Positional Breakdown: Small Forward

In the days leading up to Friday's Penn basketball 2011-12 season opener at UMBC, the (newly redesigned) Buzz will break down how the Quakers are shaping up at each position. After taking a look at the 2-guards yesterday, we predict what to expect out of their counterparts on the wing.

THE PLAYERS:

Senior Tyler Bernardini is a real wild-card. The 6-foot-6 wing has battled injuries in recent years, but when healthy, he is the team's most potent outside shooter. If he can replicate last year's production — 12.9 points per game, which would have been much higher if not for a cold start to the season — Penn will have a reliable three-pronged offensive attack of PG Zack Rosen, SG Miles Cartwright, and Bernardini.

Senior Rob Belcore earns his minutes simply for how hard he plays and his versatility defensively. He's a bullish defender, but Penn fans would love to see him regain the shooting stroke he had as a freshman. He would prove to be a much bigger asset on the court if he could knock down that Bruce Bowen-patented corner three but he seemed to hesitate to launch the deep ones. He offers a different skillset than Bernardini, but if those two could somehow combine their respective defensive and shooting abilities, Penn would be rock-solid at the 3.

Sophomore Marin Kukoc is another wild card, simply because we have not seen much of him. He is said to have a smooth, Euro-game (thanks to his father, Toni's influence), and can shoot the ball from the outside.

THE MINUTES:

Bernardini and Belcore figure to share time at the 3 (Bernardini averaged a hefty 30.4 minutes, Belcore 22.9 last year) and will likely be interchanged when Allen wants to throw out different looks (Bernardini for the scoring punch, Belcore when he needs a stop). Belcore is also valuable because he is quick enough to defend point guards. It remains to be seen where Kukoc will come in. Allen has the luxury of going small or big with the versatile roster he now has, so Kukoc could conceivably play the 2 through the 4.

OUTLOOK:

We all know what Rosen and Cartwright can provide in the backcourt, but if Bernardini can produce like he did during that one hot streak last year (5 straight games of 17+ points) that will ease the burden of losing the scoring of Jack Eggleston (13.2 ppg). If Belcore can keep defenses more honest while he's on the offensive side of the ball, and Kukoc can mix it up and knock down shots, Penn will have a number of options at the 3.