Penn travels to Lawrenceville, N.J., tonight to take on the 0-3 Rider Broncs. The Quakers are hot off an overtime loss to Temple Monday night, but they put the loss into perspective and are ready to move on. I'm here with Eli Cohen tonight … follow along!
Click Here to open in a new window.
It's been a long football season on the Upper West Side. The Lions are yet to win a game going into the final weekend, in which they'll take on second-place Brown. Things got so bad that half-way through the season, the student paper called for coach Norries Wilson's ouster once the season ended.
And now this: University officials have banned the school's marching band from playing at the final game, after the band mocked the team's poor performance last week, as reported in the Spectator:
Rather than singing the traditional lyrics to Columbia’s century-old fight song, many members instead belted an original verse that reflected the losing ways of Lions football—one of a variety of alternative verses that, according to one band member, are meant only for the band bus and Orgo Night, one of the band’s most notable traditions. The first two lines say it all: “We always lose, lose, lose; by a lot, and sometimes by a little.”The Columbia Athletics Department didn't think the joke was too funny. Also from the Spec:
“The Athletics Program welcomes the band to our football games to promote school spirit and provide fan entertainment,” the athletic department said in a statement. “We believe the actions of the band on Saturday, Nov. 12, were inappropriate and embarrassed our student-athletes, coaches, parents, and fans.”Deadspin quickly picked up on the story, as did the Associated Press, which reported that the band's manager Jose Delgado said he "accept the consequences" and want to continue contributed to school spirit.
To top it all off with just a hint of irony, the story broke yesterday, which was American Censorship Day, which aims to protect free speech.
I sat down with my co-editors to talk the week that was and the week ahead in Penn men's basketball:
If you're having trouble viewing the video, click here.
The Quakers’ near upset of Temple on Monday night calls to mind another near upset of an even bigger powerhouse back when Fran Dunphy manned the sidelines. Though knocking off Temple would have been sweet, such a win wouldn’t compare to an upset over a school like Pitt — the Big East school, currently No. 9 in the country, comes to town over Thanksgiving break. This week’s segment turns back the clock to when nationally-ranked Big 12 power Kansas visited the Palestra back in 1998.
On this day in Penn sports history …
November 17, 1998: Led by future Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams (Naismith inductee, 2007), the Jayhawks visited the Palestra for Penn’s season opener and entered the game ranked No. 8 in the country. Williams had chosen to add the Quakers to his team’s schedule — not worrying about the travel time or strength of schedule hit from playing an Ivy team — because he wanted his players to experience the Palestra (according to the DP’s 1998 article). Little did he know that the Palestra, with its crowd of 7,852 Red and Blue supporters, would not only get to his players, but also to him.
Penn had lost to Kansas the previous year, 89-71, at a neutral site and were coming off a decent season, finishing 17-12 overall, 10-4 Ivy. Though the Quakers entered the year favored to win the Ivy League, they had missed the NCAA Tournament for the previous three years — the longest such streak during Dunphy’s tenure. To prepare his team for both the Jayhawks dynamic offense and the primetime tip-off time, Dunphy had his team practice at 8pm the night before and had the reserves wear Jayhawks’ blue in practice and run Kansas plays.
Dunphy’s tactics paid off, as Penn held the Jayhawks to 25.6% shooting in the first half, and the Quakers led at halftime, 26-19. But the big moment of the first frame was when the raucous home crowd got to Williams and the Kansas coach drew a technical foul for arguing a referee’s call. Naturally, the fans went even crazier after the call was made. “Seven technicals in 11 years of coaching, and that was the cheapest one I ever had,” the Kansas coach reportedly yelled to the referee shortly after the call.
But at halftime, Williams must have given an inspiring speech, because his team came out firing. The Jayhawks went on an 11-2 run to start the second. With 8:37 to play, Penn clung to a 47-45 lead, but it would be its last. The Quakers had a chance to tie the game late, as they possessed the ball down three with 23 seconds remaining. But Jed Ryan forced up a three-point attempt with 1.9 seconds to go, which missed and rolled out of bounds. Converting both ensuing free throws, Kansas managed to escape the Cathedral of College Basketball with a win, 61-56.
