Penn basketball memories: A weekend romp

Our growing collection of Penn basketball moments has been filled with net-cuttings and NCAA tournament games, Princeton rivalries Big 5 double headers. But today Dave Zeitlin, a former DP Sports editor and current Penn Gazette Sports writer (among other things) brings us a memory of a less momentous weekend, but a fun one nonetheless.

Your favorite Penn basketball memory?

Since I was fortunate enough to be in the same class as Ugonna Onyekwe, Koko Archibong and Andy Toole, and follow the team (as either a fan or a DP reporter) to the 2000, 2002 and 2003 NCAA tournaments, I have tons of terrific Penn hoops memories. Perhaps my favorite, though, isn't an NCAA tourney game or a championship-clinching performance - but instead a Palestra weekend of dominance back in 2002.

Penn's 2001-02 season was unexpectedly awesome. The year before, the Quakers had a rare down year and then graduated two of their top players from that team. But freshman Tim Begley, sophomore Jeff Schiffner and transfer Toole were plugged into Fran Dunphy's revamped starting lineup, joining forces with Koko and Ugonna to form one of Penn's best starting fives in recent memory. That season, the Quakers swept through the Big Five and enjoyed some truly dominant Ivy League performances (despite a surprising 2-3 start in league play) on their way to the first of two consecutive conference titles.

Two of those dominant performances came on back-to-back February nights at the Palestra against Harvard and Dartmouth. (Yes, current students, Penn used to beat up on Harvard regularly.) In the Friday win over Harvard - a 78-51 walloping - Ugonna had one of the best dunks I've ever seen at the Palestra (maybe behind only this one). And then the following night, in Penn’s 100-62 rout of Dartmouth, everyone’s favorite benchwarmer – senior Dan Solomito – drilled the 3-pointer to give Penn fans free cheesesteaks. (My favorite part of that play is Duane King pausing under the basket before setting up his buddy Solomito for the “dramatic” shot.) I even wrote a DP column about Solomito’s “heroics” and the rest of the fun weekend (with some poor grammar in the lede.)

In the end, there were certainly more meaningful Penn basketball moments during my time at school and in the years after I graduated (as my passion for the team never fizzled). But that particular weekend definitely sticks out for one reason: it was fun. And for me, that’s what Penn basketball at the Palestra has always been about.

-Dave Zeitlin, College '03