Some fans' thoughts on Miller

I'll be posting my thoughts on today's news in a bit, but for now, here are some comments the DP Sports staff has gathered from various current students and Penn basketball fans. Keep in mind these are solely the thoughts of the individuals identified and not anybody at the DP (whether we agree or not). We just thought it would be interesting to get their reactions, which you'll find after the jump.

Pete Becker, a Wharton junior and Red and Blue Crew leader: "I definitely think this is a good move for the program.  We obviously need to move in a new direction after the lack of success over the past 2+ seasons.  I don't think the issue has been recruiting — I think it has been a combination of keeping the talent with the program, and in-game strategy.  I think these are Miller's weak points, and hopefully will be improved with the next coach (whether Allen remains at coach, or he is replaced by a new permanent coach).  There is no question that we have not had our full roster this year, especially with injuries to 2 starters, but this can't be an excuse.  If we didn't have players leave the team we would be deeper and better able to withstand these injuries.  Also, we have been in so many close games where the other team makes an adjustment we cannot counter.  For instance, we couldn't stop Delaware's guards.  Whether it was a lack of know-how, or a lack of communication, Miller was unable to make the in-game changes we needed to win the close games.  As a person, we really liked dealing with Miller on events like The Line, and hope that the next coach will continue the relationship he formed with the RBC."

Jayson Weingarten, College sophomore and RBC line leader: "I can't say that I am surprised he was fired. If they were going to fire Miller, now would be the best time. We have plenty of time to regroup before the majority of Big 5 play and all of Ivy League play. It really is like having a whole new season of play. ... Hopefully, we can win a game before we return home versus Temple. This would certainly revamp student support, and our team and Jerome Allen certainly need support during the transition. ... I was planning on breaking out the brown bag again, but I am going to put it back in my desk drawer and see how the rest of the season will be." [I think he wears a brown paper bag over his head at games sometimes]. ... This is certainly what I wanted for Hannukah."

Brendan Glackin, a Wharton senior and four-time line participant: "I definitely think this move is for the best. Ever since his hiring, Miller has been disappointing, and he has never been able to win with his players. The many transfers and players quitting was part of Miller's history, and no one can be surprised by that, but it ruined team chemistry and left a bad taste in my mouth. I can only hope that Penn learns from their mistakes and hires a coach with much more appreciation for Philadelphia, and the Big 5. Miller never took advantage of all the tremendous talent in his backyard, players who had dreams of playing in the Big 5 and for Penn. Hopefully our next coach will help return Penn to its prominence and the packed Palestra of my freshmen year."
Michael Plis, Engineering freshman and RBC member: I think that it was a move that had to be made. I've been to every home game so far this year and the talent is definitely there. I feel ike we should have won a couple games so far, but inconsistent and undisciplined play have really hurt us. Hopefully the new coach can inject some life into this team and start getting them to play with more motivation and consistency.
We're still gathering more comments and I'll update this post as they come in. And stay tuned for an upcoming post on my take on all of this.



Miller's salary: A perspective

Arguably one reason why Penn hesitated to fire Glen Miller is that his contract runs through the end of the 2010-11 season. Athletic Director Steve Bilsky would not comment on the financial implications of Miller's departing, saying in his media teleconference:

As you can imagine, I’m not going to get into that other than that I care about Glen, I want him to be successful going forward. In personnel maters, I really just can’t say much about that.
Many readers of this blog, too, have wondered about the bottom-line impacts of Miller and his potential succesors. (After all, assuming Miller is paid the remainder of his contract, as is customary, then Penn will be paying two head coaches next season.) So how big a deal is it?

We do not know the terms of the five-year contract that Miller signed in 2006, since that information is not public. But we can guess.

Here are some facts:

  • In 2008-09, the average salary of a head coach of a Penn men's team was $82,025. Obviously, the basketball coach will be one of the highest-paid coaches on campus.
  • In 2008-09, the men's basketball team had operating expenses of $190,889 and total expenses of $914,602.  (Revenues were $928,509, by the way, meaning that the program was profitable).
  • Fran Dunphy was reportedly paid roughly $300,000 per season when he left Penn. Miller almost definitely made less than Dunphy, who spent 17 years with the Quakers.
So, ballparking it, that leaves us around $100,000 - $225,000.

That's no petty sum, accounting for 10-25% of men's hoops expenses and allowing for a comfortable lifestyle. But it's also a small price to pay for getting the program back on track sooner.



