While college hoops coaches are on the road all month for the July open period, the Ivy Basketball Blog (The 14-Game Tournament) used some sort of statistical algorithm to predict standings for the upcoming Ivy season. I'll try to explain the method to the madness, but if you find it just as mind-boggling as I do, here are major takeaways:
Penn finishes fourth (behind Harvard, Yale and Princeton, respectively).
While Harvard's predicted win percentage is .798, Yale and Princeton barely sit above .500. Essentially, this indicates a significant drop between the top two teams, in contrast to the nearly identical win percentages of last season's top squads Harvard and Princeton.
Penn has a 14.4 % chance at a share of second place and a 7.4% chance to finish seventh. I won't even attempt to explain the math behind that — the point is that there is just a three-game swing between 2nd and 7th place. (Think Penn's 3 consecutive OT losses last season.)
I'll be honest- I'm a bit skeptical of these rankings considering they are based completely on statistics — both real and made up. The author used individual player statistics and pitted those against team opponents. In theory, I suppose this works, but when teams lose players to graduation (which is the case for all Ivies except Harvard) the statistics are muddled. For freshmen and reserve players, stats were predicted to be a bit lower than average or expected, which may explain some of the disparity in the rankings between Harvard and the rest of the Ancient 8.
I favored lower efficiency rather than higher, admittedly leaving a lot of potential upside for a breakout candidate.
As uncertain as I may be, last year's predictions accurately placed Harvard and Princeton tied at the top with Dartmouth bringing up the rear. Everything in between, however, was mixed up (Penn was predicted 3rd and Yale 6th, for example).
Personally, I think Penn will certainly finish higher than fourth and with a better win percentage than the predicted .430. I have no qualms against the Crimson being the top pick, though I think they'll get a run for their money from Yale, Princeton and/or Penn. Twelve Ivy wins seems ambitious for Harvard as well — while the Crimson have the advantage of a full returning squad, the rest of the league has already seen this exact team twice (or in Princeton's case, three times). I expect the Tigers to struggle a bit with the coaching transition and could easily trade spots in the rankings with Penn.
All said, the author hits the nail on the head in the analysis of the Quakers. The "Big 3" backcourt of Rosen, Cartwright and Bernardini is there, yet uncertainty looms everywhere else due to current lack of big men up front. And it is important not to discount the preliminary nature of these rankings — numbers will shuffle a bit once schedules and rosters are finalized.
Share your thoughts: how accurate are these statistical predictions?
Eye-raising news here, courtesy of Philly.com. According to a Wikileaks finding, there have been some Jamaicans who have used the Penn Relays to immigrate illegally into the U.S. The annual event, held at Penn's own Franklin Field, attracts thousands of fans and athletes, including about 40 Jamaican teams (and their supporters) every year.
The Jamaican presence at Relays is undeniable and their fans fill the stands and electrify the crowds every year. That's why it would be extremely unfortunate if their future presence was always met with suspicion. There certainly needs to be a better system for combating this type of illegal immigration, but that doesn't mean people will necessarily stop attempting to do so. There are huge incentives for doing so, as director Dave Johnson acknowledged in the Philly.com piece:
The lure of America and "desire to make enough of a name to get a scholarship here," Johnson said, "are enormous motivators."
Serving as a distance coach for the Quakers this past season, Blake Boldon has been promoted as head coach of both the men's and women's cross-country squads. For a coach who graduated from college just eight years ago, Boldon has already enjoyed a good deal of success. Before graduating, though, he was a star at Missouri State, where he became the Missouri Valley Conference's Most Valuable Athlete — Indoor. From a coaching standpoint, he has held a number of assistant positions, including gigs with the following schools: his alma mater, Florida State, and Iowa State.
Boldon also does have prior head coaching experience, leading the University of Alabama-Birmingham's women's cross country team back in 2009.
He will be continuing his work with a Penn squad that had a number of standouts last year, including rising junior Leslie Kovach — who became just the 2nd outdoor All-American in the women's track and field program's history.
The NBA is locked out. Its players are mulling over playing in Europe in the interim. So let's take a look at what goes on in the Euroleagues.
