Blue can take baby steps and follow Cartwright’s calm, cool and collected lead, it may be time to get the streamers ready when Ivy League play rolls around. Time to stop talking about what this team will do next season and focus on opportunities this season. Time to start talking about the chance to hang another pennant from the rafters of the Palestra.

But for now, it’s time for baby steps.

KENNY KASPER is a sophomore philosophy major from Santa Rosa, Calif., and is an associate sports editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. He can be reached at dpsports@theDP.com.

SEE ALSO:

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Penn basketball tips off season vs. UMBC

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