Steve Bilsky Teleconference Transcript

Athletic Director Steve Bilsky held a teleconference today to discuss Penn's decision to relieve Glen Miller of his duties as head coach of the men's basketball team and to hire assistant coach - and former Quakers standout - Jerome Allen as his replacement. Bilsky's opening statement is below, and click below the jump to read the entirety of the Q&A conference call.

Athletic Director Steve Bilsky: Welcome everybody, thanks for getting on. I encourage everybody to read the press release, which includes not only information on Jerome but a quote from myself which I think really captures how I feel at this time. I think it's an opportunity for us to recapture the Penn identity or begin to recapture that by hiring Jerome. He represents to me the essence of what the student-athlete at Penn can accomplish here both in terms of how he got to Penn, what he did when he got here, how he feels about the school and how he has kept in touch with us subsequently. We were tremendously pleased that he was able to join our staff this year officially and I welcome him as our interim coach and hope that not only does he transcend some of the things he was able to do on the court as a player but also capture the thought and express those to our present players and our future players as to what it means to be a Penn basketball player because I believe that’s a very unique and special thing.

Q: What, if any, was Amy Gutmann’s role in all this? Bilsky: Well as you can imagine on any major decision I keep the administration abreast of what my thinking is, and timing, and any variables. I’ve done that, and the University is in consensus embracing the decision and supportive of it and has the same feelings I do.

Q: When did you guys let Coach Miller know that he was relieved of his duties? Bilsky: This morning.

Q: And how did he take it? Was he disappointed? Did he know that it was coming? Bilsky: Again, I’m gonna speak mostly for myself and going forward. I’ll say that he was disappointed. It was a difficult decision to be made and certainly he cares a lot about student-athletes here. He cares about us. I expressed to him that we wished him the best and it was not much more than that.

Q: Why do you think it was important to do it right now at this particular time in the season? Bilsky: Well if a decision was going to be made during the season — and that's always a very difficult task for a lot of reasons — this represented the best time. The students are beginning their finals. And I know there’s been a lot of scuttlebutt about the team and how we’re doing and I think it’s weighed on them greatly. So the most important thing they can do is take care of their academic work. That’s far superior to everything else that’s going on. And I wanted them to know going into finals that this decision has been made so they can be clear in that regard and deal with it as they see fit and concentrate on their studies.

And the second part is just how the schedule fits. This is the last break we have in the season where these a couple weeks before we play our next game. Talking to Jerome, the feeling was whatever he wants to impart on the team, certainly in the short term, this will give him an opportunity to do some of that. There won’t be that opportunity again.

Q: How long has this decision been in the works? When did you start thinking about this? Bilsky: Well the decision is always a process. I’ve been thinking about Penn basketball for a while and monitoring it and talking to the coaches and the captains. And people are not shy about voicing their opinions, and I listen to those. The final decision was made in my mind late last week, but the process has taken place really, in terms of monitoring the program, for longer than that.

Q: Why do you think it didn’t work here, and did you get a sense that there were a lot of people who felt he didn’t fit because he didn’t have Penn connections? Bilsky: Yeah I mean it’s always easy to look back and say why something works or didn’t work. To some degree, initially, it worked very well. The first season I think there was an exceptional job done in a tough situation, to take over a senior-ridden team, and I think there was a good meeting between the veteran players and the coach. We won a championship and played great basketball and had a nice appearance in the NCAA.

So I would far from say that it hasn’t fit or hasn’t worked throughout. But certainly the direction that it has been going has not been satisfactory. The idea that one comes from the outside — this is a unique place, and certainly I’m aware of it – it has something to do with it. But I would hate think that you can never have a coach come into Philadelphia who is not a Philadelphian and not be successful. So you compare that towards the advantages that he did bring — successful background, familiarity with the Ivy League, success in the Ivy League — to me those were more at the forefront in hiring Glen in the first place.

I would have liked a greater welcome for him, but again, I don’t think that’s the reason why we were successful or were not successful.

Q: He has a five-year contract. I think this is the fourth year. How do you deal with that? Bilsky: As you can imagine, I’m not going to get into that other than that I care about Glen, I want him to be successful going forward. In personnel maters, I really just can’t say much about that.

Q: You said moments ago that the final decision was made late last week. Had they won Saturday night at Monmouth, would that have changed things? Bilsky: No. This is not really about wins and losses. This is really about — I think of Penn basketball as more than just a sport that plays games to win or lose. I really believe that in our case, it’s a community building activity. There’s so many people that care about the sport. It generates enthusiasm on campus, good feelings. In a way it’s an ambassadorship of the school to the world, both alumni and not. And it was really that lack of what Penn represents – in addition to the wins and losses – that disappointed me and led me to the conclusion to do this. So it really wasn’t about games we won, games we lose, how we played per se — more just about the direction of the program, what I think it means to the campus and the community, and the kind of loss of that identity.