Better yet, let's take a look at some highlights of one dude who made the move from the NBA to Europe way before it was cool -- Jerome Allen.
First, amongst a series of highlights from the 2007-08 Serie A1 season in Italy, is this nifty pass that Allen gets back for a layup (feel free to stop after the selected highlight):
Later on that season we get an even niftier no-look, behind the back pass from Jerome, who finds the cutter for an easy basket (again, feel free to stop the video after the play, unless you enjoy the great music):
Last but not least (or the only other video on youtube), is this nasty crossover, followed by the same no-look behind the back assist (the quality on this one isn't great, but wait for the replay half-way through):
Just over two months out from the start of Penn football season, and it's time to get your calendars out and pencil in the schedule. Penn announced the kickoff times for all of its home games as well as all but one away game (what's the holdup, Dartmouth?).
Penn starts under the lights Saturday Sept. 17, with a 6 p.m. tilt against Lafayette. They'll play Villanova in an away game at the Frank, also at 6 p.m. and then two weeks later, host Fordham also at 6 p.m.
Athletic Director Steve Bilsky said last fall that playing evening games is something "we want to do," so with a two-time returning Ivy champion, we will see if the later start times bring more students. It could be a perfect storm for Bilsky with a great team returning, the opening of Penn Park this fall and new spaces for tailgating.
Can Penn students handle so much football under the lights? Here's your answer.
Penn has gone 30 years since getting it's last men's basketball recruit out of the Philadelphia Public League, and it appears the Quakers will go at least one more as Xavier Harris is now decommitted.
Harris, a graduate of Constitution High, gave the Quakers an oral commitment in late January, though he was reportedly told he would have to raise his SAT scores 30 points. But a tweet today from Joe Stein of New Jersey Shore Shots basketball club indicates that the 6-foot-5 forward is "now available" and will be playing with the club during the upcoming recruiting period.
The decommitment brings the recruiting class back down to six players -- three forwards and three guards. Despite the sentimental loss of bringing a local kid (and pubber no-less) to Penn, coach Jerome Allen also loses a player in a position where the Quakers will need the most help.
Of the three remaining big men coming to Penn next year, Greg Louis appears to be the most game-ready. Irish recruit Keelan Cairns will likely need some time to adjust to the American college style of play, and it is unclear just how game-ready Henry Brooks will be since tearing his ACL earlier this year.
While Penn is yet to announce any of its 2011-12 men's basketball schedule, a few early dates have leaked in from the Quakers' competitors, and now it appears a season opener at home is has been set.
Temple released its non-conference schedule, leading off with a Nov. 14 tilt with Penn at the Palestra, the earliest these two teams have every played according to Temple's website. After traveling to the Liacouras center last year, Penn hosts the Owls and former Quakers head man Fran Dunphy this season.
This is a great move by those involved with the scheduling (I seem to remember the coach of one team playing for the coach of the other...). A Big 5 matchup against a Top-25 team from a year ago spells for a great night at the Palestra, which should draw a crowd. Temple won the last matchup, 73-56, on Jan. 19, and has won every year since Dunphy's first season across the Schuylkill in 2006-07. The only issue with the date is it falls on a Monday -- not the biggest draw for students.
- Right-handed pitcher Paul Cusick, drafted by the Phillies in the 29th round of last month's MLB draft, has thrown 10 innings over four appearances so far in the Rookie Gulf Coast League. All of his outings have come in relief, but the team (which plays in Clearwater, Fla.) has stretched him out to four innings on June 27 and most recently three innings on July 5. Overall, the 2011 Ivy League Pitcher of the Year has fared well, giving up four runs in those 10 innings on nine hits, four walks and 10 strikeouts.
No word on the status of junior pitcher Vince Voiro, selected by the Padres in the 47th round.
- The Kansas City Star, reporting on Doug Glanville's recent appearance at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, passed along this quote from the former Quakers star:
“College ended up becoming an asset ... Baseball is a game of families. You see parents out there trying to figure out what’s next for their kids. My parents supported me a lot as a result of my focus on education. They knew that it was important.”