Frank Brown led all scorers with a career-high 17 points, going 7-for-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Dunphy was most impressed, however, with his senior forward’s play on ‘D’ :
“I am most pleased about [Brown’s] defense. The fact that he shot so well was no surprise. As a matter of fact, he will be alerted to that come Thursday when we practice. I’m tired of watching him not do the best job defensively because now I know — he’s exposed himself.”Williams also commented on the Brown’s big game:
“I know he was hurt last year, but he made two three-pointers all season, and one was against Kansas … He’s been driving us crazy, so I just want to ask him what he’s got against me.”Reacting in a similar manner to how Zack Rosen did after the loss against the Owls on Monday, Penn co-captain Michael Jordan said this after the game:
“I don’t think it was a moral victory because we felt we should have won the game. You never want to be second best, and today we were second best.”Though the Red and Blue failed to pull off the upset in their opener, in the following game less than a week later, they defeated No. 7 Temple at the Palestra, 73-70, in overtime. They would go on to win the Ivy title in 1998-1999, going 21-6 overall, 13-1 Ivy — good enough to earn a respectable 11 seed in the tourney. However, they would fall to Florida in the first round, 75-61.
Fifth-year senior wrestler Zack Kemmerer was selected to compete at the NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the Marines at Arizona State University Monday.
Kemmerer is one of just 20 college wrestlers selected for the 46th installment of the Classic. The 141-pounder is seeded against Cal Poly's Boris Novachkov, the 2011 NCAA runner-up and two-time defending Pac-10 champ. Kemmerer enters the season ranked fourth in the country, while Novachkov sits at No. 2.
Of course, Kemmerer is no stranger to the big stage, as he finished eighth at NCAAs last March to earn All-America status. He also qualified for NCAAs in 2010.
The Quakers haven't had a representative at the NWCA All-Star Classic since Matt Valenti and Matt Herrington in 2006. You can catch the action on Fox College Sports beginning at 7:30 pm Monday.
In the starting lineup from day 1, Ivy opponents had to deal with the speed of Duke Lacroix. Now he seems to have run away with the a post-season award.
On Wednesday the 5-foot-6 forward from New Egypt, N.J., who has scored 5 goals and recorded 2 assists in his debut campaign, was named Ivy Rookie of the Year.
Lacroix has largely been utilized as a wide forward in the Rudy Fuller's 4-3-3. His speed has allowed him to get down the flanks to deliver service, but more importantly allows him to cut inside to give him more looks on goal.
The freshman, who has played for the U.S. U-15 National Team and has been invited to the U-18 camp, has started all 17 games this year for the Quakers and is the first member from the Red and Blue to win the Ivy's Rookie of the Year award since Michael O'Conner in 1996.
In addition Christian Barreiro, Thomas Brandt and Jake Levin came away with Ivy post-season honors.
Midfielder Barreiro and central back Brandt, both in their last year at Penn, were both named first team All-Ivy. Brandt's defensive partner, Levin, was named to the second team.
This year Barreiro's experience in the middle of the pitch was extremely valuable this year after the loss of Aaron Ross to graduation last year. A dead ball specialist, Barreiro, finishes his career with 58 points, good for fifth all-time at Penn in the modern era (since 1969) and the most for any player since 1990.
Brandt, a two-year captain, who finished off his career in dramatic fashion with a hat trick to lead the Quakers past Harvard on Saturday, was named to first team All-Ivy for the second straight year. One of the most consistent performers over his four years at Penn, Brandt has played in 1,585 out of a possible 1,597 minutes.
Levin is a second team All-Ivy selection for third straight year. The 6-foot-3 center back was a four-year starter with 65 caps, out of which 64 were starts.
All three are looking to pursue professional soccer careers.