Q: From where you sit, how much of a concern is the decline in attendance to you? Bilsky: When you win, you get more people to come out. I think beyond the emotion of it. But this is a city where there’s lots of things you can watch, and people want to migrate to a winning program that’s interesting. So it’s not attendance per se. It’s not any one issue. Its just the general sense that I think of us as a community building activity that students can come to the Palestra and watch their team and be proud of it. That alumni can feel good about it, that it generates enthusiasm amongst the department for the other sports. It’s just a good feeling that here you have an Ivy League school, which really stands for academics, that can somehow not only be successful in our league but be competitive in the city and a national standpoint and do some really unique things that produce fine student athletes and that people can embrace that. That was unraveling. And that was really what led me to the conclusion.

Q: Jerome is thrown into a really unique situation. How does he kind of move into that role without the pressure of being in the top spot as the head coach now? Bilsky: Jerome is a great competitor. There’s always going to be pressure. That’s what made him a great player. Anybody that reaches the level that he did — and not just at Penn, but beyond that — always feels the pressure and always competes and that’s what he will do. He represents to me — going back to my history with the school, which goes back lots of decades — he represents what I think Penn’s basketball success represents: a quality player, a quality person, with humility, who likes to win and loves the school. And that’s the qualities that he’s brining to this. And we will do everything we can to support him. And the players will respond to him well. But he or nobody else is a miracle man, and so the reality of it is we’re struggling as a team now, and we’re asking him to begin the rebuilding process, both in terms of what goes on on the floor, but some of these bigger issues as well.

Q: How much of a factor was Glen Miller’s personality in this decision? Bilsky: Again, I’m really not here to talk about Glen, per se. I’ve said what I want to say about him. He worked tremendously hard. I think he’s a good basketball coach and we’re going to do what we can to help him going forward. But really my thoughts now are about going forward and supporting Jerome.

Q: I was wondering if there was any communication with the players Bilsky: I have relationships with the players I talked to them about that, not so much in terms of making the decision, but talking about their experiences. Particularly the captains. They’ll pop in or see me periodically and just talk about experiences beyond just basketball. So yes, I have spoken to them, I have asked them about their experience at Penn, and particularly the captains because they represent the team, and I think that feedback was useful.

Q: Were you surprised at all by the level of emotion and the reaction that some of the alumni have had toward the end of last season and through this season about how things have gone? Bilsky: Really not. I’ve been here long enough to know that our alumni really care. And fortunately over the years, most of the caring has been displayed in very positive ways and emotionally celebratory ways. But sometimes that hasn’t been the case. as much as we think that Penn has done nothing but winning over the decades, we’ve had some tough periods as well, even as we haven’t lived up to expectations. So the passion is there. I would say, not unanimously, but almost everyone always responded — at least in terms of people who were talking to me directly — always respectful. Frustrated yes, disappointed at times, but respectful and hopeful, and I think that represents the vast majority of alumni today.

Q: Did you offer the position to any other assistants? Bilsky: [Jerome was my] first and only choice

Q: What do you envision happening with the other assistants? Bilsky: That’s first gonna be up to Jerome to talk to them and see where they are. Again, this is not a celebratory time. It’s a difficult time. I think that it’s for Jerome to have a comfort level obviously. In the middle of the year you have some options that are different than what you would have at a different time. That’s really gonna be his call and their call. Whatever he comes up with we’ll support.

Q: Was there any reaction in particular from Mike [Martin] given his connection to Glen? Bilsky: Mike was disappointed for Glen. He owes a lot in his life to Glen. We’re all disappointed. I think Mike’s a talented guy and I think he’s developed a sense of loyalty to Penn. In all cases I think the best advice is to give these guys certainly the better part of the day and night to come to grips with things and not be spontaneous. We’ll talk to them and we’ll try to help them and guide them and whatever they decide to do we’ll support that. If it turns out that at the end that they’re staying on the staff and supporting Jerome, that would make me feel good also.

Q: Was hiring Glen Miller the right decision? Bilsky: I’m not gonna crystal ball-gaze. I know that he brought great qualities to the program. He had experience in the Ivy League. More than any other school, he competed against us year in and year out well. He was well thought of, in terms of the people in the basketball world that I counseled. I know he really wanted to come here and make a mark, and I know he’s disappointed.

