I have been hesitant to pile on the "Zack Rosen is good at basketball" bandwagon so far this season. Saying that would almost be like pointing out that the sky is blue or that Princeton is awful. It's just a fact. I've tried to point out some of the smaller things that have contributed to the Quakers' success, but I would be remiss if I did not talk about the night that The Captain just had.
Did you ever play Sharks and Minnows as a kid? If you didn't please call ten of your closest friends right now and set up a game because you missed out on childhood. Basically, the game ends with one last person making the vain attempt to weave across a field of opponents. When I see Zack Rosen standing near the split P at mid-court, gathering himself as the shot clock winds down, I get this image of a small kid just waiting to make that doomed run through a minefield of sharks.
Scoring 28 points in a college basketball game is no easy task. It gets even tougher when you are a two time First Team All-Ivy player who is the prime focus of the opposing team's scouting report. The degree of difficulty is magnified even further still when almost every single one of your baskets has to come from an isolation with all nine sets of eyes on the court fixed squarely on you. For virtually any other player in the country, it would be unfair how much the Penn offense expects of him. Entire possessions are spent standing around waiting for Rosen to work his magic. But time after time, the minnow finds his way through the sharks, sometimes disappearing among the big bodies, only to resurface right at the hoop and lay it in.
Of course, this game could not have been won without the big first half shots from Tyler, the tenacious defense from Rob, and the clutch threes from Steve. Watching the other players find their roles and learn how to play effectively off of Zack is definitely a positive sign for the Quakers in the final eleven games of the Ivy season. As opposing coaches come up with new and different ways to try to take Rosen out of the equation in League play, Zack will have to find ways to adjust and remain effective. My money is on the minnow.
Nossem was a first team All-State linebacker and a two-time all-Northwest Crossroads Conference player.
He will study finance at Wharton.
“Penn was a perfect fit,” Nossem said in a release. “I love the location, atmosphere, and tradition. I’m looking forward to the combination of academic and athletic challenges.”
Check out some highlights of the future member of the Red and Blue, where he shows his versatility, playing tight end, fullback, special teams and linebacker:
The performance was good — good enough for famed ESPN college hoops commentator Dick Vitale to take note. Here he responded to Sports Illustrated writer and Penn alum Andy Glockner on twitter:
By now, you've heard enough and should know the deal. "It's Princeton." "I do not eat Frosted Flakes." "Greatest rivalry in college basketball."
Tonight marks the 225th iteration of this historic rivalry, and the stakes are high. If you're not one of the thousands of students and fans with tickets to the game, follow along here. I'm with my former co-sports editors, Kevin Esteves and Brian Kotloff.
Penn women’s basketball has added a third player to its recruiting class. According to the New York Post, Christ the King (N.Y.) point guard Rayne Connell committed to Penn this week.
Connell, who chose the Quakers over Southern Methodist University, took the SATs twice and the ACTs five times in order to achieve the necessary score for admission to Penn, the Post wrote.
She has started at point guard all three years she has been on the varsity squad. In Connell’s sophomore season, the Royals took home the Class AA state title.
The scouting report on Connell is that she is a very strong defender. Her coach Bob Mackey told the Post that she guards the opponent’s best player. Offensively, she has no trouble attacking the basket.
The Royals (5-8) struggled to open the season with Connell missing time after having a benign cyst removed from her back, but the team has won five of its last seven games.
Christ the King has produced multiple WNBA All-Stars, including Sue Bird, Tina Charles and Chamique Holdsclaw.
In anticipation of Monday's crucial matchup against Princeton, I asked Penn players and coaches, as well as Athletic Director Steve Bilsky, to sum up the Penn-Princeton rivalry in one (sometimes run-on) sentence.
Penn women's basketball senior captain Jess Knappcould return to the floor as soon as tonight. Knapp, who has been sidelined since an early exit during the Dec. 30 game against San Diego State, would be returning despite her torn ACL and MCL, neither of which has yet to heal. She has been practicing with a brace all week. If she does take the floor, how much playing time she will get is unclear.
