We've been hearing (and maybe spreading) the rumors for weeks. Now it is fact: Hakim Warrick's Philly All-Stars will host Carmelo Anthony and his Team Melo All-Stars in what is being called the Battle of I-95. The venue? Penn's Palestra. And as of last night we heard that Carmelo would be bringing some big name guests, including the game's biggest star, LeBron James, as well as Kevin Durant and Chris Paul.
The date we've known for some time, Sept. 25, 6 p.m. Now we know that tickets will go on sale at 3 p.m. today at PennAthletics.com. Ticket sales will be limited to 4 per person.
From Penn's release:
General Sale: Tickets will be available online starting at 3 p.m. at PennAthletics.com. A limited number of tickets will also be available starting Saturday at 10 a.m. at select Sneaker Villa stores in the Philadelphia area.
Penn Students: Members of last year’s Line will receive an email later today with information on how they can enter a lottery to win one free ticket to the game.
Penn Men’s Basketball Season-Ticket Holders: An email will be sent out later today with information on how they can enter a lottery for two complimentary tickets.
Additionally, season ticket holders and students can purchase tickets online along with the general public starting at 3 p.m.
There were also statements from Penn Athletic Director Steve Bilsky:
"We’re pleased that The Palestra was chosen as the site for this extraordinary exhibition of some of the greatest basketball players in the world,” said Penn’s Director of Athletics, Steve Bilsky. “These NBA players will witness firsthand what Philadelphians already know, that The Palestra is the most exciting venue for basketball in the country.”
And from Warrick, a West Philly native:
“My Philadelphia All-Stars look forward to getting on the court and proving to Melo and the people of Baltimore/DC that the best ballers come out of Philly!” said Warrick. “Melo told me he was bringing a squad that can’t be beat so I have a few ‘all star’ surprises for him when my team takes the court on September 25.”
We're also happy to report that some of the revenue from this endeavor will be donated to the West Philadelphia Community Center, one of Warrick's old stomping grounds, and several blocks of seats for the game will go to local community groups.
Update (1:19 p.m.): Penn Athletics has posted an official press release for the event. Tickets will go on sale at 3 p.m. TODAY on pennathletics.com. Members of last year's Line and last year's season ticket holders will receive emails regarding a lottery system to win tickets (Line members are eligible for one, season ticket-holders are eligible for two).
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Contrary to reports we heard last night, as well as information the DP published, tickets for the upcoming NBA summer-league game at the Palestra later this month are NOT going on sale at 9 a.m. today. This was confirmed to The Buzz by Penn's Athletic Communications staff. Those who showed up early to secure a ticket found this sign at the Palestra's box office:
The game, which will now feature arguably the best talent in the league, inlcuding LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and more, is scheduled for Sept. 25, at 6 p.m. Last night, the Inquirer's NBA blog Deep Sixer reported that tickets would go on sale this morning at 9 a.m., both at the Palestra and online at RUVILLA.com. That blog has since been corrected.
Rahim Thompson, one of the events organizers, tweeted multiple times that tickets would go on sale Tuesday, but did not offer a specific time. Thompson also told the DP to go off of information published by the Inquirer. Late last night he tweeted a picture of a ticket to the event being printed, but later tweeted that the ticketing system was being worked out, and more info would come later.
Philly.com is currently reporting that "Thompson said last night he should be tweeting the site around 1 p.m."
We apologize to anyone who was inconvenienced by the misinformation about ticket sales. As soon as we confirm when and where they will officially be on sale, we will let you know. And we will most likely broadcast that first via our twitter, @dailypennsports.
UPDATE: For the full story, including an interview with the event's organizer, see the article here on thedp.com
UPDATE 2: Contrary to reports we heard last night, tickets will not be on sale at 9 a.m. Stay tuned for info as we get it.
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In the last report about the star-studded Team Philly-Team Baltimore game being held at the Palestra on September 25th, we found out that Carmelo Anthony would be bringing along some fellow NBA players from the Baltimore/D.C. area, including Josh Selby and Gary Neal, in addition to "more surprise guests."