Considering that many of the top prospects in the MLB draft come straight from high school, Glanville's stance as an Ivy League graduate remains important. Three current Quakers have the rare chance to play pro baseball, and Glanville - a former New York Times op-ed columnist who now writes and serves as a television analyst for ESPN - provides an example of how a Penn education will help them in their post-baseball lives.
For those interested, here's my Apr. 2010 story (featuring insight from Glanville) about the rarely traveled path from the Ivies to the MLB.
At the world’s largest fencing event, one Quaker came out on top.
Rising sophomore Joseph Isaac won the Under-19 Men’s Epee event at the North American Cup last Friday in Reno, NV outlasting 234 other competitors to win the gold medal.
The Morris Plains, N.J. native competed for nearly nine hours during the event, competing in early-round pool bouts and then 10 bouts of direct elimination and repechage.
He began the event hot, knocking off four straight wins. However, in his fifth match, Isaac lost a bout to Joseph Rafidi of M.I.T., 14-13, in overtime.
Fortunately for Isaac, he was able to continue to fence in the repechage — a double elimination format that generally allows the best fencers of the day to advance.
From this point on, the rising sophomore was perfect. He had a five-bout winning streak, taking each match by a margin of three points or more, setting up another match with Rafidi in the North American Cup final.
The two went to overtime again — the third time in three meetings dating back to M.I.T.’s Eric Sollee Invitational in February.
Isaac won the coin toss for priority and thus, had the advantage of needing to just play defense to get the win. However, with the help of his coach, he chose to go on the offensive, surprising his opponent, and ultimately bringing home the gold.
Jamal Lewis, a shooting guard out of Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.), committed to Penn last night, says Scout's Evan Daniels, who got a text from Lewis this morning.
Then there's this tweet from Penn Basketball's twitter feed around 10 a.m. this morning, which also seems to imply some good news for the Quakers:
That's a lot of .........s ...
Lewis isn't big, weighing in at 6-foot, 165 lbs. Nonetheless, he's rated an 85 by ESPN, 68th at his position. Both Scout and ESPN list him as a two-star recruit, and both already list his verbal commitment. ESPN describes him as:
An athletic, scoring combo guard. He is a playmaker that can create for himself and others. He shoots a variety of shots and can run them off when he catches hot. He played more off guard in this event but showcased his point guard skills with his ability to play off a ball screen and set up his teammate for a bucket in transition or spotting up. Jamal slashes to the basket and adjusts well off of contact to complete the play....At times he can get sped up or hold the ball to long that leads him into turnovers.
If the name sounds familiar to you, it's not because of the Baltimore Ravens/Cleveland Browns running back and Pro-bowl player. We actually reported back in January that Jerome Allen was spotted at a Sidwell game Scouting Lewis. From a Buzz post on Jan. 4:
A good friend from Penn tells me he saw coach Jerome Allen and spoke to him Tuesday night at a Sidwell Friends High School basketball game in Washington, D.C., scouting Sidwell point guard Jamal Lewis (not the Jamal Lewis).... This is interesting because a) Sidwell Friends' mascot is the Fighting Quakers, b) Jet-setting Jerome must have hopped straight on a train to DC after arriving in Philly, and c) Sidwell Friends is famous for being the school where the Obamachildren go, as well as where Chelsea Clinton attended.
Some more links on Lewis:
Here's a 2010 (his soph. year) game story that focuses largely on him from Washington Post's All-Met sports section. There's a good video in there of Jamal, his coach, and teammate talking about his game. Notably, the article said he was drawing interest from high-majors like Syracuse and Wake Forest back then.
And Here, best of all, is a "Player Diary" from a website called i95Ballerz.com, in which Lewis describes himself, his game, his recruiting (including a laundry list of schools looking at him), and even mundane stuff like his winter exams. As Lewis writes, "It's good to end on a high note." (Here is pt. 2 and Here is pt. 3) And Here is an update from i95Ballerz with quotes from Lewis and his coach.
Recent graduate and Quaker big man Conor Turley may have to touch up on his Spanish in the summer months.