The Ivy Player of the Year was Lucky Mkosana from Dartmouth who led the Ivy with 10 league goals.The full list can be found here.
The Ivy League made some headlines this summer when it announced rule changes that directly aimed to reduce chances for football players to get concussions. Penn coach Al Bagnoli was part of an Ivy committee formed to take a hard look at the issue, and the changes represented a "proactive" move by the league on an important topic,Ivy League director Robin Harris said back in July.
Today Cornell presdient David Skorton (also on the Ivy League's concussion committee) penned an opinion piece for Huffington Post further advocating the Ivy League's approach.
"The Ivy League has taken an important step," he writes. "Administrators, coaches, trainers -- anyone with authority in football programs, from middle school to the pros -- needs to do the same. Or find an even better way to protect our players."Other scandals may have pushed the concussion issue to the backburner, Skorton says, but this issue is one that merits constant attention.
It's been just two games, but we already have plenty of hoops to talk about. After a 14-point season-opening win vs. UMBC, Penn went wire-to-wire with Temple at the Palestra on Monday night, eventually falling in overtime. Fans who followed the team last year can relate to my esteemed colleague Brian Kotloff's column (written in beautiful prose) about how, for yet another time, the Quakers battled a superior team talent-wise, but came up just short in the upset. Penn was just 1-4 in overtime games a year ago, including a brutal stretch of three straight OT losses to Harvard, Princeton, and Cornell — which begs the question ...
Question: How do you explain Penn's failures in OTs dating back to last year?
Brian Kotloff: There are always a handful of physical and/or psychological factors in struggles like the ones Penn has endured. To start, you need to factor in that in many of these games, Penn has been not only been the underdog, but has had to rally back from deep holes. So when the game evens back up in OT, the team with more energy and more talent -- the Quakers' opponent -- comes out on top. That explains the OT losses at La Salle, vs. Harvard and at Princeton last year, and now vs. Temple this year. Remember, they still beat Brown in OT in February.
I think the common thread through the losses is that each game could have been the signature win that propelled the program back to an elite level, and each time the team let victory slip through its grasp. When they beat Cornell in 2010, all the pressure was off -- they were 3-15 entering that game. A win at La Salle would have been Penn's first Big 5 win in four years (it came later over St. Joe's), while wins over Harvard and/or Princeton would have vaulted Penn into Ivy League contention. Last night, the Quakers couldn't close out what would have been their most impressive win in years. Of course I can't know what's running through players' heads, but maybe each time they thought, 'Wow, here's that impact win we've been waiting for,' and the moment overwhelmed them. That would explain why each opportunity was lost with simple miscues —missed layups, boneheaded decisions, turnovers, etc. — that make each extremely frustrating.
Kevin Esteves: I think you also have to factor in what a slim margin for error there has been in these OT games. As you said, the Harvard and Princeton losses were marked by early deficits. You have to play pretty flawless basketball over an extended period of time just to close that kind of gap, and then you still have to continue that play through overtime. That's just a really hard thing to do, so I would chalk those losses last year more to inconsistent play to start the game, which stacked the odds against them. (And the Cornell OT loss was just a case of a team that was mentally and physically drained).
Against this Temple team, there's also a slim margin just because of how good the Owls are. It really does have to be a 40 (or 45) minute stretch of really solid basketball. Penn did that Monday night, but I think execution down the stretch was a little spotty. I don't necessarily blame them for riding Rosen's hot hand — at that time, with the way he was playing, that gave them the best chance to win. But, as we've noted, other guys will have to step up so that the late-game offense is less predictable.
BK: And that last point is crucial when you look at trying to overcome this problem. The slim margin for error you mentioned is even slimmer when Penn's secondary scorers aren't contributing at their typical level. Teams with superior size and athleticism can then focus on Rosen defensively, and Penn has no shot winning a 1-on-5 battle against an elite team. Going forward against the likes of Pitt, Villanova, UCLA and Duke (and of course into the Ivy season), Tyler Bernardini and Miles Cartwright will be critical in providing scoring on the wing to keep defenses honest.
