Ivies listening?

There are a lot of holes in the Penn men's basketball team that were exploited by Saint Joseph's and in other recent losses. These aren't necessarily gaping holes, but with some smart gameplanning, the road to knocking off the Quakers in the Ivy League would be a lot easier.

1) Inbounds passes: At least once per game, usually more, the baseline inbounds play (usually around the opponent's basket) turns into a timeout or a turnover. The four players trying to receive the ball will either run somewhere or set a screen within about a three-second interval, and if the ball isn't passed in by the three- or four-second mark, they just stand wherever they went to. This leaves the passer, often Aron Cohen, with no options. Whether it's the fault of the players or the designer of the play, these guys must do something up until the five-second limit.

These inbounds plays are even more problematic when coming after a made shot and the opponent pressing. The Quakers are easily caught inbounding the ball to a guard who is either heading up one sideline, or even worse, into one corner. Here, a team has an easy opportunity to trap. Surrounded by two defenders and one (or two) out of bounds lines, the recipient of the pass has nowhere to go and often turns it over. We saw this a lot against La Salle, helping to create 17 turnovers.

2) Guarding skilled swingmen: There's not much to say here besides that the lanky 6-foot-10 swingman Pat Calathes torched Penn, and anyone the Quakers could throw at him. In the first half, when the outcome was still in doubt, Calathes went 4-for-8, 3-for-3 from three and 14 points, and that included four missed free throws and two missed dunks. He either flew by any guard that was put on him in Penn's three-guard lineup, or just shot over him. And we're not talking about some 6-1 speed demon. Ryan Wittman is licking his chops.

3) Inability to get inside: When faced with tough perimeter defense, Penn just shoots threes. As I mention in my sidebar, the Quakers attempted 27 threes against St. Joe's, and it's not like they did it because they were behind. Penn shot 12 in the first half, making only one, and missed 10 straight to close out the half (down by 24). Against La Salle, Penn got around its inability to penetrate by passing it to the forwards inside. But this failed as well against the Hawks, resulting in 5-for-27 shooting from long distance.