This weekend, Turley signed with Pioneros de Quintana Roo, a professional basketball team in Cancun, Mexico. Training camp begins on August 1.
Turley, who averaged 5.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per game for the Red and Blue this season, played 26 of 28 games, making 15 starts.
The Pioneros are a fairly new team, having been founded only in 2006. Nonetheless, according to the team's website — translated from Spanish — the Pioneros have already won a league championship in the Southeast and one runner-up in the first edition of the Liga Centroamericana de Baloncesto, LCB — the Central American Basketball League.
I was alerted this morning by a breaking press release that Penn's own women's athletics program finished No. 51 (out of 62) in the Capital One Cup!
The Penn women finished with 4 points overall (winner Standford had 121), which according the release "was [the] result of [a] top 10 finish in lacrosse this spring season." The Quakers tied for 51st (full standings here) with the Michigan State Spartans and the Stony Brook Seawolves, which, as always, begs the question: what is a seawolf?
A little digging around on Stony Brook's website reveals that: "The Seawolf is a mythical sea creature of the Tlingit tribe, said to bring good luck to all those fortunate enough to see it." Okay.
Anyway back to the important stuff: Brown was the top Ivy finisher in the women's standings, finishing with 20 points at No. 27. (For those who don't follow NCAA women's rowing, Brown won it all this year, propelling them into the upper echelon half of this competition). Princeton followed with 18 points in 31st place. While men's sports are still dragging on, Cornell is currently in 30th, Yale in 61st and Brown in 71st. Last time I checked, none of those programs is going to win the College World Series, so their stock can only fall at this point...
If you, like me, are wondering how this competition works, Capital One awards points to programs for Top 10 finishes in NCAA championships and final coaches polls. According to the Cup's website, "Sports are grouped based on fan interest, school participation and other factors."
The winning programs receive a swanky trophy and $200,000 toward graduate-level scholarships for student-athletes. In case you hadn't heard, "the Capital One Cup is college athletics' new premier award." Don't tell the Heisman, BCS Championship trophy, Naismith Award or basketball championship trophies.
Described by the Charleston Post and Courier as a "Seldom-used sophomore guard," Stephen Spinella told Asbury Park he was looking at Monmouth, Penn, Coastal Carolina, and Troy. Spinella graduated from Colts Neck High School in Englishtown, N.J., and took a prep year at Apex Academy Prep School, and he averaged 32.0 points per game during his one season there. According to the article, he chose South Carolina over Penn State, Seton Hall and Arizona State.
Spinella saw time in 15 of the Gamecocks' 30 contests this season — by far the lowest of any player on the squad. He averaged 10.9 minutes. He shot 36 percent overall and was 7-for-18 from three, racking up 21 rebounds.
Of course, if Spinella were to join the Quakers, he would have to sit out a year, per NCAA regulations.
So to look deeper at Huntsman's roots at Penn, let's see what was happening in the world of Penn sports when he roamed West Philly — after transferring to Penn, the presidential hopeful graduated in 1987. When Huntsman was a Quaker...
Penn Basketball went 13-14 (10-4 Ivy, 0-4 Big 5) under Tom Schneider. Despite having no luck in the Big 5 (we know how you feel, Jon), the Quakers won their 13th Ivy title, led by Ivy Player of the Year Perry Bromwell. The Quakers beat Princeton by one point in OT that year (we don't know how you feel, Jon), to pull ahead in the standings. They faced UNC in the first round of the tourney, and got clobbered 113-82. That, too, sounds a little familiar.
Jerome Allen was 14.
Led by coach Ed Zubrow, Penn football won the Ivy title in the fall of 1986, going an undefeated 7-0 (sound familiar?). Penn running back Rich Comizio was the Bushnell Cup winner for Player of the Year. The '86 championship capped off a 5-year run as Ivy champions (or co-champions) for the Quakers.
Penn women's lax went 2-4 in the Ivy League in 1987. Patty Kennedy was an All-American.
In 1986, Penn's heavyweight crew came in second in the Grand Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta, falling to Nautilus of Great Britain in the finals.
