Rob Belcore, a modern-day Plato, err... Aristotle

Rob Belcore has not only become Penn's energizer bunny on the court, he's also become a quote machine off it. He's a sound bite waiting to happen, and the forward gave us some golden material on roommate of four years Zack Rosen after the win over Delaware on Wednesday night.

Asked what it's like to have Zack as a teammate, Belcore responded:

"It’s more fun to have him as a roommate… Zack, he’s like no one I’ve ever met, honestly. Every day in everything he does. In his locker if you go in there, he’s got a Plato quote. I don’t know it off-hand, if you guys want to look it up but it’s 'do excellence every day'…"

"Aristotle," a smiling Jerome Allen corrected.

"Aristotle," Belcore continued. "I was close. But that’s what Zack does. You wanna know Zack Rosen? Follow him through the course of a day. Look at what he does in the morning, gets up and makes his bed every day, gets to every single class. In everything he does, he pursues excellence. It’s something that, as someone who is nowhere near as excellent as him, I really admire. And don’t put that in the paper ’cause I don’t want him to know that."

We'll settle for putting it online because it needs to be read. This is the best example yet to demonstrate not only the special player but the special person that captains Penn basketball. FYI, the real quote reads: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Explains how Rosen has achieved shooting excellence this season, but I still like Belcore's version better.

-------------------------

For those craving a "Good, Bad, Ugly" post, here's a quick version:

Good: Steve Rennard coming through when his number was called, the ultimate sign of a good team (check out Kevin's insightful sidebar for more); the 17-2 run that broke the game open early in the second half; Rosen turning an off shooting night into 29 points; Penn's defense on Devon Saddler, who entered as the nation's second-leading scorer (24.7 ppg) and exited with six points on 2-for-8. Lots of good.

Bad: Allowing 11 offensive rebounds; shooting just 37 percent from the field; allowing UD to climb back in it with a late 8-0 run.

Ugly: Shooting 2-for-12 from three in the first half; getting a combined five points on 3-for-9 shooting from the 5-spot.