Now we're hearing, according to Philly.com, those surprise guests will be none other than two-time MVP LeBron James, two-time scoring champ Kevin Durant and arguably the best point guard in the world in Chris Paul — as if this game needed any more star-power.
In the original ESPN report about the game, one of the event's planners, Phoenix Suns forward Hakim Warrick said that Carmelo would likely not be bringing along the same team — which included James and Paul — he brought for the Goodman-Team Melo game. Well, I guess plans have changed since then and now 'Melo's stacked team can add Goodman's finest, Durant, to the mix.
These video highlights could very well be a preview of what's in store.
The NFL kicked off this weekend and many college football programs already have two weeks of competition under their belts. But in the world-renowned (just not for its football) Ivy League, it all begins Saturday. As you might have seen, Penn's got a shot at history as they go for a third-consecutive undefeated season. If that doesn't get your blood flowing, perhaps some postgame fireworks at the grand-opening of Penn Park will. (Shameless promotion: Thursday's DP will feature a big spread on Penn Park. Pick one up!) (Shameless promotion #2: Friday's DP will feature our annual football supplement. Pick more than one up.)
Rundown: Have you heard of Penn women's soccer? They're kind of awesome.
The ladies have played four games and have put up four shutouts, with two this weekend. Friday night they beat Villanova at PPL Park, home to the Philadelphia Union. Then Sunday they beat St. Joe's, 2-0. Even more impressively, they've done it with two keepers splitting time in goal. The last time the program started a season this strong was 1998, when they went 6-0-1.
I've done enough cross-country flights to know that the trip east-bound is always shorter thanks to our friend the jet-stream. But the men's soccer team had a long red-eye home from San Diego after they dropped both matches this weekend and were held scoreless for the duration of the trip.
Weekend win: The performance of the weekend has got to go to w. soccer freshman Megan York, who scored her first collegiate goal, and Penn's only goal, to keep the Quakes perfect against 'Nova.
Multimedia: Have you seen our sport-by-sport photo galleries? We're compiling the DP's best pictures for each sport, and updating them as the season's go on. Check out W. Soccer, M. Soccer, Football, and Sprint Football's galleries.
Speaking of sprint football, they narrowly edged former Penn players, 21-19, in the annual alumni game. Good thing, since a loss against the old folks would have been embarrassing. Question: Do the alumni have to make weight?
Extra Extra: It was sunny in San Diego. So soccer freshman Agyeman Botchway kept his eyes shaded in style, with these sweet DP sunglasses:
The news that sounded almost too good to be true is now official — well, sort of. Rahim Thompson, founder of the Philly-based "The Chosen League," has been tweeting away all kinds of info about a Team Philly-Team Baltimore exhibition at Penn's own Palestra. According to Thompson's twitter handle, @RTchosenleague, the game will be held Sunday, September 25th at 6 p.m. Tickets will go on sale beginning next Tuesday and will be sold at the Palestra box office and online (though I'm not sure what that site would be). Tix in Section 100 will be sold for $50, while those in Section 200 will be sold for $35 (also no word on whether there will be any tickets reserved for Penn students, though that is an important thing Penn AD Steve Bilsky has been trying to accomplish).
And now, drumroll...the players, according to Thompson, who, by the look of his feed, is probably one of the event's planners:
Team Baltimore: Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks), Josh Selby (Memphis Grizzlies), Gary Neal (San Antonio Spurs), Eric Bledsoe (L.A. Clippers), Donte Greene (Sacramento Kings) and "more surprise guests" (fingers-crossed for Kevin Durant).
Team Philly: Hakim Warrick (Phoenix Suns), Lou Williams (Philadelphia 76ers), Kyle Lowry (Houston Rockets), John Salmons (Sacramento Kings), Jason Thompson (Sacramento Kings), Markieff Morris (Phoenix Suns), Marcus Morris (Houston Rockets), Wayne Ellington (Minnesota T'Wolves), former NBA player Ronald "Flip" Murray, and Philly streetball legend of And1 Mixtape fame, "A.O."