Randy Cox was the the Heps champion in the 110m and 400m hurdles .
Penn women's soccer did not exist.
Penn field hockey went 12-4 (5-1 Ivy) to win the Ancient Eight. The Quakers lost to Rutgers 3-2 in the NCAA tourney.
Steve Bilsky was athletic director at George Washington University.
Michael Avery, a 6'5 rising senior at Crespi High School (Cali.), reportedly named Penn as his "dream school," according to a tweet by The Recruit Scoop.
2012 SG Michael Avery on his Penn visit: "That Penn visit was the best visit I have ever been on.. that was crazy! It's my dream school."
Obviously, it's early but this is noteworthy for Avery's backstory alone. Back in 8th grade, he made headlines nationwide for accepting a scholarship offer to play college ... at the University of Kentucky. Already standing 6'4 at the time, Avery impressed then-coach Billy Gillispie at an AAU tournament so much that he got the offer and later made the verbal commitment.
Not too surprisingly, things didn't necessarily pan out the way they were expected to three years ago (would have been remarkable, honestly, if things didn't change). Anyway, Gillispie was fired a year later and Avery and UK sort of went their separate ways over the next two years. On the court, Avery played well but apparently not 8th-grade UK commit well — to the point that he now does not have a scholarship offer. That must be partly due to the fact that he was forced to sit out his junior season after he transferred back and forth from Crespi, but it also shows how life can change quickly (and why, for the sake of both parties, no 8th grader should be getting scholarship offers).
Yesterday, David Geatz was announced as the newest head coach of the Penn men's tennis team. Geatz has some Ivy credibility, vaulting Cornell to two of its best conference finishes (2008-10) in program history (both years, 2nd-place; the best until Cornell's Ivy title in 2011). He also coached the University of Minnesota's men's team for 18 years, during which he won five Big Ten championships.
The hiring of Geatz officially marks the transition from former coach Nik DeVore, who resigned after Penn's third straight season finishing 1-6 in the Ancient Eight. Both DeVore and booster Clay Hamlin said in interviews back in April that the new tennis center (set to open this fall) would attract a bevy of qualified candidates for the vacant head coaching position. Geatz certainly seems to fit that bill, but time will tell if that can translate into results.
Capping off a busy week for Penn baseball, another graduate is going pro. Pitcher Paul Cusick signed with the Phillies last week, and he'll now have some company in Clearwater Fla., as his teammate and classmate Will Davis is scheduled to join him there on Tuesday, when he will sign with the ballclub.
Davis, a power-hitting catcher from Georgia, went undrafted, but reportedly worked out for the Phillies prior to last week's MLB Draft.
The Phillies apparently liked what they saw from Davis, as he was offered a contract today, according to a tweet from Penn Athletics.
In his junior campaign, Davis finished with 12 home runs, tying the Penn single-season record. This year he hit just six long balls after the NCAA updated its bat specifications, making them less powerful. His 25 career home runs ranks second all time at Penn. Davis was first-team All Ivy and All Big 5 this season. He also hit .304 this season with 16 doubles and 27 RBI.
In addition to his power numbers, Davis deserves recognition for his efforts behind the plate. He started in 39 out of 40 games for Penn this season, and as catcher, he deserves some of the credit in Cusick's Ivy Pitcher of the Year nod. He caught 17 runners stealing on 58 attempts.
Saturday afternoon Cusick jokingly posted on Facebook a note for his friend Davis, who he also lived with at Penn:
"Just want to congratulate Will Davis for signing with the phillies, gonna have to tell them to change my single bed to a queen size."
Two items of note in your Penn Athletics news this Friday:
After a whirlwind couple of days, pitcher Paul Cusick signed a contract with the Phillies Thursday, officially employing him with the team he grew up rooting for. My man Chan Park, summer sports editor for the DP, has a story in this week's issue, which you can read here. You can also watch this video courtesy of Penn Athletics, in which Cusick notes that he'll be bringing sunscreen down to Clearwater, Fla., where he'll begin the pro-acclimation process with other draftees.