Q: Was this the right time to make this move? Do you think you could’ve done it even sooner? Bilsky: That’s a fluid situation. I do believe that you wanna be fair to any coach that you hire. You want to give them an opportunity to settle in. Look, I’ve said this before and it’s not just coming from me, it’s from a lot of people. When we did the interviewing process every candidate, and I’m talking about all the candidates specifically that were familiar with Penn Basketball, all felt that after the Zoller and Jaaber and Danley class graduated that there was going to be some degree of rebuilding that was going to take place. That’s not a surprise and that’s not a knock on anybody. We anticipated that would be the case. So you have to weigh that versus being fair to a new coach. I want to reiterate: this is not simply about the performance of the team this year, as much as we’re disappointed with our record and we’re not used to it, this is really a sense of direction and leadership. I just felt that where we were at this point indicated to me that it was necessary to make a change and this was the right time to do it.

Q: What will Jerome have to do to stay on as head coach beyond this season? Bilsky: That’s a loaded question. Clearly we’re gonna get a chance to see his talents coming forward. The second part I would say is it’s very important to have a good basketball program here. I wouldn’t wanna go so far as to say that this is a trial, but we’re gonna watch everything, and then when it comes time to decide the more permanent situation we’ll look at the options at that point.

Q: Sense of direction and leadership. What was it that Glen Miller didn’t bring to the table that made you feel like you needed to move in a different direction? Bilsky: Again it’s what I said earlier. I think of Penn Basketball as being more than just a sport. We have 33 sports here and I like to think we support all of them to the best of our ability but there’s a sport or two, and certainly in the case of basketball, which is more of a community-building sport, where there are a lot of different constituents that look at us for more than just one of our teams that are playing. The leadership really is not only about leading a team of student athletes, which is obviously most important, but it’s also about being a representative of the university to all these constituents and being one of the most prominent people at Penn. I think that’s incumbent on the person who has this job to have those skills and to have that ability and to generate goodwill and enthusiasm. That’s how I’m defining leadership.

Q: I guess he didn’t really didn’t go in the community and talk to enough people, like as far as the boosters and alumni. He just didn’t want to do that, is that the problem? Bilsky: Again, I’m not going to really talk about what Glen did and didn’t do. I’m just gonna say that’s an important quality for this person to have, to generate enthusiasm and hope and faith and goodwill and do all of those things. And additionally to have a team that goes on the court that wins. It’s not an easy job and it’s a challenging job and again it’s a unique job if you’re doing it with a group of student-athletes that are here primarily to get an education and with all sorts of opportunities and also restrictions and limitations that exist because of the Ivy League. All coaching jobs are difficult, and all coaching jobs are difficult at all schools nowadays, maybe more difficult than ever. But this is one that’s particularly challenging but yet very important so that’s why we would do something that’s a little bit more out of our character, i.e. make a change at this time of year.

Q: You mentioned the alumni and current players, how much did you hear from the greater Philadelphia basketball community over the course of the last year and a half or so? Bilsky: I think the greater Philadelphia community was unbelievably supportive. If anything, I would say that the general sense — at least as it was presented to me or someone representing the department — was 'Hang in there, you’ll be okay, things will get good. You have too much going for you, too much great tradition.' You know we talk about the Palestra, and all those wonderful things about it. But remember, it’s our Palestra. We share it with everybody, but it’s our home court. And so I think people were just kinda pumping us up and I think they’re continuing to do that. Again, the whole sense of people that were disillusioned, that they were unhappy was more a reaction of passionate fans than it is people thinking that the days of Penn being a good basketball program are over. I don’t think people think that. I certainly don’t feel that way. I know Jerome doesn’t feel that way. Hopefully our players don’t feel that way and our future players don’t feel that way.



Glen Miller ousted [UPDATED with Bilsky quotes]

In case any of you missed it over at thedp.com, the Athletic Department announced that men's basketball coach Glen Miller has been fired. Jerome Allen will be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

The move comes just two days after a disappointing, 80-75 loss to Monmouth. The Quakers, of course, are 0-7; unless they beat Davidson on Dec. 28 or No. 8 Duke on New Year's Eve, this year's squad will have the worst start in program history.

By replacing Miller, the Quakers get two weeks to adjust to Allen and to halt their season-long tailspin.

Athletic Director Steve Bilsky will be available to the media via a conference call at 1:30 p.m. Keep checking The Buzz and thedp.com for updates and reactions as the story unfolds.

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Update: From Penn Athletics' press release:

"We thank Glen for his time at Penn," said [Athletic Director Steve] Bilsky. "However, we have decided that a change is in the best interests of the program, the student-athletes, and the larger Penn basketball community.