At our annual sit-down meeting with Penn Director of Athletics Steve Bilsky, we discussed the possibility of the rumored Philly vs. Baltimore scrimmage happening at the Palestra. According to Bilsky, talks with the groups involved -- the Phoenix Suns' Hakim Warrick and the New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony, former teammates at Syracuse, first hatched the idea -- are in the "late-seventh, early-eighth inning."
Representatives of the NBA players and of Penn Athletics held a conference call this afternoon to continue to work out the details of the event, which reportedly would take place on September 25. "There are discussions every day," Bilsky said. "They want to do it, we want to do it. … I haven’t heard of any major stumbling blocks."
Bilsky explained that an agreement hasn't been reached — and cautioned that nothing is certain yet — because of the issues involved with an outside group using a Penn facility, including insurance, liability and security. Even the ongoing lockout is an issue, as both sides need to work out contingency plans should the owners and players' union come to an agreement before the Palestra game takes place. But Bilsky reiterated that the athletic department wants to make it happen and is "making it as easy as possible to happen."
"What we tell them is, 'you guys just need to show up. We’ll handle tickets, we’ll handle security, we’ll handle operations, we’ll do all of that stuff,'" he said. "We’re not charging a rental fee, which we normally do, because we want it to happen. … To make this happen, we’re eliminating all those things that could be deal breakers."
One of Penn's chief concerns is trying to ensure that tickets are available to students should the game take place. Bilsky said Penn representatives haven't "demanded anything" but have "made it clear what we want." Since there would be so much demand for tickets in an arena as small as the Palestra (capacity is listed at just under 9,000), the most likely scenario is that tickets are made available to season-ticket holders, including students who participated in The Line. That was the case back in December of 2002, when LeBron James' St. Vincent-St. Mary High School team played Maureece Rice and Strawberry Mansion at the Palestra.
Among the players rumored to be participating in the Philly vs. Baltimore game are Philly natives Warrick, Tyreke Evans, Jameer Nelson, Richard Hamilton, Kyle Lowry and John Salmons (plus the Sixers' Lou Williams) and Baltimore/Washington D.C. natives Anthony, Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson.
Stay tuned for more on this game -- and more from our sit-down with Bilsky -- as we learn more in the coming days/weeks. Believe me, we're crossing our fingers as much as you are...
Apparently the team made these shirts for their 2011 campaign. Apparently they messed up spelling "commit." Apparently it's not totally sure whether it's a football shirt at all. We'll give the two-time champs the benefit of the doubt.
In addition to Mike Hall, Penn basketball's recruiting-target list for a 2012 big man includes Braxston Bunce, a 6'10, 250-lb post player who hails from British Columbia, Canada. Bunce began to receive a pile of offers after a strong showing at the Las Vegas Live AAU tournament (Jul. 22-26), and he gained invaluable experience as the youngest member of Canada's U-19 team, going up against 7-foot-5 center Sim Bhullar on a regular basis in practice. I got a chance to speak with Bunce, his mother (Cheryl), and Ross Tomlinson, the Elite Development Manager for Basketball BC (the program Bunce has played for since the 7th grade) about Bunce's big-time summer and recruitment. Here are some good nuggets:
Top 5:
Bunce named, in no particular order, his top 5 schools as of now: Penn, Cornell, Washington State, Boise State, and the University of Nevada
He has taken unofficial visits to the latter three (plus Montana St. and Eastern Washington) and will take officials to Penn this week (he flies to Philadelphia today) and Cornell next week. Hall, meanwhile, will be coming to Penn Sept. 16th.
