Penn just beat Lafayette 84-70. Unfortuantely for the entire game our DP website was down, which prevented me from posting the below blog updates in realtime. I apologize for that. However, you can still replay them and get a good sense of what happened. As a disclaimer, this was my first live blog of a basketball game, so I didn't always get every single basket in there. I also made a few errors, the most egregious of which is that I call Lafayette's Nick Petkovich Petrovich several times. Also I misread the scoreboard when I said Penn only had three fouls. They had six.
The Yale football program, whose 12-year coach Jack Siedlecki retired in November to become an assistant athletic director, has found his replacement.
Tom Williams, the new head honcho, will join Columbia's current boss, Norries Wilson, as the only two black head coaches in Ivy football history. Tomorrow's 2 p.m. press conference will reveal whether Williams' media style is as "unique" as Wilson's; my money's on no.
Williams, 38, spent the past two years as a defensive assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has been an assistant coach at Hawaii, Washington, Stanford and San Jose State.
1) Here is week seven of the Schuylkill 16 poll. After Villanova defeated Temple last Monday, it seems unlikely that the Wildcats will lose the top spot especially with just one more game against a S-16 opponent (Rutgers). Meanwhile even if they lose in the Big East, it won't be to a terrible opponent since right now every Big East team remaining on Villanova's schedule is above 134 in the Ken Pomeroy rankings. (Penn, on the other hand, only plays five games against opponents above 134: Temple, La Salle, St. Joe's and twice against Cornell).
2) In conference news, Dave Zeitlin checks in yet again on Rush the Court, asking Glen Miller to give a "state of the program address." He also sees the league as Cornell vs. everyone else, which at this point is probably what it's going to be. (He also mentions item number 3.)
3) I don't quite know how this fell through the cracks, but Princeton is going to name the floor at Jadwin Gymnasium "Carril Court" after Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril who invented the Princeton offense.
4) Moving away from basketball, Penn might not have a varsity ice hockey team, but that doesn't mean the rest of the conference's teams don't get national attention on occasion. In fact, Ted Donato, the Harvard coach, recently got a write up in the New York Daily News since he is a former Ranger and Islander. (HT David Gurian-Peck).
For a while, the Major League Baseball rumor mill had Mark DeRosa heading home to the Phillies.
Instead, in a New Year's Eve trade, the former Quakers star is on his way to the Cleveland Indians, according to ESPN.com.
DeRosa -- who last year gave an exclusive interview to The Daily Pennsylvanian -- was a two-sport athlete at Penn. On the gridiron, the Passaic, N.J., native remains the fourth-leading passer in program history. He also played baseball, of course, before the Atlanta Braves drafted him in 1996, after his junior season. He opted for the Minors over West Philly -- a choice that ultimately netted him a three-year, $13 million contract that has one season remaining.
In the 2008 campaign, DeRosa racked up 21 homers and 87 RBIs, both career highs, while hitting .285.
ORLANDO, FLA -- It's Krista Hutz reporting from the UCF Arena for the Penn vs. Campbell game, the consolation game of the UCF Holiday Classic. I'm going to try the Cover Live format today, so click below to follow along.
ORLANDO, Fla., -- After the Central Florida game, Glen Miller confirmed that senior Tommy McMahon is no longer on the team. Miller also said that sophomores Andreas Schreiber, suffering from a shoulder injury, and Darren Smith, out since last season with a broken kneecap, will be out for the remainder of the season and that the status of senior Aron Cohen is still up in the air as he undergoes testing.
On McMahon: "He just had a lot to overcome with his injuries and things and at this point, it was just tough for him to get into a situation where he could help the team."
On Schreiber and Smith: "Schreiber resumed practice and dislocated his shoulder again so he’s going to go ahead and have surgery. Darren Smith … all indications were that he was going to resume practice and get past one final hurdle which was an x-ray ... and Darren felt pretty good, but the x-ray showed that he had taken a step backwards. So he’ll be lost for the rest of the season also."
