McMahon out for season

Basketball practice was open for the first time yesterday, and coach Glen Miller was around to chat for the first time a few hours ago.

See Monday's DP for a full notebook, but there was confirmation that junior wing Tommy McMahon will sit out the year with an eye towards returning for a fifth season of hoops.

McMahon underwent surgery to his left hip over the summer, and a recovery time of seven months will keep him off the court as his teammates look to make it four league titles in a row.

"It's a blow in the sense that Tommy's a talented player," Miller said. "But at the same time, he battled through injuries last year, persevered, but he couldn't practice every day and it held him back from being the player that he's capable of being."

Last year, McMahon started 11 of 30 games for the Red and Blue and averaged 5.0 points per game, but his production waned as the season progressed.

He plans to stay at Penn for an extra year, and will apply for the additional season of eligibility when the time comes.

"I haven't been healthy since the middle of freshman year, so if I can be healthy for two full years, that would just be optimal," he said.