Coach's Breakdown:
"[Braxston is] sort of an old school post player. When you see him play, he has a real finesse game, so he likes to go to the jump hook a lot, and he's got some really good up-and-under moves. You see some aspects of his game that you don’t tend to see a lot anymore, that he's really worked on. And he's very good going left-handed or right-handed ... He [also] has good anticipation skills, and he sets himself up really well underneath the basket and takes up good space, so he likes contact and he really establishes contact to get position ... I think as he gets older, his timing is going to get stronger as well. He gets off the floor fairly well, but that's one of the areas where I think as his body matures, he's going to get stronger and stronger in that particular area." - Tomlinson
Strengths and Weaknesses:
"I'd say right now my strengths would definitely be my low-post play, running the floor ... Rebounding both ends of the floor and just being a defensive presence, taking up space in the key, altering shots, blocking shots, stuff like that. As far as weaknesses, I'd say, right now, I'm really working to get my jump shot consistent. [And] for me, I can always ... continue to add muscle and continue to work on my conditioning." — Braxston Bunce
Going Ivy?:
In addition to the aforementioned West Coast schools, Bunce is drawing serious interest from the Ancient Eight. Of the Ivies, Bunce said that Penn and Cornell have been recruiting him the hardest (and just about as equally). He also mentioned Harvard and Princeton as expressing interest earlier in the recruiting process. Columbia got in on the action this summer, too.
In their conversations with Bunce, both Penn and Cornell have been saying many of the same things, namely, that Braxston would be able to come in and immediately compete for minutes. Bunce said that contact between himself and Penn coaches Jerome Allen and asst. Mike Martin began to pick up around the beginning of August. Also, Allen will be making a visit to Canada next week to meet with the Bunce family.
According to both Braxston and his mother, education will be a big factor in the young man's final decision, and an Ivy degree is definitely a draw. As Braxston's mother said, "We know that if he graduates from an Ivy League school that he will be recognized worldwide with having a degree that’s very marketable and [that will] help him get a really good job, so I know that’s important to him."
Meanwhile, when asked about his willingness to give up an athletic scholarship to go Ivy, Braxston said, "It's tough to pass up an athletic scholarship, but I think financially [an Ivy degree] is just as good. Obviously, you're not going to get a better education than the Ivy League, so it's very important for me. So definitely it will be heavily weighed on my mind when I'm making my decision."
With his first two official visits to Philadelphia and Ithaca in the coming days, this is obviously an important stage in Bunce's recruiting process. And given that both Penn and Cornell have had similar conversations with him, the visits are even more important because they will give Bunce the opportunity to better differentiate the two schools and allow him to get a feel for each's campus life.
An update on wrestler Gabe Burak, who graduated last spring:
Much like basketball player Danny Monckton, Burak gained a fifth year of eligibility after sitting out a season due to injury -- he transferred to Penn from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs before the 2007-08 season, but wrestled in just 10 matches that season. The DP has learned that Burak has moved back to his home state to wrestle for Division I Northern Colorado (the post-grad year cannot be used at an Ivy League school, according to league rules). As a high schooler, he won three Colorado state championships, compiling an incredible 125-1 record over that span.
“Gabe is great kid and will impact out team in a number of ways,” Bears coach Ben Charrington told flowrestling.org. “Not only will he make an impact on the mat and in the classroom for us, he will also bring tremendous levels of maturity and leadership skills to this team. We feel fortunate to have added such a quality person to the UNC Wrestling family.”
The fifth year will give him one final shot to become an All-American after he fell painfully short at the Wells Fargo Center last March. The 165-pounder earned his first NCAA tournament victory in Round 1, and rallied from a 2nd round loss to win two straight consolation matches. In the Round of 12, however, he lost to Hoftra's P.J. Gillespie. Burak finished his Penn career with an 86-36 career record, including a 23-8 mark as a senior. He was twice named an All-Ivy honorable mention and qualified for NCAAs during his final two seasons.
Gabe's brother, 197-pounder Micah Burak, is entering his junior season at Penn.
Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Texas' Rick Barnes both picked the Palestra as "The one arena I've never coached in but would like to."
Unfortunately, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski wasn't involved in the poll, so we won't know if this year's game in k-ville is part of a home-and-home. Duke's Cameron Indoor got five picks, including from Villanova's Jay Wright. Several others mentioned UCLA's Pauley Pavilion (including St. Joe's Phil Martelli). Penn, unfortunately, won't be playing in Pauley when it visits UCLA this December, as it is being renovated this season.