On Cohen: "Aron Cohen, he’s got a problem with his heart and the tests are ongoing, so we don’t have a conclusive finding yet."
This is Krista Hutz live from the brand new UCF Arena in Orlando with updates from tonight's game.
Zach Klitzman said I'd be using the new Cover It Live format, but unfortunately it is not working on my computer right now, so I'll be going back to the regular Buzz format tonight.
Final: UCF 81 Penn 64
Egee hits for two and then Sosa dribbles the ball until time runs out. Check the DP later for a full recap.
UCF 81, Penn 59 1:55 second half
Eggleston fouls out on a hard foul on Sosa. He sits down before Garvin Hunt subs in for him and then has to come stand back on the court for the shots.
UCF 77, Penn 59 2:37 second half
UCF is deep into its bench now and the clock winds down. Egee sinks two free throws and Penn tries a little press as UCF brings the ball down.
UCF 69 Penn 55 5:17 second half
Another Taylor three. After a Zondervan foul on Bernardini, Votel makes a quick basket off the in bounds pass. Down the court, Taylor is fouled and makes just one of his shots. Gaines' shot in transition won't fall and Votel gets fouled putting the rebound up. He hits both shots as the UCF fans taunt him with calls of "ginger."
UCF 63, Penn 51, 7:09 second half
UCF has executed its game plan perfectly: feed the ball to Taylor. He now has 30 points and Penn can't stop him.
UCF 61, Penn 51 8:28 second half
Eggleston hits a wide open three and then Taylor responds with one of his own. The game seems to be slipping away for the Quakers. UCF calls timeout.
UCF 58, Penn 46 9:45 second half
Lewis takes a charge from Davis and the Quakers have the ball coming out of the media timeout. Eggleston hits a three and now has 12 points on the night. Under the basket, Lewis spins around UCF's Yotio, who just checked in, and gets the foul call. The UCF fans really have it in for Lewis. After a ref told him to “calm down” and his shirt became dishelved, the fans have been pestering Lewis to “tuck in his shirt”. After a monster UCF three, Penn calls timeout.
UCF 52, Penn 42 12:43 second half
Taylor is on fire, as he hits three baskets in a row for UCF.
UCF 45, Penn 36 16:01 second half
A Rosen three clanks off the rim and Zondervan makes a quick basket in transition. Penn tries to force the ball inside, but it's not working as Votel losses a Rosen pass. UCF's Davis waits for his defender to jump then pounds in a dunk. Eggleston pulls up for a jumper and Davis answers with another basket on UCF's next possession.
Halftime:
Penn:
Bernardini: 12 pts on 3-for-8 shooting
Gaines: 5 pts.
Eggleston: 3 steals
Gaines, Belcore and Votel each have three rebounds
UCF:
Taylor: 16 pts.
Tyler: 8 pts.
Baez: 5 pts., 3 rebounds
Rompza: 3 assists
Belcore and Egee have been mainly covering UCF's big threat Taylor, with neither of them looking too effective. UCF shot a nice 46.4% from the floor, compared to Penn's 34.8%.
Halftime: UCF 35, Penn 32
Egee throws one up from half court at the buzzer and it falls a few feet short. Halftime stats to follow soon.
1:44 UCF 33, Penn 32
UCF tries to go inside on two straight possessions, but is denied both times. Belcore tries another three but misses and Taylor then hits one from just inside the arc. Gaines has a chance to tie by hitting two free throws, but misses one.
5:08 UCF 27, Penn 26
The momentum is swinging a little bit. Belcore sinks a three and half the Penn bench stands up to cheer. Gaines gets nice penetration, drives in for a basket and UCF calls timeout.
8:09 UCF 26, Penn 19
It looks like it will be a battle between Taylor and Bernardini tonight as each is carrying his team. Bernardini hits a pair of free throws after he tries to force up a shot underthe basket, then Taylor responds with two of his own from the charity stripe as Belcore tries to cover him.
