Enjoy the ride.
That’s my advice to Penn men’s basketball fans after back-to-back impressive Big 5 wins.
After eeking out an 83-74 win against Saint Joseph’s last Monday, Penn drubbed Drexel 84-68 to clinch a spot in the Big 5 championship game. It will be the first time the Quakers will play for first place in the third annual “Classic” format played at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
In both Big 5 matchups, senior wing Ethan Roberts was the story for the Quakers, scoring 31 points against the Hawks and 30 points at Drexel. It’s getting hard to ignore the season Roberts is putting together so far. After a week of Philadelphia play, Roberts’ average points per game has skyrocketed to 24.6.
As of Sunday morning, Roberts’ 24.6 points per game is the third-highest in all of NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball. The last time Penn had a scorer end in the top-five in points per game was then-junior guard Jordan Dingle in the 2022-23 season. Dingle finished with 23.4 points per game, taking home Eastern College Athletic Conference and Ivy League Player of the Year.
I expect Roberts’ numbers to temper slightly, but I could also see where he continues at this outstanding pace or even improves. With so much focus on junior forward TJ Power’s availability going into the season, many have forgotten that Roberts was pretty banged up himself, spanning back to last season.
Roberts told The Daily Pennsylvanian that he suffered a shoulder injury in Penn's first contest against Yale in February last season on a recent episode of the Quaker Nation podcast. The injury led to a noticeable drop in production at the end of his first season at Penn. Before the injury, he averaged 17.8 points per game. In Penn’s final seven games that he played injured, Roberts averaged 14 points. Penn picked up just two wins in that stretch.
Roberts spent most of his summer rehabbing and was not a full participant in practice at the start of the semester. Five games into the season, he has been one of the most efficient scorers in the Mid-Majors, converting 47.3% from the field and shooting 44.4% from three. And he’s still coming back from an injury.
Through my three years covering the program as a beat, I’ve heard again and again about the ‘glory days’ of the program – back when winning the Ivies was inevitable and the Palestra drew in sellout after sellout.
Through five games with Fran McCaffery at the helm, I have seen members of the media and fans alike claim that Penn is back to the winning ways of Fran Dunphy or (for older audiences) Chuck Daly.
Fans of the program have been so starved of winning that many are quick to think of the program’s relevancy as a simple switch – one that was, until recently, covered in cobwebs.
Now, with McCaffery, the switch has been flipped and Penn is back to its winning ways. I mean, the team is even wearing the throwback “Pennsylvania” jerseys.
In reality, it will take years for McCaffery to fully make the program his own. The non-conference schedule isn’t his, and the majority of the players are not his recruits. After a few years of watching the high school class of 2027 recruits, Ethan Lin and Isaiah Carroll dominate – sure, then I would feel comfortable claiming that the glory days are back.
Don’t get caught up in the future either – just focus on the present and enjoy the ride.
Penn has a superstar in Roberts, a wing that is scoring at will and winning games in the process. Roberts seems to have a star next to him, with former five-star Power averaging 18.6 points in Penn’s last three contests. The team has also seen significant contributions from senior forward Michael Zanoni and a supporting cast that has improved game-to-game.
This year, though, Penn will only go as far as Roberts can take them. If he can keep up this pace while collecting wins, Penn has a legitimate chance at winning the Big 5 Classic and contending for a conference title.
CONOR SMITH is a College senior from Mount Royal, N.J. studying communication. He currently serves as deputy DP Sports editor. All comments should be directed to dpsports@thedp.com.