Jerome Allen, if you're reading, now you've got some leverage when it comes to next year's schedule.
Bonus: ESPN's college basketball writers also considered the question. Dana O'Neil picked the Cathedral of College Basketball, and Joe Lunardi gave it an honorable mention. Here's her blurb on why she picked the Palestra.
Dana O'Neil: The Palestra is a Philadelphia basketball assault to the senses. It smells of pretzels and history, a perfectly perfumed mustiness that somehow brings today's game back in time. The lighting is suspect, so everything looks old-school grainy, as if a live game were being played in sepia tone. And when the building is filled to the corners with opposing pep bands dueling out fight songs, it is so loud that the tables that double as reporters' work space literally shake. The Palestra is what made the Big 5 so special during its heyday, and it is what makes Philadelphia basketball so special today.
Mano-A-Mano's been on a summer-long hiatus after getting off to a rousingstartlastsemester. But we're no one-year wonder. The start of classes also brings the fifth installment of the DP's most heated debate. This time, we go mano-a-mano on the two-time Ivy League champion Penn football team, which is attempting to channel Tom Emanski and go back-to-back-to-back. As our sandwich-loving leader pointed out, however, sequels often fail to live up to their originals -- and three-quels can be even worse (have you seen "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift?"). So we argue whether this year's squad can "Watch the Throne" with as much swag as last year's.
Question: Will the 2011 Penn football team be better than the 2010 team?
Kevin Esteves: Ultimately, I believe the 2011 edition of the Quakers will be outstanding, but I cannot say they will be better than last year’s squad. Looking at the stats, it’s kind of scary how good those guys were. Penn beat Ivy opponents by an almost comical 18.8 points a game in 2010, and had a rock-solid offensive line that allowed the Red and Blue’s running game to thrive — “the Quakes” rushed for 580 more yards than any other Ivy team. The boys in the trenches also allowed just six sacks — 3rd fewest in the country! That would be hard to duplicate this year with the same squad, let alone a team that returns just one of those O-lineman, captain Greg Van Roten. Transitioning the new guys will understandably take time, and likely result in a slightly less gaudy offensive attack for Penn.
Brian Kotloff: You’re right, those numbers are unbelievably impressive, making regression seem likely. But don’t forget that last year’s team came out of the gates slow with a sloppy 19-14 win over Lafayette, a 22-10 loss to Villanova and an upset-avoiding overtime victory over eventual fifth-place finisher Dartmouth. The probable reason behind that? Inexperience. We think of Billy Ragone as a star quarterback at this point, but he had attempted four collegiate passes before last season and didn’t become the full-time signal caller until midway through the Ivy slate. With Ragone fixed into the position from the start this time around, Al Bagnoli should have a full arsenal at his disposal. Did I mention that the Brandon Colavita-led backfield will regain bruising tailback Lyle Marsh, who led the team in rushing as a freshman? A fleet-footed QB and a couple bulldozers at running back will make the O-line’s job much easier.
KE: That may prove true, but while the team gained experience in a few positions, they’ve also lost it in some key ones. We can’t overlook the graduation of kicker Andrew Samson, who just so happens to be the program’s all-time leader in points. Samson and his powerful locks legs won’t be walking through the tunnel come gametime, so the Red and Blue will instead have to rely on senior Dan Lipschutz — who, thanks to Samson’s historic career, has not seen a single snap in-game for three seasons.
Bottom line: Even if Lipschutz or one of his freshman backups excels, I don’t think we’re going to see Samson-like numbers, which could prove costly in any tight-game scenarios (a la Lafayette last year). So if you factor in diminished production from the O-line and kicker, but add in the potential of an improved rushing attack and a more seasoned Ragone, you could conceivably see a Penn team that regresses a little bit overall, but still dominates the League. To be honest, I actually do expect these guys to three-peat, just not with the same type of unreal stats.