Baez hits a three pointer from the top of the arc and Miller calls time out.
11:14, UCF 15, Penn 13
Egee is fouled going inside and makes both free throws then sinks a three on Penn's next possession. Jermaine Taylor is really hurting the Quakers, he adds a layup to make it six points for him so far.
13:49, Penn 8, UCF 11
Quakers are being aggressive on defense. But maybe too aggessive as Eggleston fouls A.J. Tlyer from beyond the arc and he sinks all three. Bernardini back in-- he has all but one of the Quakers' points on the night.
14:35 Penn 8, UCF 8
Lewis is fouled on a lay up. He hits the first but misses the second of his free throws. Turley is fouled while rebounding the miss and UCF brings it up the court. Keving Egee and Harrison Gaines are in for Rosen and Bernardini. Chris Baez ties it for UCF.
17:20 Penn 7, UCF 4
Bernardini hits a three. Belcore tips a loose ball to Rosen, but he misses an open shot. Connor Turley and Cameron Lewis check in for Eggleston and Votel.
18:23, Penn 4, UCF 2
Eggleston airballs Penn's first shot of the night, but Bernardini hits one in transition on the Quakers' next possession. Bernardini sinks two FT's
Starters for Penn:
Zack Rosen
Tyler Bernardini
Jack Eggleston
Rob Belcore
Brennan Votel
Starters for UCF:
Jermaine Taylor
Taylor Young
Kenrick Zondervan
Tony Davis
A.J. Rompza
What's this, an NBA game? The lights go out in the arena to introduce the UCF squad and tip off is moments away
Greetings everyone. Hopefully winter break is going well. And if you don't have one, well, at least have a happy new year. I know this blog will, since as we enter 2009, there are going to be a few changes as we try to make it even more useful and relevant in our coverage of Penn, the Ivy League, the Big 5 and beyond.
The impetus for this change is the relaunch of the Daily Pennsylvanian website which will take place sometime early in the upcoming semester. And once that happens, this blog will see certain upgrades, the first of which will be a slightly redesigned look.
But before all of that happens, we're starting a brand new feature today that I truly believe will be a great sucess. Some of you may have seen it before, but there is a year-old software out there that totally redefines how to do live game updates. It's called Cover it Live.
Here is how it works. Our writer creates a window that will go in the center of our post. Then all you most do is open this window and watch as the updates automatically appear. No reloading neccesary. Also, if you have a comment, you can send it in to our writer and it might get posted in realtime. And if you're too late to watch it live, you can "replay" it and read what you missed.
Here are a few examples: Here's one about local sports; here's one depicting some depressing NFL news (yes it's potentially NSFW and yes I'm a Broncos fan); and here's one covering something completely unrelated to sports. Tonight will be our first attempt, with Krita Hutz covering the men's basketball game down in Orlando, Fla. Tipoff against Central Florida is at 7 p.m. So help us test out this new feature by commenting both during the game as well as after with your thoughts on how it went.
As I said in my last post, the last week or so has been very busy for me. So I know it's five days late, but here's week five of the Schuylkill 16 poll. And yes I did vote Temple first, if only because of their impressive wins over then-No. 8 Tennessee as well as Penn State.
Of course, it's been so long, week six's poll is already here. So today you can get a double dose of Schuylkill 16 action. And yes I bumped down Temple past Villanova and St. Joe's. Even though they weren't expected to beat Kansas, the Owls' loss in Lawrence, Kan., still puts them at a so-so 5-4 overall. With the Wildcats and Nittany Lions nine and eight games over .500, respectively, I had to drop them down a little.
You can see my full rankings for both weeks after the jump.