What is clear is the team's recent struggles. Without its senior star, the team has lost six straight, though two losses came against teams with Top 25 votes — San Diego State and Princeton. Here is a more in-depth glance at the team's declining numbers in the past six games (published in the print version on Jan. 23):
We've published this letter from coach Allen in today's print and online versions, but just to cover all of our bases, here it is on the Buzz.
To My Fellow Quakers,
On behalf of the entire men’s basketball program, I want to thank all of you who have attended our basketball games this season. In particular, I want to express our appreciation for the support during Saturday’s win versus St. Joseph’s at the Palestra. It was great to see the student section full and to hear college basketball’s most storied arena rocking once again.
We want nothing more than to bring an Ivy Championship back to its rightful place here at Penn. Our seniors have led this group to a 2-0 conference record and into a position where that type of feat is within our reach. They have done so by investing countless hours of hard work into reestablishing the Penn Basketball tradition.
It is difficult to express how much it means to all of us who are working together toward a common goal to have all of you there with us to share in the experience at our home games. I hope that each and every one of you realizes the impact that you have on the game by showing your support. When we come out of the locker room onto the floor, hear our band playing “Fight On, Pennsylvania” and see all of you there, we feel like we can’t lose!
We have seven remaining home games, starting with Monday’s game versus Princeton at 7 pm. If you are someone who regularly attends the games; I challenge you to find three or four of your friends who might not attend and bring them with you. I promise you, they will not be disappointed. The Penn-Princeton rivalry goes back to 1903 and is perhaps the greatest rivalry in all of college basketball. I would like nothing more than to see all of you there with us, cheering on the Red and the Blue together. Please remember that we represent this great institution, so we want to conduct ourselves in a first class manner during the contest.
For the seniors in the program and all the seniors in the student body: let’s make the remainder of our Ivy season a memorable one. We’ll see you at the game.
Go Quakers!
Jerome Allen
John R. Rockwell Head Coach
Wharton ’09
Former Yale quarterback Patrick J. Witt, who chose to play against Harvard instead of attending a required interview for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship in November, was accused of sexual assault before the game and was no longer a candidate for the Rhodes at the time, according to The New York Times.
Days before the scheduled interview and The Game, the Rhodes Trust had discovered through "unofficial channels" that a Yale student had accused Witt of sexual assault. The Trust told Yale and Witt that his candidacy for the award was suspended unless Yale chose to re-endorse it.
Witt officially withdrew his candidacy for the scholarship while announcing that he would play in the upcoming game against Harvard. Journalists reported that he had withdrawn his application in order to play, and the quarterback and his university allowed that "misimpression" to carry on.
In September, a female student alerted Yale's Sexual Assault Harassment and Response and Education Center that Witt had assaulted her in her dorm room. The woman didn't go to the police, but filed an informal complaint with the school, meaning one or a few of the members of the University's Committee on Sexual Misconduct resolved the issue without a complete investigation or a decision of guilt or innocence.
Yale has already been dealing with an investigation by the U. S. Department of Education in response to its handling of sexual harassment and assault. Witt's fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon, was hit with a five-year ban on campus activities last year after engaging in heavily reported cases of sexual harassment.
The article also includes some interesting background information on Witt. He attended four schools in three years, as his parents moved him and his older brother Jeff, a former Harvard quarterback, to different schools so they could play for the most pass-friendly offense.
Witt has also been arrested twice. The first time, while he was attending the University of Nebraska, was for "obstructing government operations" when he ran away from a police officer after entering a dorm intoxicated in the middle of the night. Those charges were late dropped. The second arrest came in New Haven, Conn., in 2010 for third-degree criminal trespass after a disagreement arose when he was denied entry into Toad's Place, a club near campus.