BK: We can agree on that last statement, even though they were inexplicably picked to finish third in the FCS season preview. Still, I just don’t see this kicker situation being as much of a storyline as we or Bagnoli are making it out to be. Do you know how many Penn games were decided by three points or less last season? How about ZERO? And that Lafayette opener you mentioned was the only game where the final margin was less than a touchdown. I just don’t see Samson’s replacement having to kick too many pressure-packed field goals. Plus, Lipschutz is no slouch. This kid led all Philadelphia-area kickers in scoring as a junior in high school. I’m sure he’ll love a gig where he gets to kick chippies and extra points after long drives by the high-powered offense.
KE: I think he'll have to make more than just chippies in what should be a more competitive league this year (each team returns a starting QB), but this stuff is all very much unknown — just like the number of people who understood your Tom Emanski reference.
But don't clear your schedules quite yet. I just spoke with Penn's Director of Athletic Communications Mike Mahoney, and he did not confirm such a date, saying if the event were to happen at Penn's venue, there are still a lot of details to be worked out.
"There's definitely interest on Penn's part," Mahoney said. "We'd be crazy not to try to get an event like this in the Palestra."
ESPN first broke the story that Warrick wants to host a Philly/Baltimore summer-league matchup in the area, quoting Warrick as saying the Palestra would be his first choice for venue. The event would be star studded, potentially attracting the likes of NBA scoring champ Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony, and could be an excellent opportunity to showcase Penn and it's basketball program to a larger audience.
As if people needed to get hyped for the return of the NFL this week, the Eagles put together this "Heart" promo video for the season. If you look really closely you can see a few shots of the Frank from when the Eagles played there back in the day.
Jack Eggleston (Photo: University of Pennsylvania)
Now it's official: the Bayer Giants Leverkusen increase with the Americans Jack Eggleston and therefore have the last piece of the puzzle of the squad for the 2011/2012 season set.
The 23-year-old power forward is to give the GIANTS in the defense more presence under the basket and make the campaign even more versatile, "Jack is a good thrower, rebounder and passer this he is an intelligent player who has all his energy for that. team are, "says Bayer coach Achim Kuczmann about the new signing and said:" We now have a good team together and are still difficult to calculate. "
Jack Eggleston was convincing in the last Division 1 season, averaging 13.2 points and eight rebounds per game. In addition, the new giant hit heavily from a distance: 45 percent from beyond the three-point line. After four years at the University of Pennsylvania is the first European stop of the Leverkusen 2.04 m big U.S. boys.
And if that wasn't enough, here's a picture of his new coach. Achtung baby.
A new year and a new feature on the Buzz: I'm calling it Mid-Monday Mix. Every Monday, sometime in the early afternoon and barring any additional hurricanes, I'll bring you a mix of notes and notables from the weekend that was:
Rundown: I took in parts of both the men's and women's soccer games at Rhodes last night. Both teams put on a show for a pretty sizable crowd, by Rhodes standards.
Women's soccer opened their season with two clean sheets for the first time since 1998, winning 3-0 over UMBC Friday and 2-0 over Delaware Sunday night. Both goals last night were of the cranial variety, coming off the heads of seniors Ursula Lopez-Palm and Marin McDermott.
The men also remained undefeated, notching a 5-1 rout of St. Joe's earlier in the evening. They beat La Salle 2-0 on Friday as well. Freshman Duke Lacroix took home Ivy Rookie of the Week honors with two goals Sunday night. He also takes home Name of the Week honors for having an awesome name.
Volleyball hosted their annual Big 5 tournament, posting wins against Temple and La Salle, but ultimately fell to Villanova, 3-1. They did the same thing last year, lasting an extra set against the Wildcats.
Field Hockey kicked off it's second season under coach Colleen Quinn Fink, looking to shake off a disastrous 2010. The opening to 2011 didn't look too good either: a 7-0 loss to American.
Football season is 12 days away. The Quakers apparently had a brief respite from their two-a-days, getting to relax in the pool with some free swim this weekend.