My Week Five Schuylkill rankings
1. Temple
2. Villanova
3. Penn State
4. St. Joseph’s
5. Rutgers
6. Rider
7. La Salle
8. Drexel
9. Lehigh
10. Delaware
11. Penn
12. Bucknell
13. Princeton
14. Lafayette
15. Delaware St.
16. Monmouth
Week 6
1. Villanova
2. Penn State
3. Temple
4. Rutgers
5. St. Joe's
6. La Salle
7. Lehigh
8. Rider
9. Delaware
10. Drexel
11. Penn
12. Bucknell
13. Princeton
14. Lafayette
15. Delaware St.
16. Monmouth
Sorry for the lack of posts over the last week. With finals going on, both Penn athletes and we Buzz writers had too much on our plates to focus on Penn Athletics. Hence both the lack of interesting sporting events and posts.
So to get back into things, I thought I'd post a few links to recaps of how the Ivy League has done so far this year so that everyone can catch up.
Dave Zeitlin, Rushing the Court's resident Ivy League expert, weighs in on how the league is doing so far. His biggest point on Penn is the creation of Fire Glen Miller (more on that later). As for the rest of the league, he mentions two players Penn fans might want to keep an eye on: Princeton freshman Doug Davis and Brown junior Matt Mullery. Davis has earned two Ivy League Rookie of the Week awards, including after his 27 point performance against Manhattan two weekends ago. Mullery, meanwhile, has earned Player of the Week honors once and leads the league in field goal percentage.
Also, of note, he calls Harvard and Brown "Cornell’s biggest challenger for the Ivy title," although he says don't count out Penn or Princeton yet. If you go by records so far that comment definitely makes sense, since when Zeitlin wrote that the Big Red, Bears and Crimson all were tied for the best record in the league at 4-5. (However since then both the Crimson have gone 1-0, the Big Red 1-1 and the Bears 0-1.)
This segues into the next item. So far this year, the Ivy League hasn't performed well out of conference. The combined record of all Ivy League teams after tonight's Cornell loss at St. Joe's (in the Palestra) is 25-60. According to collegerpi.com the league's RPI is 30th in the nation. Out of 31 conferences. Ken Pomeroy is a little nicer, ranking the Ancient Eight 25th out of 31. (For a more detailed look at the league's non-conference RPI over the years, see the chart after the jump.)
Fire Glen Miller has its own recap of how the league has done so far, breaking down each individual team's RPI and SOS. The stats are pretty self-explanatory, so I won't rehash them here. However, I will say that the Quakers' SOS is 59. Clearly playing two nationally ranked teams (North Carolina and Villanova) as well as 10-2 Penn State and 8-3 Navy have worsened Penn's record, but the Quakers have been battle tested. In fact, Cornell (71) and Penn are the only Ivy League teams with a SOS better than 193.
Now a note about FGM. I've linked to their stuff a few times this month. Some of you might prefer that I don't, especially those who defend Glen Miller. Personally, if I haven't made this clear yet, I am pro-Glen Miller. I think the Quakers are 1-6 because they've played some tough competition and their shots just haven't fallen at times. While I'm sure part of their record can be attributable to Miller, in no way does that mean he should be fired immediately.
However, I still understand why people feel "rowdy," as Zeitlin says. Hence I understand the motivation behind FGM. So I have no qualms about linking to their stuff, since as I said last time, they're improving. (No, it's not because they quote me in their banner). But the interesting thing to see is how will others react as the news of this site spreads. Zeitlin, a Penn alum, probably gets more clicks than this site does, and it's only a matter of time until this thing circulates to some of the higher ups in the department, maybe even Miller himself or athletic director Steve Bilsky. If they find out about this site, how will they react? Feel free to leave your imagined ideas of their reaction below in the comment section.
Ivy League non-conference RPI in the last 15.5 season. (collegerpi.com)
93-94 26
94-95 30
95-96 23
96-97 19
97-98 20
98-99 26
99-00 27
00-01 26
01-02 15
02-03 20
03-04 23
04-05 16
05-06 25
06-07 19
07-08 24
08-09 30
(HT: Kushol Gupta)
With finals week in full force, I've been too swamped to post often, so forgive me if some of these links are outdated.