The article paints a much different picture of Witt than the "excellence in qualities of mind and qualities of person" that Rhodes scholars are supposed to embody. Not only is Witt's reputation tarnished, but there could be serious implications for the University. For example, it is unknown whether Yale president Richard C. Levin, who signed Witt's endorsement letter for the Rhodes, knew about the informal complaint before endorsing the star quarterback. University officials offered few comments, but it will be interesting to see how this situation progresses as more information emerges.
Penn Athletics is stepping up its social media promotions in anticipation of Monday night's showdown with Princeton at the Palestra.
Those who follow @PennAthletics on Twitter may have noticed a series of tweets today that provided clues as to where tickets for the game are hidden on campus. Penn Athletics tweeted photos like the one below to tell students where they could find the tickets.
They will tweet more clues about hidden tickets tomorrow.
Penn Athletics is also encouraging Penn fans to use the hashtag #BeatPrinceton in all tweets about the game.
Students can also pick up #BeatPrinceton stickers from the Red and Blue Crew on Locust Walk. If they are seen wearing the sticker by a member of the Penn Athletics marketing staff tomorrow, they can win free tickets to the game. Students can also buy tickets on the Walk for $5.
We've passed the half-way point in Penn men's basketball's 8 day layover between games. The Quakers upset St. Joe's last Saturday night and now have 4 more days before taking on rival Princeton at home Monday.
Last week at practice I asked coach Jerome Allen his thoughts on the somewhat quirky scheduling during this stretch, and whether it was nice to have a long break before facing the rest of the grueling Ivy schedule:
It really depends on how you look at it. The maturity of your team, the health of your team. Time to practice is always a good thing, it allows you to really reinforce your fundamentals and your principles. But I also see where it can be looked at as a negative where guys can get out of their game rhythm and stuff. We’re going to look at it as it being positive and say that after Saturday’s game, the 8 or 9 day layoff allows us to get guys more healthy, allows to us really get back to reinforcing our fundaments and instill some new schemes to make us a better team come the rest of league play.
And is it especially nice to have a long break before facing Princeton:
I think we respect the game enough to know that we can’t really put extra emphasis on preparation for one particular game. We can put emphasis on preparing for whoever our next opponent is, to be honest.
On Wednesday afternoon, Penn basketball guard Zack Rosen was named as one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
The award honors an NCAA Division I senior for demonstrating excellence in community, character, classroom and competition. The winner will be chosen by a nationwide fan vote and can be found here. Voting ends March 18.
Rosen who holds the Penn all-time for assists in a career and is ninth on Penn's all-time scoring list. He is currently 35th in the country in scoring, 14th in assists per game, and 13th in free throw percentage. A two-time first team all-Ivy selection he is a major reason Penn is 2-0 in the Ivy League and poised to make a run at the title.
He is competing against the likes of Purdue's Robbie Hummel, North Carolina's Tyler Zeller, and Michigan St. forward Draymond Green. Rosen is one of only four candidates who is plays for a team that is considered a mid-major.
This year, St. Joe's became the final team (other than Penn) to move its Big 5 home games out of the Palestra. With a declining interest in the city series, combined with speculated tension between two of its schools, how much clout the unofficial conference will carry in the coming years remains unclear. For the present time, though, the Big 5 appears to be safe. Yesterday, I talked to St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli about his thoughts on the importance of the Big 5, its current status and what the future holds for the staple of Philly college hoops:
In general, how important would you say the Big 5 is to Philadelphia and to college basketball as a whole?I think that the Big 5 is a very special fraternity. It's an honor to be part of it, and I think it's the envy of other college basketball towns and coaches. They’ll always talk to us about, 'How could six Division I schools be in close proximity? How do you split up the public relations? How do you split up the newspapers? How do you split up the fan support?' It’s just really a proud badge that all of us get to wear by being in the Big 5.
How would you characterize the status of the Big 5 today?