"I have asked Jerome to help re-establish the identity of Penn Basketball," he continued. "For decades, Penn Basketball has been a source of pride for the University, not simply for the successes but also for the embodiment of the Palestra creed: 'To win the game is great, to play the game is greater, but to love the game is greatest of all.' Jerome was an outstanding player who respects the game and loves Penn. I believe our student-athletes will benefit from his tutelage, and our fans will unite around him during this challenging time."

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UPDATE on press conference: For immediate updates on the Bilsky conference call,  see Twitter (@dailypennsports). Here are some of Bilsky's thoughts; full transcript and audio to be posted shortly:

  • "I think its an opportunity for us to recapture the Penn identity, or begin to recapture that, by hiring Jerome."
  • Miller was notified this morning. "He was disappointed."
  • "On any major decision, I keep the administration apprised of what my thinking is….The university is in a consensus embracing the decision."
  • “The ultimate final decision was made in my mind late last week." Bilsky later implied that Miller would have been fired even if Penn had beaten Monmouth.
  • Allen was the "first and only" choice for the interim slot. Future of the remaining assistants will be up to Allen.
  • Could Allen get the full-time job? "I wouldn’t want to go so far as to say this is a trial, but we’re going to watch everything."
  • Asked whether he regrets hiring Miller, Bislky said, "I’m not going to crystal-ball gaze. I know he brought great qualities to the program."



Penn basketball vs. Monmouth Live Blog

Hi everyone, this is Ari Seifter coming to you live from Monmouth's brand-new (and very nice) arena. We just got some technical difficulties with wireless internet fixed. Penn has never lost to Monmouth - or any team in the Northeast Conference - but Penn also hasn't won a game yet this season.

Click Here



A Hannukah present for Sprint Football

Actually, the announcement came last month. But as reported by Inside Higher Ed today, Post University -- a for-profit institution in New England -- will join the Collegiate Sprint Football League next fall. (Interesting fact from the article: Post's new team had a startup cost of about $400,000 and projected annual costs of $150,000.)

Penn is one of just six schools in the nation with a sprint football program, reserved for players under 172 pounds. Cornell, Princeton, Navy and Army round out the traditional bunch; Mansfield University joined the CSFL in 2008, the first new team in decades.

Here's a bit more on the history of sprint football at Penn.

And, of course, Happy Hannukah to our Jewish readers.



Local RB-LB to join Penn Football

This just in from the Inquirer: Running back-linebacker Sebastian Jaskowski has committed to Penn. The Wharton student-to-be from Moorestown, N.J., chose the Quakers over Princeton, Brown, and Harvard.

The Inquirer writes:

The 6-foot, 200-pound Jaskowski enjoyed a dominating season on both sides of the ball. He rushed for 1,578 yards and 19 touchdowns on 164 carries and caught 17 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown. At linebacker he recorded 68 tackles.
Jaskowski is expected to primarily play offense for Al Bagnoli, although the Quakers have a glut of young rushing talent.



Live game updates: M. Hoops versus Albany

Welcome to the Palestra. I'll be providing live game updates as the Quakers (0-5) take on Albany (3-6), looking to break through into the win column for the first time.

Click Here for the Cover it Live Updates. You can also get twitter updates from Eli Cohen.



Priore Defense

Penn Defensive Coordinator Ray Priore led the Quakers to one incredible season. The defense was one of the best in the nation, allowing only 9.5 points per game and 217.6 yards per game, the fewest in Division I (FCS and FBS). It's pretty obvious that the Quakers would not have won the Ivy League Championship without the defense's phenomenal play.

Priore has been at Penn for 23 years, the past 11 as defensive coordinator. This year, he is one of four finalists for the D1-AA Coordinator of the Year Awards, and I beleive you'd be hard-pressed to find a more deserving candidate. Thus, I encourage you all to vote online here.

The votes do not decide the award, but they are considered when a panel of current and former coaches and past winners chooses the winner.

If you need further convincing, there's more information about the 2009 Penn defense in the press release about the nomination and Priore's career here.



Dec. 7: A date that will live in (Penn hoops) infamy

The rough year for Penn's basketball programs has been well-documented, but come midnight, the Quakers will reach a new mark of futility: It will be the latest ever that both hoops programs are winless.

With today's 65-51 loss to Navy, the women are 0-7, while Glen Miller's squad is 0-5.