1) As a special to ESPN the Magazine, Jonathan Tannenwald wrote a piece on the Big 5 in preparation for the St. Joe's Villanova game which took place Thursday.
2) Speaking of the Holy War, in case you didn't hear, it was quite the game. The Wildcats pulled out a squeaker, winning 59-56. Maybe Villanova won't dominate the Schuylkill 16 as imagined.
3) And if there's one team out there that might jump ahead of Villanova in the rankings, it's Temple, who pulled of a shocker by owning No. 8 Tennessee 88-72 today at the Liacouras Center. (And yes ESPN does have a Christmas headline.)
4) Lastly, I must admit that I've been reading Fire Glen Miller for the last week. After declaring itself a "hate blog" it has toned down its vitrolic postings to some degree, even if half the posts are pretty lame. But it just got a huge dose of legitimacy yesterday when Stephen Danley, yes that Steve Danley, wrote a guest piece.
He breaks the post into three sections: one on the Red and Blue Crew, one on "The Fellas" (aka the current players) and of course one on Glen Miller himself. As for the RBC, he says, "I know I don’t have to tell you - but you guys win games." The opposite definitely could apply to this year: with the low turnout, the team hasn't felt any energy from its fans that can "will you to a comeback."
As for the current players, he makes a great point: his sophomore year the team started 4-7. "And it was an ugly 4-7. Lost to Providence by 40. Wisconsin by 30. San Francisco. Illinois-Chicago. Rider." However, the team got its you know what together and won the Ivy League with a 13-1 record. This year, with only Harvard (4-3) above .500 in the Ivy League, as the Penn team four years ago said, "Why not us?" (To be fair, four out of Cornell's five losses came at the hands of either Big Ten or Big East schools.)
Finally, he says that Glen Miller is an offensive genius and has installed a great culture and work ethic. If Danley says that Glen Miller is an offensive genius, I'm willing to believe him. Hopefully that means that the team's current points per game of 66.6 will go up, and their scoring margin average of -7.3 will improve come Ivy season.
The past week we've had some great discussion on this blog about both the current state of the Big 5 especially Penn basketball and coach Glen Miller. Today though, let's examine some teams a little farther afield from 33rd St., namely the Schuylkill 16.
Villanova yet again is the unanimous number one selection, and frankly I don't see them losing that spot (although eventually they might not be unanimous). But Tannenwald makes a very interesting comparison this week. As some of you might remember, the idea from the S-16 came from the Atlantic 11 Poll of the D.C. Sports Bog, which ranks 11 out of 27 teams from the greater Washington, D.C. area. I've always seen parallels between the two polls, the most obvious of which is that a Big East school absolutely dominates the poll ('Nova here, Georgetown down there). There are also some conference overlaps, most notably the Atlantic 10, CAA and Patriot League.
This week Jon compared the two polls by looking at the teams' Pomeroy rankings. I don't know if he'll continue this every week, but it's an interesting stat to see how the areas' teams stack up.
All of this is quite ironic, since just this past Friday The D.C. Examiner wrote how great it would be for a Washington Big 6 (or 7 if you include Navy), a D.C. take on the Big 5. The article quotes, of all people, Penn Athletic Director Steve Bilsky, who believes that “You could find a million reasons not to do it.” In the end, he sees it only coming to fruition if the potential schools' athletic directors act together: "It would take six very magnanimous people who would say, ‘hey, sometimes it’s better to look beyond our own selfish interest.’"
As a Bethesda, Md., native I would love to see this rivalry system come into place. However, it will not happen anytime soon. Georgetown and Maryland, by far and away the two most dominant programs in the D.C. area in terms of both fan base and talent, refuse to play each other due to various reasons. In fact, the teams have met just three times since 1981: at the home of the then-Washington Bullets 1993, in the 2001 Sweet Sixteen in Anaheim, Calif., and just two Sundays ago as part of the Old Spice Classic at Walt Disney World. Clearly if D.C. were to get a Big 6 or 7 those two teams would need to reconcile their differences.