I’m a huge proponent of the Palestra — I still believe to this day that every Philadelphia game should played in the best college basketball building in America. I think all the tickets should be 50/50, and if people want to say that’s pie in the sky or that’s not doable, I understand what they’re saying. But I’m just suggesting that the beauty of the Big 5 is half the building for your team, half the building for the other team, and then we create these special memories like what was created Saturday night. Penn and St. Joe’s — both teams kind of scuffling along, and you get that kind of crowd, that kind of enthusiasm. I think it’s very special for the players, I think it’s very special for the students. So I think the Big 5 is healthy. The competition is healthy, there were a number of close games this year. And it’ll never go back to the way it was, but I can be a guy who wishes it would go back.
Your school was the last, other than Penn, to play all its Big 5 home games at the Palestra. But this year, Villanova and Temple came to your place, but La Salle will still face you at the Palestra. Is leaving the Palestra a permanent decision or will it depend from year to year?
What we have to do is what was very best for our team and our program, and our students and our fans this year. It was the right thing for where we are right now, and I’m certain that we will evaluate this inside out and upside down going forward on what’s the best thing for our situation. Everybody needs to know that I don’t say it lightly: the Palestra is the best college basketball building in America. But, from our point of view, we need it alive, we need it to jump. We also need home court, which is really important for us. We need to create a really live atmosphere here at Hagan Arena.
Obviously as a coach, you don't want to lose any Big 5 games, but do you think it's good for the conference as a whole that any team can beat another on any given night?
I don't know if it's good, but it certainly creates anxious moments for the coaches. We certainly are aware of that. A lot of other people and a lot of other situations can say, 'Throw the records out the window!' That’s obviously true in Philadelphia. There is a drive to be the dominant team in Philadelphia, and certainly this year it looks like it’s going to be all over the board. It’s going to be everybody getting a little piece of it. So I thought the game on Saturday night was good for Philadelphia. I thought it was brilliantly played by Penn. I thought it was brilliantly coached by Jerome Allen. They won the game — I’m not sitting here telling you we lost it because of this or we lost it because of that. They won it because of the game they played.
Do you think the Big 5 will survive in the long run? It went through a rough patch in the ’90s but managed to bounce back then.
I think the Big 5 is very, very vibrant right now.
Additional thoughts?
I just appreciate that there’s a younger generation that is understanding, respecting and loving Philadelphia basketball, and that certainly describes the Penn student body.
DP: You and Mark DeRosa represent two of the most accomplished professional athletes in the recent past to graduate from Penn. Are you at all close with Mark? Have you talked to him about making it to the Major Leagues as a former Penn student and Ivy Leaguer? Do you have any thoughts on Mark as a person or as a ballplayer?
I haven’t talked to him much in the offseason but whenever I see him we catch up, we definitely share that common thread. I did an event with him, it was an event for athletes against drugs last winter. We just talked, and when I introduced him I gave a nice warm 15 minute presentation on Mark DeRosa, and we both have the Jersey connection so yeah, I’m always rooting for him. I hope he continues to have success and plays as long as he can.
I remember seeing him get in with the Braves, he was always waiting for that opportunity. He had the experience of being in Atlanta with the Championships. I think that showed he could contribute to a winning team.
You know that you’re an underdog coming out of the Ivy League. Penn is one thing, that’s obviously special, but you look out for any of the other schools in the league because you know its an upward climb.
He had a great year one of the years I was there. Just showing a lot of power and being the swing guy. Mark DeRosa is a guy that you’d love to have on your team because he’s super utility. He plays everywhere but you don’t necessarily lose productivity in the power game.
I know he’s been hurt, he’s had some injuries, he’s got to prove that he’s back on his game with the Nationals. He has the ability to get back but that what happens when father time starts to chip away.
DP: How do you feel about the success of former Ivy League athletes at the professional level? Though the league does boast some big time names throughout its history (Lou Gerhig, Ken Dryden, and Bill Bradley to name a few), there have been fewer athletes to point to in recent history who have carved out successful professional careers in athletics. Do you agree with this assessment, and if so, to what would you attribute it to?