Weekend win: The honor for this weekend's win goes to M. Soccer coach Rudy Fuller, who posted his 100th career 'W' for Penn soccer with a 2-0 shutout of La Salle. Fuller is starting his 14th year with Penn.
Multimedia: Check out the aforementioned goals off the heads of Lopez-Palm and McDermott:
Extra, Extra: Here's a picture of an adorable dog reading The DP, courtesy of our managing editor Unnati Dass. You should do the same. We resume normal production Wednesday when classes begin!
Rhode Island big man Cedric Kuakumensah has narrowed his prospective college list down to five schools, keeping Penn in the mix along with Brown, Elon, Holy Cross and BU.
Kuakumensah told the New England Recruiting Report of his latest options this week, saying he plans to make a decision before the the November signing period. He will take official visits to some of the schools over the coming weeks, including a trip to Penn on Sept. 22, according to NERR:
The St. Andrew’s big man is coming off a very successful summer that saw him send his stock all the way to the Atlantic 10 level. He walked away with over a dozen division I offers and only narrowed his list after taking a handful of unofficial visits this summer.
ESPN lists the forward at 6-foot-8, 195 pounds, rating him an 80, and describing him as:
A good interior defender with a strong body, Kuakumensah has filled his frame out nicely within the last year. He is active at both ends of the floor, has a good nose for the ball, is a consistent shot blocking presence, and consistent rebounding presence on both ends.
While ESPN ranks him as the 16th best prospect in the smallest state in the Union, NERR put Kuakumensah at the top of its list when ranking rising seniors last April.
Penn has already received one men's basketball commitment for the class of 2012, Jamal Lewis, and the next few weeks may prove crucial with several recruits coming through campus. Mike Hall, another big man, told The Buzz he plans to visit Sept. 16.
For a few highlights of the big man from the NERR memorial day invitational, check out the clip below (roughly 0:50-1:00):
Wow, this is jaw-dropping news for any basketball fan in Philly. After watching NBA superstars LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and Chris Paul put on an absolute spectacle at the Team Melo vs. Goodman exhibition this past Tuesday, Phoenix Suns forward and Philly native Hakim Warrick decided he wanted to recruit a Philly-based squad to play host against his former Syracuse teammate (Carmelo) and Melo's Baltimore crew. The site of the game? Still up in the air, but look at what Warrick said in the article:
"Either Temple, St. Joe's or the Palestra," Warrick said. "My first choice is the Palestra, because when you think of Philly, especially Big 5 Basketball and all the history, you think of the Palestra. From ESPN.com
The fact that the Palestra is his first choice speaks volumes to the type of respect Warrick has for "The Cathedral of College Basketball" even though he didn't play in the Big 5. But ignore all that for a minute.
More pressing, this could be a slam dunk (pun intended) marketing opportunity for Penn Athletics and the Palestra. According to the article, Carmelo would not be bringing along LeBron or Paul, but he would be bringing top-flight talent from the D.C./Baltimore area including guys like Durant (two-time defending scoring champ in the NBA and apparently, the King of Summer Basketball), and Denver Nuggets' guard Ty Lawson. Not too shabby. Meanwhile, on the Philly side, you would have Warrick and potentially Tyreke Evans (Sacramento Kings, averaged 17.8 ppg last year), St. Joe's own Jameer Nelson (Orlando Magic starting PG), and Richard "Rip" Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons (the real Facemask baller could be in the Palestra — sorry, Tyler). The list goes on of other NBA talent that could suit up (former Villanova WildcatKyle Lowry was also named as a potential player).
To sum up, we could have a thrilling basketball exhibition of NBA All-Star caliber right here in the Palestra. Barring any logistical issues with hosting such a highly anticipated event, Penn would have to seriously consider trying to set this up. The Palestra would definitely be rocking that night.
And it does look like this exhibition will happen, whether at the Palestra or not. Melo said he's on board, but the one guy who could throw a wrench into the plans? Kobe Bryant. The future Hall of Famer, who attended Lower Merion H.S., could also play for Philly, but if that were to happen, the game would probably need to be played at the Wells Fargo Center to accommodate more fans.