A few days ago, I reflected on the first half of the basketball season and underscored the importance of developing better team leadership in order to break out of Penn's current funk. Ultimately, as is the case anywhere else, the chief responsibility for wins and losses -- and to a large extent team morale -- falls on the head coach. When a team looks as aimless as Penn has lately, it is both fair and necessary to evaluate not just the players' performance, but also Glen Miller's coaching. I was hardly suggesting in my post that the Quakers need personnel or coaching changes -- in fact, I firmly believe that Penn has the right players and coaches in place to turn this season around and make a run at the Ivy League title.
Clearly, there are fans out there that disagree with this notion. One such fan, through a comment on my post, alerted readers of a blog he created: fireglenmiller.blogspot.com. The author of this blog, who signs off his posts as Justin and seems to be a Red and Blue Crew member, is apparently on a mission to get Miller fired. In his latest post, he discusses my piece and quotes two chunks of it, concluding that the DP and I have joined forces with his blog in pushing for Miller's dismissal. As someone who admires and respects Miller, and as someone whose views and words were taken drastically out of context, I feel compelled to respond to Justin.
1. It would be incredibly irresponsible to even consider firing Glen Miller at this time. Keep in mind that there is a very steep learning curve to coaching at Penn and in the Ivy League, especially when you follow in the footsteps of an iconic Philadelphia coach like Fran Dunphy. Miller inherited two recruiting classes from Dunphy -- the current juniors and the seniors -- that did not pan out nearly as well as expected, largely because of injuries. Miller's two recruiting classes have been outstanding, and the fact that Penn remains competitive at all in these games with a squad full of freshmen and a sophomores is a testament to his recruiting efforts.
2. With the right talent and leadership in place, Miller can and will win. Just look at what he did in his first season at Penn. Surely, most of that was the result of an extraordinary senior class and leadership that had been in place well before Miller arrived in Philadelphia. The challenge now is for him to help foster the kind of leadership that the Quakers saw a few years ago. The fact that no one on the team has truly stepped up to the plate cannot fully be blamed on Miller considering he only recruited the youngest players on the team. But even so, I do think there is a large leadership component missing on the team right now. And yes, as head coach, Glen Miller needs to take responsibility for rectifying that problem. I NEVER said he should be fired or that he doesn't have what it takes for Penn to win, and the DP has absolutely no agenda whatsoever to that effect. Any suggestion or representation to the contrary on the internet is completely baseless and not rooted in any kind of fact.
3. While I actually think healthy dialogue about the responsibilities of both the players and coaches is a good thing, the way the debate is framed on this new blog, which the author refers to as a "hate blog," is unproductive. I find the radical nature of the blog distasteful, as well. It would be great if the Red and Blue Crew could start up a more legitimate blog to help unite fans and facilitate a meaningful discussion about the team.
I am not calling for the blog to be taken down -- fans have a right to their opinions, no matter how extreme they are. As a journalist, I'm not about to attack freedom of speech. But please know that I have absolutely nothing to do with this blog, and I am not happy to be quoted on it as some outrageous form of anti-Miller propaganda.
Here's the latest on Justin Reilly and Darren Smith, from the postgame press conference on Friday.
Glen Miller: "We're anticipating that Darren and maybe Justin will come back sometime during the exam period and resume practice. But I can't count on that and when they come back, they'll have a ways to go before they get themselves, if all goes well, conditioned to be able to help us on the floor."
[Ed note: For more, see our preview of the team's winter break schedule coming out tomorrow.]
Now that basketball season is in full swing these notes have taken a decidedly more Big 5 flavor than an Ivy League feel. But that probably will change once we head into Ivy season.
1) Sports Illustrated profiles "slick coach" Jay Wright of Villanova, which reminds me of the rollout my freshman year during the Penn-Villanova game: "Your suit might be worth $1,000 bucks, but you're still coaching a bunch of schmucks." Perhaps a little classless, but the profile certainly is not.