You know, it’s a challenge for Ivy League players to just get recognized. You don’t play as much baseball and sometimes there’s stigmas associated with it as a smart guy or whatever. I don’t think this is any different from when I came up, I was drafted in ’91 and I had the same challenges. But the game has evolved in a lot of ways, and certain elements of it do stand out. The game is a little more global, more international now, players from all over the place. More personnel, more opportunities. When you’re competing against guys that are seen as playing around the clock, you have bigger hurdles. There are more guys that are competing that have that advantage
There will still be the shining stars, Chris Young???, Will Venable at Princeton…I pay attention to these guys. I wrote that article about Will, then I talked to Will shortly thereafter a couple years ago when he broke in. I was the first African American Ivy League Major Leaguer, and he was the second….You look out for each other. You recognize it’s a tough road. You can pull it off, the world’s your oyster.
DP: What do you think the league could do to raise the level of play in the Ivy Leagues?
Its cyclical. There are years where you have a particularly strong class.
Penn is a very popular school. There are attractive elements associated to the education you can get. There are always elements that come and go. Whether you can compete with Stanford or whether you just have not as strong a class.
I know they tried different things with divisions where they played each other and they try to spice it up a little bit to make it interesting. When I came to Penn, I was drawn to the fact that they played a really nice schedule outside of the league. I was drawn to the opportunity to both pitch and hit. I liked the fact that the coach was pretty good at marketing the team. We were able to get marquee games. I was able to play in the Cape Cod summer league. Individually, if you have a head coach who manages it well and gets the exposure that can really make a big difference to have you be seen and attract people.
DP: Though academics will always take priority, do you believe the addition of postseason football or an Ivy League basketball tournament might sway some top recruits toward Ivy League schools?
I know that playoffs have always been discussed. One division, two divisions, and all these things. But if you have a good team, you can get to the NCAA tournament.
I found it to be a good opportunity, a good place to play. I played against the University of Miami, Notre Dame, Illinois, Santa Barbara, Arizona State, Villanova was an absolute juggernaut when I played against them. They’re good teams, its good baseball.
We will notify you on Monday where and when you can pick up your shirt on campus before the game. (Sorry, no mail order is available for this special offer.)
Perhaps I'm only posting this because Penn basketball recruit Jamal Lewis scored 20 points in a win over Georgetown Day School, my roommates alma mater.
For example: we've known that he would be coming in to likely play point guard for the Red and Blue (though Rob Belcore can attest, that doesn't always work out). However, according to the Post, Lewis often plays forward — even center — at Sidwell.
And this:
Lewis plans to play point guard at Penn, but his versatility was attractive to college recruiters. Other colleges with more prominent basketball programs tried to recruit him, but Lewis had his mind set on the Ivy League school.
“I knew that whatever [scholarship offers] that would have come after summer, I would have been their second or third choice,” he said. “I was Penn’s first choice from the start.”
In the win over Georgetown Day, he was 8-for-10 with 11 rebounds, three assits and two blocks.
Harvard assistant football coaches Kris Barber, Joe M. Conlin, and A. Dwayne Wilmot will leave the Crimson to pursue similar positions with rival Yale. The trio joined the Elis, urged by Tony Reno, Harvard's secondary and special teams coach last year, according to an article in The Crimson. Reno was hired after former coach Tom Williams resigned amid controversy regarding his status as a former Rhodes Scholar applicant.
Wilmot, Conlin, and Barber were all in their first year coaching in Cambridge. In fact, four of the nine coaches that started the year for the Ivy Champion Crimson have left. The team was informed of the departures on Monday.
With the big Penn-Princeton rivalry game just one week away, we've got some exciting news for Penn fans: The DP is sponsoring limited edition PUCK FRINCETON T-shirts for $10. It's simple: Order using the form below, pick up your shirt on Monday (we'll let you know where & when), wear it to the Palestra.
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