Now, just nine years ago, Fran Dunphy's Quakers (who ultimately tied for second in the 2000-01 Ivy League standings, by the way) began the year 0-8, and in 1995-96, the women lost their first -- count 'em -- 22 games. So individually, the record books are far away, although first-year W. Hoops coach Mike McLaughlin -- the winngest coach in the NCAA -- must be frustrated and confused.

Collectively, though, the Quakers are entering uncharted territory. In the 40 years since the Penn's women's basketball program began, both squads have never been searching for their first win as late as Dec. 7. The season used to start later, too, which makes this even more remarkable.

So which team will win first? The men face Albany at the Palestra on Tuesday, then travel to the seemingly beatable Monmouth next Saturday; the women host rider next Saturday in their only game until after Christmas.

*   *   *

Food for thought: Our dear friend Pat Knapp, now an assistant with the University of Hawaii (and wearing oh-so-appropriate digs for the new gig), is 3-5 so far. Maybe he wasn't wasting his time after all.

*   *   *

I would also like to officially congratulate Noah and Zach on the good job they have done both on this blog and with the print edition of The Daily Pennsylvanian. They have begun the transition to next year's editors, who will be formally announced shortly.



Men's Hoops vs. Navy Live Blog

Hey all. I'm here in beautiful Annaplis, MD to give you live updates as the men's basketball team looks to pick up its first win of the season against the Navy Midshipmen. Follow along with me here:

Penn vs. Navy Basketball



M. Hoops loses two... not games

Some bad news has dampened the sunny forecast of this recruiting season for Glen Miller and the men's basketball team. According to ESPN/Scouts Inc., California forward Kevin Panzer of Capistrano High School has decommitted from Penn. Panzer's decision was reportedly made in the last few days. In addition, fellow Golden State product Austin Kelly, a guard from Harvard-Westlake, apparently also has de-committed, making his choice for personal reasons back in September, according to the Cornell Basketball Blog. However, according to ESPN Kelly is still committed, since he's listed as one of the six remaining Penn commits:

NAME | POS | HT | WT | SCHOOL | RANK | GRADE | STATUS NOTES Miles Cartwright | Shooting Guard | 6'3" | 160 | Loyola H.S. (CA ) | Shooting Guard #48 | 90 | Verbal

Dau Jok | Shooting Guard | 6'3" | 170 | Theodore Roosevelt H.S. (IA) | Shooting Guard #172 | 80 | Verbal

Casey James | Point Guard | 6'2" | 170 | Capistrano Valley Christian H.S. (CA)  | Point Guard #150 76 Verbal

Cameron Gunter | Power Forward | 6'8"  | -- | Ridley H.S. (PA ) | Power Forward #224 | 75 | Verbal

Austin Kelly  | Shooting Guard | 6'2" | 170 | Harvard-Westlake School (CA) | Shooting Guard #251 | 74 | Verbal

Steve Rennard | Point Guard | 6'1" | 170 | St. Joseph H.S. (NJ ) | Point Guard #191 | 70 | Verbal

I have no information yet — nor does anyone else to my knowledge — on why Panzer (and possibly Kelly) decommitted. The CBB report simply meant Kelly's decision was unrelated to Panzer's. While I think Penn can deal with the loss of Kelly -- one talented guard among a slew of impressive swingmen on Miller's radar -- the loss of Panzer will hurt badly. He was the best offensive big man that demonstrated a serious interest in Penn, and one of the prizes of the entire class. After the Quakers missed out on 7-footer Ugo Okam, who committed to Harvard, they had just one big man besides Panzer. And Cameron Gunter's defense needed the complementary offense of the talented Panzer, who had rejected scholarship offers from Gonzaga and Colorado. Panzer was the most exciting recruit in my opinion besides Miles Cartwright and maybe Dau Jok. I can't begin to imagine what Glen Miller is going through with an 0-4 team and now a significant hole in his recruiting class.



Taking on Army

I realize I'm entering Noah's territory a little, but he's traveling back from Florida to Philadelphia today.

Anyway, today the NCAA announced the Volleyball Tournament bracket, and Penn will face Army Friday at University Park, Pa. Although it is a 64-team tournament (kind of) like the Men's Basketball Tournament, only 16 teams are ranked. Penn didn't get one of those seeds. In fact, they're in No. 1 Penn State's sub regional, hence they're playing at the Nittany Lions' home gym. If the Quakers were to beat the 26-5 Black Knights, they would then take on Penn State (32-0) who  just won its 96th consecutive match (it has also won 72 matches in a row at home).

But first up are the Black Knights, who are in their first ever Volleyball Tournament as Patriot League champions. Freshman Ariana Mankus swept the Patriot League Player and Rookie of the Year awards.