I just hope I get a press pass if this does happen, so I can witness stuff like this.
There's been some question as to why a promising sophomore would fall off the radar, and unfortunately the answer is grades. Bailey tweeted these two messages earlier this week:
The College expects all of its students to maintain good academic standing, which is defined as follows:
The student must maintain a term and cumulative g.p.a. of 2.00 or higher.
The student may not earn more than one Incomplete or F in a given semester.
The student must complete at least a total of 6 c.u. over a period of two consecutive semesters (summers not included).
Students who do not fulfill these criteria will be placed on Academic Probation or may be Dropped from the University Rolls at the discretion of the Committee on Undergraduate Academic Standing. Students who earn more than one F may be dropped immediately even if previously in good standing.
This just illustrates the difficulties of playing a consuming sport like football at an Ivy League institution. It's promising to hear that Bailey is working and continuing his education at home, and that he plans to return when his year suspension is up — however, he may have to continue to improve his grades before he is NCAA-eligible again.
Quakers coach Jerome Allen's first recruiting class since taking over at Penn can definitely be considered a success. That said, Allen could not fill his team's most glaring hole -- the need for a legitimate center -- during his first go-round. The void in the middle makes the recruitment of Class of 2012 big man Mike Hall that much more important.
Coordinated, athletic and skilled 6-foot-10 teenagers are hard to come by, especially for an Ivy League school. But Hall, from Woodward Academy in Atlanta, could be just what the Quakers are looking for. The rising senior, listed at a skinny 6'10, 195, said he has been in contact with Allen and assistant Mike Martin since May. The two coaches will head down to Atlanta to see Hall on September 12, then Hall will visit Penn on September 16.
Hall listed Penn among the top five schools he is considering, with Ivy League schools Cornell and Harvard also in the mix, along with Virginia Tech and George Mason. He said both Allen and Crimson head man Tommy Amaker have been "recruiting [him] hard," and gave the impression that the two were neck-and-neck. Academics will play a "big role" in his decision, which he will make in November before the early signing period and his high school season start. He also said Penn's challenging schedule and the "exposure" the program receives are major factors in his interest. Being from the Georgia area, Hall said he was familiar with incoming Penn freshman Henry Brooks from Miller Grove, but does not know him personally.
Woodward coach Anthony Thomas broke down Hall's game similarly to most available scouting reports, calling him "an athletic post guy with touch" who needs to get stronger before making the jump to the collegiate level. Thomas said playing in a great region with several talented bigs to go up against has benefited Hall, who he called "one of the most coachable kids that I have." Here are two scouting reports from ESPN.com, which rated him an 89, and hoopniks.com, which saw Hall play for his AAU team, Worldwide Renegades:
ESPN:
Strengths:
He's a young prospect for his grade. Outstanding student who merits academic/basketball institutions take notice. Pursues balls out of his area, has huge feet and will rebound in traffic. Did we forget about the wingspan?
Weaknesses:
His resume is not long and he's going to be a guy who gets better with each year, that's our bet. Physically hasn't hit his stride and most of his game is in the lane. Seems like he could be a better shot blocker given his makeup and physical attributes.
Bottom Line:
Love his instincts and aggressive play. Our take is that he's a candidate to be a late-blooming big man. This seems like the kind of a kid a mid-major scoops up and then puts it on higher level programs when he gets the chance. Time will tell.
Hoopniks:
6-foot-10 C Mike Hall (Worldwide) – Hall's best attributes are on the defensive end where he blocks or alters shots. Needs the weight room to finish better with contact and for those tough rebounds. Good shooter to 17 feet. Has high ceiling.
Sounds like a better version of Cam Gunter, the only young center on the Quakers' current roster, to me. The fact that Hall is considered a "late-bloomer" is key, because that is the type of prospect that Penn has a legitimate chance of landing. Keep in mind that this situation is different from Maurice Watson's because Watson was interested in Penn before he played AAU ball -- and subsequently blew up -- this summer. The fact that Hall went through the AAU circuit and still remains interested in Penn says a lot.