More from across the pond

I was able to get a wire across the ol' transatlantic cable to Penn's two new European recruits, Simeon Esprit of England and Keelan Cairns of Ireland and asked them each a few questions about their recruitment, Penn and their games.

Brian Kotloff wrote a great story in today's DP about the long and winding connections the two players have to Penn, so check that out after hearing what the two future Quakers had to say:

Talk about your recruitment. I heard you visited last week — what did you think of your trip?

Simeon: The trip to the University of Pennsylvania was great. we were welcomed by both the players and coaching staff. they gave us a feel of life at UPenn. I was Amazed by the architecture and facilities on campus.

Keelan: My recruitment came about through a link between my former high school, St.Malachys College Belfast, and UPenn. Therefore I heard about Upenn after graduating in '10 but decided to take the equivalent to a prep school year at Barking Abbey and to play for the London Leopards in the EBL division 1. The trip over was fantastic, in Ireland and England we are not exposed to college basketball as much and basketball as a sport is seem almost as a second tier sport, so the Palestra and history there was quite overwhelming. The College as a whole is totally different to anything we have back home so everything was new and made everything more enjoyable for me.

How long has the recruiting process been going on for you and which coaches were you in touch with?

Keelan: The recruitment process started back in November i think with a call from Washington state University. Then after this I had been getting interest from a range of colleges from Hartford, to Illinois state, to Tennessee at Chattanooga and NJIT and I think more but I wanted to have the opportunity to play at the highest level I could while getting the best of both worlds with education and basketball both a priority.

What is Jerome Allen's reputation like over in England and how did that factor into your commitment?

Keelan: I did not know of Jerome Allen's reputation before i looked into it, but a few of my coaches and their contacts were aware of him during his 11 years in Europe. I think his time spent playing overseas has had a massive influence into my commitment as it is clear there is much European influence in his coaching style. Some of the basic rules of his team are exactly what i am playing this year and have been playing my whole career, so i think i will be able to catch on to his program quickly and produce straight away.

Had you hoped to play together? Are you excited to have someone familiar coming over with you?

Simeon: During the whole recruiting process we never expected we would be given the opportunity to or be recruited by the same school. Fortunately we have. We enjoy playing together and complement each others game. Coming over with someone I know will help me settle sooner.

Keelan: Me and Simeon have played together this whole season and we both intended to go to college in the states to play basketball, but we never discussed or thought of the possibility of playing stateside on the same team, so when news arose that UPenn had an interest in us both we made a deal that we either both go to Penn or that neither of us go to Penn and it turns out that worked out pretty nicely for us both. Yeah, I think having a teammate come over with me to play makes the whole experience much more comfortable as I will already have someone I know and trust with me. It also makes the process of being so far away from home a little easier for us both. But hopefully after a few months we will feel at home anyway in Penn.

Describe strengths and weaknesses of your games?

Keelan: I am a pretty versatile player that can play both inside and out. I have played as a 4 man and also a wing player this year depending on whatever line up we have on. Strengths to my game are my shooting, which helps stretch the floor and usually takes away the helpside defense of a big on the opposing team and my versatility all over the court as I can dribble and pass well for my size which will hopefully cause matchup problems for opposing teams. My main weakness is at the moment is admittedly my strength and explosiveness but hopefully I can make up for whatever I lack with other aspects of my game. I think Simeon is a great player because he can shoot and get to the basket as well as anyone, plus he is also a lengthy and quick wing defender that can guard multiple positions.

What differences do you expect between the game over in England and here in the USA and how are you going to adapt?

Simeon: The USA game will be very different to here in the UK. The players in the US are conditioned better and more athletic. I expect their intensity of play to be higher as a result. However, the UK use a 24 second shot clock as to your 35. I will have to get used to offences taking longer.

Keelan: Usually I would answer with the game being more one on one based in the USA than Europe but I think Coach Allen's scheme involves lots of ball and player movement which is typical of the European style. I think some aspects of the game are slower due the the longer shot clock to which I am used to, we have a 24 second shot clock for the age of 10, so to adapt I think I will have to know what shot is good and what shot is bad for me to take early in an offence and to always take shots I practice rather than inventing or forcing anything too early on.