Penn has made the NCAA Tournament three previous times, always losing in the first round. The most recent loss was a 3-1 decision to Pittsburgh in 2003, coincidentally held in University Park as well.



Another volleyball record

The volleyball team's dominance has been well-documented here on The Buzz, but here's one more interesting tidbit on just how historic this season was.

The All-Ivy awards were announced this week, and Penn set yet another record with FOUR first team selections, becoming the first team ever to accomplish that feat. Ivy League Player of the Year Elizabeth Semmens was a unanimous selection, as was setter and Ivy assists leader Megan Tryon. Penn's all-time single season and career digs leader, Madison Wojciechowski also got the nod for first team, and Rookie of the Year Lauren Martin became the first freshman in four years to earn the honor. Current Yale senior Alexis Crusey did so, and this year she became just the fifth player to earn a first team selection for all four seasons. Martin could very well be on her way to becoming the sixth.

The Quakers are waiting anxiously for this Sunday's NCAA tournament selection show, when they'll find out their first-round opponent. Last year Yale defeated Albany before being trounced by a dominant Penn State team. Penn will most likely be playing at Penn State, but it hopes to face a beatable opponent before running into the Nittany Lions.



M. Hoops vs. Drexel live blog

Hey everyone, this is Ari Seifter coming to you with live game updates from the men's basketball game against Drexel.

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Football dominates All-Ivies

From the department of not surprising news, Penn football had 18 All-Ivy selections, including senior linebacker Jake Lewko, who shared the Asa S. Bushnell Cup with Brown receiver/returner Buddy Farnham as the Ivy League's top player.

Six of the 18 received first team honors, including both of Penn's starting cornerbacks, seniors Jonathan Moore and Chris Wynn. This was Wynn's third straight All-Ivy year; the last Penn player to do so was receiver Miles Macik (1993-95). The other four first teamers were Lewko, junior offensive lineman Joseph D'Orazio, senior defensive lineman Joe Goniprow and junior kicker Andrew Samson.

In addition, coach Al Bagnoli was named a candidate for the Eddie Robinson award, which goes to the top coach in the Football Championship Subdivision. Other candidates of note include Villanova's Andy Talley and Dale Lennon of No. 1 Southern Illinois. This is Bagnoli's third appearance on the Robinson Award list; he finished ninth in 2002 and eighth in 2003.



Wrestling with suspensions

It's already old news at this point, but three of Penn's top wrestlers — Rollie Peterkin, Cesar Grajales and Matt Dragon — were suspended on the eve of the Keystone Classic. We reported the suspensions in our recap of the event, but coach Rob Eiter did not reveal anything further. I've since dug up some more information on this news.

First of all, the original version of the Penn Athletics statement, which was sneakily buried at the bottom of their preview of the tournament, read as follows:

"The University of Pennsylvania's Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics has announced the indefinite suspension of wrestlers Matt Dragon, Cesar Grajales and Rollie Peterkin for a violation of University policy."

That version has since been edited, and now reads:

"The University of Pennsylvania's Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics has announced the suspension of wrestlers Matt Dragon, Cesar Grajales and Rollie Peterkin for a violation of departmental policy."

Note the deletion of the word "indefinite" before suspension and the change from "University policy" to "departmental policy." I do not know the reason for these changes, nor the time between the original posting and the edit, but I'm trying to figure that out. Based on my analysis of these changes (which might mean absolutely nothing), it seems likely at this point that these three stars of Penn wrestling won't be seeing the mat this season. Without the term indefinite, and especially considering the conscious removal of the word, the suspensions are presumably definite. And with no qualifier of "indefinite" and no specific length given for the suspensions, that seems to me like it means they will be out for the season (and by extension their careers).

Of course this is mostly speculation right now, though my preliminary reporting has given me more confidence in this assessment. It remains to be seen whether that is actually the case, and it will probably be a few weeks before any more information surfaces.

As far as the cause of the suspension, it seems to be a result of a currently unknown incident that occurred a few weeks ago, but the announcement was only made just recently. However, it might have been instituted before its announcement, since none of the three culprits competed at the Binghamton Open last weekend. All three have also been removed from Intermat Wrestling's rankings list. Previously, Peterkin was ranked sixth in the 125-pound weightclass, Grajales was seventh at 149 and Dragon was 17th at 157.

Keep checking The Buzz and thedp.com for more information as I try to get to the bottom of all of this.