From a mental standpoint, the Quakers need to somehow, someway muster the same intensity they took into the Temple game when they play teams like Rider, Robert Morris and James Madison. This team has performed best when it feels slighted as an underdog, when the players need to rally around and believe in each other most. You can't re-create or feign that feeling in games against more evenly matched, lower-profile teams, but you can bring similar focus and desire. If the players don't hang their heads after Monday's crushing loss, it will turn out to be a positive going forward. After all, the Quakers played fantastic basketball over large stretches of each of these OT losses.
KE: Absolutely, this team has definitely showed it has some fight in it. And I do believe that Tyler and Miles will each have a handful of big games this year. That said, the Quakers also need something beyond that perimeter scoring, especially in late-game situations. They need that inside-outside game to be able to finish off teams in OT or to climb back into games when the going's getting rough. Some nights the shots don't fall, so you need to be able to dump it down to Fran Dougherty to open things up. If he can continue to polish his post moves, he will be hugely important whenever Penn needs to stop the bleeding, draw a foul, or just mix things up. Balance is key.
Hey Temple kids — Your fight song and hand motions are cool 'n' all, but what gives with the no-rollouts? We know the game was pretty early this year, but that's no reason to skimp out on one the Big 5's best traditions.
The Red and Blue Crew was by no means in mid-season form with their quips, but — like in Wharton classes — they got an A for participation. Here's a recap of the night's rollouts, with our own DP scoring.
This one — not their best work. (-4)
This, however, was quite punny. It reads, "Dunphy, we mustache you a question, but we'll shave it for later. #NoShaveNovember" Well done, RBC. (+7)
Others from the Red and Blue Crew included:
"Congrats on the Big East". (+16)
"Temple: Where you go to pray that (maybe) we will employ you." (-9)
For those of you keeping track, the final score was Penn 10, Temple 0.
With the Lions off to an 0-2 start (70-57 loss to national champ UConn and 62-58 loss to Furman Monday night), they took another blow last night.
6'3 senior guard Noruwa Agho — the heart of the team — went down with a knee injury late in the game after scoring 12 points in 31 minutes for Columbia. His return was questionable, and apparently he returned to the sidelines on crutches, but this afternoon Dalen Cuff (@dcuff21) reported a torn patellar tendon.
We don't know much about the severity of the tear, but as DP Sports' resident Pam Oliver, here's what this means for the Lions: We don't know for sure whether or not the tear is partial or complete, but based on reports that he wasn't putting any weight on his leg after the injury, a complete tear is probable.
In layman's terms, the patellar tendon connects the patella (kneecap) to the tibia (shin bone). Without full connection, the patella has no support and slides around the knee joint and often up toward the femur (thigh). Sometimes part of the patella bone can break as well, if the tear is near the kneecap. Without support from the tendon, the knee cannot be straightened.
Prognosis: Of course I can't make any judgments as to the specifics of Agho's injury, but if the tear is indeed complete, he will need surgery. In the off-chance of a partial tear, he could do major rehabbing and get back, but he would be incredibly prone to further injury. More likely is surgery, which is not good for him or Columbia's program. There are tons of variables that play into the type of surgery and how invasive it will be, and again, I can't speculate on that. But for such a surgery, 6-12 months is the average recovery time, and that's for an average person. It could take even longer for Agho to get back to full playing form.
Reports have been that he could be out for the year, and if he does indeed have surgery, we probably won't see him on the court anytime this season. Keep in mind he is a senior, and it's quite difficult to convince the Ivy League that you need a 5th year for academic reasons.
The loss is really unfortunate — Agho is the backbone to this team and he will be tough to replace. In the past two seasons, he averaged 34.5 minutes per game and 16.5 points per game. He dished out 119 assists last year and grabbed 138 boards.