2) One commenter at Fan Nation claims Philadelphia is the best basketball town in the nation.
3) Philly Hoops Insider finally has a Penn-centered post, this one on Zack Rosen. However, we've still yet to hear from Glen Miller.
4) The Mid Majority blogger Kyle Whelliston was asked who he favors in the Ivy League, and he was quite pro-Cornell. (via The Cornell Basketball Blog.)
Last night's men's basketball game -- a 76-65 loss to Navy -- was the first I watched from the stands instead of press row in a long time, and regrettably, I have to say it was a pleasure to have the luxury of leaving early. The Quakers' horrendous performance against Navy will give them quite a lot to think about heading into the layoff. Who's going to step up and be the leader of this inexperienced group? Who's going to get physical on the glass and start rebounding the basketball? Who's going to to hit the open shot consistently? Who's going to stick on the opposition's shooter and deny him the ball?
The scary thing is that this Penn team appears to have gotten weaker, not better, since its opener against North Carolina. In Chapel Hill, I thought I had definitive answers to all of the questions I posed before. Such an impressive performance against the best team in the country, even without Tyler Hansbrough, made me think that the Quakers were ready to tackle their tough non-conference schedule with enthusiasm and success.
But now, the Quakers look aimless. It's not just their poor performance in almost every facet of the game, per se, but it's the mannerisms and body language too. For the past several games, Penn's offense has been characterized by a lack of real direction. The crisp ball screens and perimeter handoffs they ran so well against the Tar Heels are a thing of the past. The defense always leaves the hot shooter open and lacks intensity on the glass. When you look up and down the Penn bench, and even into the faces of the players on the floor, you get the sense that something just isn't right -- that no one is playing with confidence or a sense of urgency when they're down.
And make no mistake about it; a lot of these issues fall on Glen Miller. He's ultimately responsible for getting the most out of his kids and putting them in the right frame of mind to play basketball. But his constant look of frustration on the bench filters down to everyone else on the team. No one looks like they're excited to play and get into the game. That trickles down to the fans, who are barely audible on the occasions that they're actually visible. The entire program is down in the dumps. I usually try to be optimistic and give a group of players and coaches that I truly admire the benefit of the doubt, but there's no real way to sugarcoat these first seven games. It's been a brutal experience thus far.
Fortunately, the Quakers have almost a month to gather themselves and rejuventate. They're still 0-0 in Ivy League play, and they do have the talent to be a league contender, even with their current injuries. But before any of the problems on the floor get worked out, the entire team, starting with Miller, needs to take a fresh approach to the season. If Bernardini can drop 26 against Carolina, he can do better than 2-12 against Navy. Again, the talent is there. They just need to figure out how to harness it and play with a purpose.
In order to do that, they'll need better leadership all around, from coaches and from players. There is no way that this team, comprised primarily of underclassmen, will improve if there isn't more guidance and motivation. Absent that, it's going to be a brutal season to watch. And even the most loyal fans will check out early, or stop coming altogether.
Will the Quakers bounce back? Leave your thoughts here.
Andrew wrote a great column and follow up Buzz post on how he views the Big 5 in light of Villanova's dominating win over Penn on Tuesday. (I also strongly urge you to read the comments on Andrew's column). I tend to agree that with every blowout loss to a Big 5 rival Penn makes itself less and less relevant in the city. But I don't think that means the end of the Big 5 is here, even for Penn. A couple of upset wins and the Quakers wouldd be right back in the thick of things.
Others seem to agree. Jonathan Tannenwald writes on Soft Pretzel Logic that after three Big 5 teams made the NCAA tournament last year, the rivalry is not on the decline. However, he does see Penn basketball interest decreasing. I too believe that. All you have to do is look at the fact that the Red and Blue Crew did not make any rollouts for the Villanova game. Instead the Penn Band did.*
Mike Kern doesn't really discuss the end of the Big 5, but his recap takes a look at the series through a decidedly more Villanova-centric lens than Andrew or even Jon did. His main point on the Big 5 is also valid. Namely, the Wildcats are in something of a no-win situation since either they win like they're expected to or they lose and 'Nova fans overreact. Simply put "...it's unlikely any other program in Villanova's position would continue playing so many of these games."