Waxman in the HOF

Sadly, I missed out on the men's basketball team's 2OT thriller with Delaware because I drove down to my native Maryland for the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington Sports Hall of Fame's Dinner of Champions. While I was there because my brother Harris (who will be pitching for Lehigh next year) received an award given out to some of the top area Jewish high school athletes, a nice bonus was getting to see the induction of former Penn lacrosse goalie Sarah Waxman into the Greater Washington DC Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Waxman - the national Goalkeeper of the Year in 2007 and 2008 - now joins the DC area's most notable Jewish sports figures in the Hall of Fame, including former Boston Celtics head coach Red Auerbach, Tampa Bay Lightning center Jeff Halpern, Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, and legendary sportswriter Shirley Povich. Sportswriter/former MNF sportscaster/television personality/radio host Tony Kornheiser (also a member of the Hall) sponsored her admission, and even gave her a shoutout on Pardon the Interruption on Friday.

Waxman made a nice speech, noting her unique position as a Jewish athlete on Penn's campus. She described educating her teammates about the rules regarding what food is kosher and the discussions that ensued. Waxman noted that the three components to the induction, "DC," "Jewish," and "sports" were all things she took great pride in and so she was thrilled to be honored.



Reviewing the last Ivy week

There were two huge stories this weekend in Ivy football outside of Penn's title-clinching game. I briefly mentioned both of them in my Ivy football recaps story but here's some more analysis and links to other schools' newspapers.

The biggest story was that Princeton fired coach Roger Hughes. The Daily Princetonian has an article detailing the firing, which took place less than 24 hours after the team had won its season finale. (Be sure to take a look at the comments.)

Choicest quote from the article: “It was surprising how early [the announcement] was, but it’s nice because if you’re going to do it, do it early,” [sophomore quarterback Tommy] Wornham said.

Last year the only Ivy coaching change was Jack Siedlecki, who announced his retirement as Yale coach the day before Thanksgiving. Yale would eventually replace him with Tom Williams in early January.

Ironically, Williams was responsible for the second big story of the weekend. Coaching in The Game for the first time, Williams took a play out of Bill Belichick's playbook. But just like the New England Patriots coach two Sundays ago against the Colts, a big fourth-down gamble failed miserably.

Leading 10-7, Williams elected to use a fake punt on fourth and 22. It was stopped seven yards short and Harvard would score the go-ahead touchdown on the next possession, eventually winning, 14-10.

Here are the recaps from The Crimson and The Yale Daily News. The comments to the YDN article were pretty vicious, including my favorite: "In the same vein as the '68 Crimson headline, 'Harvard Wins 29-29', how about the Daily running, 'Williams loses to Harvard 10-14'?"

However, I tried to find a column from either newspaper attacking/lauding/lamenting/questioning Williams' decision, but couldn't find anything. The Crimson did have this notebook, but no real opinionated column. Considering the YDN had an entire page dedicated to The Game, you'd think they'd have more than one story on the actual contest. It appears not. (Forgive me if I missed one somehow.)

The decision to go for it even got national attention. Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King wrote about it, though he disagrees with my Belichik comparison. From section 10, bullet point h of his Monday Morning Quarterback column (he apparently doesn't know how to use bullet points correctly):

h. Don't even compare the Yale coach's call -- running a fake punt while up 10-7, under three minutes to go against Harvard, fourth-and-22 at his own 25, best punter in the Ivy League back to punt, no timeouts left for Harvard, Yale defense having controlled the day, runner stopped short of the first down at the Yale 40 -- to Bill Belichick's. Not applicable. Belichick had a fourth-and-2 with Tom Brady on his side, not wanting to punt the ball so Manning could have two minutes to make him regret it. The call by Tom Williams made Belichick look like a Bill Walsh/Albert Einstein combo platter. I don't want to make this a scar-kids-for-life moment, because it shouldn't. But imagine those kids at Yale, walking off a football field for the last time in their lives, thinking, "This is my last memory in football? My coach going for it idiotically on fourth-and-22, causing us to lose to our arch-rivals?''
In response to King's comments, the football humor site (that has NSFW language and occassionally photos) Kissing Suzy Kolber said "Jesus, [Williams] really did that? What a moron."



Penn vs. Delaware Mens Basketball

Hello and welcome to the historic Palestra for what should be a relatively even game between the Penn Quakers and the Delaware Blue Hens. Both Delaware and Penn come into the game 0-2 on the season, and each are looking for a big win. The Blue Hens are looking to parlay the scoring of junior Jawan Carter, while the Quakers hope for a win in their first game back at the home since March. This is Eli Cohen bringing you live game updates. Enjoy...

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