What a game that was last night. There are so many plays I could point to as critical to the outcome, and they're all still running through my head. I'm sure the diehard fans, and the Penn players and staff, are doing the same thing. At the least, we can all finally say we witnessed Penn play in a Big 5 classic. Let's break down an unforgettable night:
The Good: There's no doubt about this one. First, the fire Penn showed was evident from the outset. It wasn't just impressive that the Quakers jumped out to an early lead; it was the way they did it. From tip-off to buzzer, you couldn't tell which was the Atlantic-10 team coming off an NCAA tournament win and which was the Ivy League team that finished in the middle of the pack last season. As point guard Zack Rosen said afterward, every single player in that locker room believed they could win the game, and it translated to tremendous energy and effort.
And speaking of Rosen, what more can you say about this kid? Entering the season, I thought about how badly Zack wanted it last year and how this year, with his final shot at a Big 5 splash and an Ivy title before him, we could witness something incredible. Performances like Monday night's were what I had in mind. He just has an insatiable will to win that allows him to knock down impossible shot after impossible shot to keep his team in the game. It's a privilege to watch him play.
The Bad: Jerome Allen always preaches that winning takes a 40-minute effort, and his team fell just short of that goal. Were it not for a 14-0 Temple run that Penn allowed in the final 10 minutes of the first half, we'd be talking about a monumental victory for this program. This also goes to another poor shooting performance from the Quakers' go-to wing scorers, Tyler Bernardini and Miles Cartwright (7-22, 0-6). Bernardini can't find his stroke, and Cartwright looks hobbled by a nasty ankle injury. Allen admitted afterward that he needs to find ways to generate offense for players besides Rosen, who was iso'd throughout the stretch run.
The Ugly: Temple deserved to win the game after hitting clutch shot after clutch shot from multiple difference-making performers. But this game deserved a better ending than an inexplicable officiating controversy. How can you call an intentional foul on incidental contact in a two-point game with seven seconds left? How can you call a technical that killed any chance Penn had at winning? Even before that, who calls a carry (on Owls guard Juan Fernandez) in a tie game with 17 seconds left? The refs played a role in the outcome of this game, and that should never be the case, especially when the rest of the game was a beautiful as this one.
After the Penn loss to Temple, the obvious story is how Zack Rosen nearly led the underdog Quakers to a win despite some curious officiating. One thing really stuck out to me in the game: ball screen defense. Some of the differences between the teams in this department can be traced to coaching and the rest to execution, but the way that Penn and Temple decided to guard the pick and roll was a big reason this game was as close as it was.
I didn't need to watch the game to know that the Quakers drill ball screen defense over and over. Trust me, I already know. Against Temple, Penn was very impressive in their execution against the pick and roll. I counted maybe two or three times at most over the course of forty-five minutes that the bigs failed to do their job. The Owls did not appear prepared for the different coverages the Quakers threw at them.
On high ball screens, the Penn big hedged out to stop the dribbler. Temple, like almost every team in America, has the screener roll to the rim and the opposite big rise to the high post. Instead of chasing his man down the lane, the Penn big who hedged simply switched onto the rising big and let his partner stop the roll man. Rob Belcore was able to deny the pass back to the big on this coverage and really disrupt the Temple offense.
For wing ball screens, Penn changed its strategy. The coverage they used is very popular in Europe, but not very common in the states, especially in college. When the screener arrives on the high side, the on ball defender turns his body to prevent the offensive player from using the pick. The big positions himself between the ball and the basket. This coverage is is especially effective when trying to contain a good guard like Fernandez and when the opposing bigs are not shooters. Confused, Temple guards turned it over twice in these situations, leading to fast break layups by Cartwright and Belcore.
As for the other end of the floor, the Owls couldn't seem to contain Zack Rosen off of the high ball screen. It's no secret that many Penn possessions of the last few years have ended with a pick and roll for Rosen, and it's a safe bet than many more will this year. That makes the Temple defensive breakdowns seem even more baffling. Every time a Penn big ran up to set a late clock screen for Rosen, the on ball defender let Zack go whichever way he wanted. On top of that, the Temple big was a couple steps behind. This allowed Rosen to hit the big shots that kept the Quakers in the game.