The Villanovan, on the other hand, did not even use the words "Big 5" in its recap of the game, save for the headline.
*Disclaimer: I am a member of the band.
I just briefly wanted to add some thoughts to my column today. I appreciate all of the comments and emails I have received -- it's good to see that the subject matter hit home for so many people.
A few of you have mentioned that the high cost of renting out the Palestra for a home game deters a school like Villanova from continuing to play its Big 5 home games there. This point is very valid, and one that all of the Big 5 schools should examine. If Penn is unwilling to waive the rent or more heavily subsidize Big 5 games in the Palestra, perhaps the Big 5 as a whole could embark on a fundraising effort (when the economy isn't in such bad shape) to alleviate the financial strain on indvidiual schools.
Others have brought up the obvious fact that the quality of Penn basketball has deteriorated to the point that the Quakers will never be able to regain a consistent Big 5 presence, and fans will continue to lose interest. As long as Penn doesn't give out athletic scholarships, the talent disparity between a Penn and a Villanova will remain in place. Still, I think that if the Big 5 could be built back up a little bit, Penn would have a more powerful recruiting hook, especially if it was willing to give two or three basketball recruits per year a little more leeway with admission requirements. Financial aid could take care of the lack of scholarships.
The Big 5 coaches and athletic directors need to sit down at the end of this season, if not before then, and brainstorm some ideas about what they all can do to improve the current situation. One issue for Penn is that of all of the Big 5 coaches, Glen Miller is kind of the odd man out. Jay Wright, Phil Martelli, and Fran Dunphy are all iconic figures in the Philadelphia area, and John Giannini has built up a strong presence as well. It would be great if the longer-standing Big 5 coaches could make a more concerted effort to welcome Miller into the Big 5 community and set up an open and consistent dialogue about how to improve on a wonderful but fading tradition.
You can continue to leave your thoughts and comments here -- the more the merrier. I'll try to look into the issue as much as possible throughout the season, and your feedback would be most helpful.
Wrestling might be the most underrated sport here at Penn.
In its 103 years it has had three Olympians, five NCAA champions, 23 All-Americans (including at least one in every year from 1997-2007), 61 EIWA champions and 60 first team All-Ivy selections. Yet covering it last season I got the sense that because it shares a season with men's basketball, it always received the attention a middle child gets.
Whether or not as a direct response to this, Penn Athletics recently started a weekly feature called the Penn Wrestling Report. Each edition will review the past week, preview the upcoming one and have an interview with a wrestler. But of all its features, "What I Learned About Wrestling This Week," might be the most informative. It will discuss a different wrestling term each week, starting with "The Cement Mixer." Considering the rich, yet confusing, lexicon of wrestling, this might be quite the entertaining feature.
Fresh off the team's second Ivy title ever, the men's soccer team was selected as the Philadelphia Soccer Seven Team of the Year, while coach Ruddy Fuller earned Coach of the Year honors. In addition, seniors Andrew Ferry, Omid Shokoufandeh and Drew Healy were named All-Stars. While certainly well-deserved, it might not be the most significant honor. The PS7, the soccer equivalent of the Big 5, pales in comparison to its basketball equivalent. For one, not all seven teams play each other. In fact, each team only plays two Philadelphia opponents (Penn went 1-0-1, tying Temple, 2-2, while beating Villanova, 3-2). Also, only one other team -- Temple (10-5-4) -- had a winning record. Still, the Quakers can claim to be City Champions.
On a national level, Healy is a finalist for Soccer News Net's Player of the Year. Forty percent of the final decision depends on fan vote and you can vote for him here.
Newer Posts
Older Posts
An RSS feed of The Buzz is available