Since ball screens are a large part of the Penn offense, it will be important to watch how opposing teams guard them throughout the season. On defense you always have to choose something to give up; Zack Rosen is always hoping you'll choose him.
According to a report in Philly.com's Jersey Side Sports, Moorestown's Andrew Lisa has verbally committed to Penn.
Lisa, whose third-seeded Quakers (how ironic) defeated sixth-seeded Oakcrest in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 3 playoffs last Friday. He threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns as Moorestown (6-4) won 34-7.
The 6-foot-2, 200 pound pro-style quarterback had expressed interest in Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. He also received offers from Kent State, New Hampshire and Bryant.
He has thrown for over 4,200 yards and 38 touchdowns over the past two seasons for Moorestown. He will lead the Quakers against Hammontown (8-1) this Friday in the South Group 3 semifinal.
The gift of Big 5 basketball has come early this season -- the earliest it's ever come, in fact. Tonight, the Quakers host Temple in the Owls' season opener at the Palestra. This marks the third meeting between longtime Penn coach Fran Dunphy and perhaps the best player he ever coached, Jerome Allen. Tonight, Allen looks for his first win against Dunphy, as his team tries to build on a solid season-opening win at UMBC. Follow the live blog below for game updates and analysis:
This:
A storybook ending to an otherwise disappointing season saw Penn Soccer's senior captain Thomas Brandt capture a trifecta of awards earlier today.
Brandt was named Ivy Player of the week for the second time in his career after scoring three goals in Saturday's game at Harvard. The defender not only led the Quakers for a come-from-behind victory, but also ensured that Harvard would remain winless in the Ivy play this year.
The Ivy nod was the first of a trifecta of awards for the 6-foot-1 Brandt. He also was named to the CollegeSoccerNews.com's National Team of the Week and Philadelphia Soccer Six Player of the Week.
Random observations, musings, opinions, etc. on Penn basketball...
Saturday night in Boston we had a few hours to kill waiting for a bus back to Philly. I had a Sam Adams while watching some football at a bar — it wasn't quite as exotic as the bourbon tasting in Kentucky last January, but as they say, when in Rome...
Rundown
Extra Extra: Liveblog! Tonight! If you can't make it down for the Big 5 opener at the Palestra, follow the game right here. Brian Kotloff will be on the keys with assistant sports editor Mike Wisniewski.
We gave Mr. Blackmon some time off to enjoy his homecoming from the sidelines last week, but this week he was back in action. Here's his heart-felt analysis, and some advice moving forward.
Needless to say, that was a rough game to witness for any Penn Football fan — especially a former player.
Every year we hope that by the time we play Harvard it will be for a share of the Ivy League Championship, and this year was no different. Penn made it back to the big game for a chance to complete their bid at a three peat.
As players, we always view Harvard as the anti-Penn. We are the blue-collar hardworking team while they go around on their high horses expecting to win just because they go to Harvard. On Saturday, it looked as if Harvard adopted Penn's mentality and really brought it to the Quakers. Aside from the first quarter, Harvard really dominated the game in just about every aspect, especially on special teams. They were just too much for the Quakers to handle and it showed.
The outcome of this game will be the toughest for this group of seniors to have to deal with in their careers. As a freshman and as a sophomore when we came up short for the Ivy League title we could always say, "Well we just have to work harder and we can win it next year." For these seniors there is no next year. They surely will be thinking that they could have done more and that they let the team down, but as players we have to accept that we don't always play our best games.
Penn is a hardworking program and they undoubtedly put their best efforts into preparing for this season, things just did not work out as planned. To the underclassmen it is time to get back to work in hopes of regaining the top spot next year. To the seniors keep your heads up and make sure you go out on a high note with a win this week at Cornell, you'll remember this loss but you won't forget the fun you had while playing at Penn. Beat Cornell.
An RSS feed of The Buzz is available 