In news on campus, Dick Jerardi of the Daily News writes about some improvements coming to a Palestra near you this offseason — notably, new scoreboards. In the article, Athletic Director Steve Bilsky admits he doesn't know quite how old the current scoreboards are, but Jerardi guesstimates that they're somewhere between "25 and 40 years old."
The issue with updating the scoreboards is that any time something changes in the Cathedral of College Basketball, the Palestra diehards go up in arms. The AD says he's trying to walk a fine line between improving the fan experience while not changing the arena's atmosphere. Interestingly, Jerardi writes that the scoreboard facing Penn's student section will be nicer than the one facing opponents' fans:
"The east end board, opposite the Penn student section, will have video capability. The other board, behind the students, will also have bells and whistles. But, Bilsky promised, they won't be leading anybody in cheers."
While I'll miss the teletype style ads for Amtrak and the Inquirer, the ability to watch a replay sure goes a long way towards bringing Penn basketball into the 20th century. Maybe if we had the new videoboards last season we could have seen this when it happened. (Perhaps Bilsky is reconsidering now...)
Jokes aside, Bilsky actually mentioned these scoreboards in our editors' sitdown back in January. Back then, the AD was a little vague on the timetable, saying he would like to get it done by next season, and it now appears that it will be done by then. He also mentioned using it for other purposes:
"What I could see happening is using the Palestra for things beyond basketball — maybe have movie nights and things like that where students can come down and utilize the facility in a way that’s beyond a basketball game." Or, he continued, "If you had an NCAA Tournament game, you could bring people down to watch it on the screen." A big 'if'. If movie nights do come to fruition, I'm putting in my request now for Air Bud. Or anything with Denzel.
Yesterday Penn had its first MLB draft pick in seven years. The next one came much quicker. Right-handed Pitcher Vince Voiro went to the San Diego Padres, 532 picks after his teammate Paul Cusick was drafted by the Phillies.
Vorio started nine games this season (including five complete games), posting a 4.28 ERA and a 4-5 record. He K'd 57 batters and walked 24 in 61 innings.
“It has always been a dream of mine to be drafted,” Voiro told Penn Athletics. “I hasn’t really thought too much about it coming true until after last summer, and it has been a crazy ride since then. There is still a lot of work to be done, so hopefully this is just the start of the journey.”
The Quakers also had two draft picks in 2003, Ben Krantz and Russ Brocato.
Unlike Cusick, who was looking for employment after graduating, Voiro is a rising senior and will have to decide whether to punch his ticket to pro ball — he was picked in the 47th round out of 50 — or to finish out his last year at Penn and risk not being drafted next season. However, if Voiro were to have a breakout year next season like Cusick did this year, his stock may rise and he may find himself drafted higher next year.
After a stellar senior Ivy season, pitcher Paul Cusick was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 29th round of the MLB Draft today.
Cusick was the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year after notching five wins and a 2.70 ERA. He threw 80 strikeouts in 66.2 innings. His numbers were even more impressive during Ivy play in the second half of the season. He was the 901st player picked in the 2011 draft.
"It is surreal," Cusick told Penn Athletics. "I was home watching the Phillies game with my family and we had the computer up as well with the Draft on. We heard my name called and all looked at each other in amazement and we were all just so happy."
According to Penn Athletics, Cusick grew up a Phillies fan in Wilmington, Del.
You can listen to Cusick talking to local radio station KYW here.
He is the first Quaker selected from the draft since 2004. The most recent and notable Penn players to make the majors are Mark DeRosa, who won a World Series ring with the San Francisco Giants last year, and Doug Glanville, who played for the Phillies as well.
Here's a list from Penn's announcement of recent Quakers to get their name called in the draft:
Recent Penn Players Drafted in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft:
2011 - Paul Cusick (Philadelphia Phillies) 29th Round
2004 - Brian Winnings (Cleveland Indians) 48th Round
2003 - Ben Krantz (Arizona Diamondbacks) 15th Round
2003 - Russ Brocato (Baltimore Orioles) 29th Round
2003 - Andrew McCreery (Arizona Diamondbacks) 32nd Round
1996 - Mark DeRosa (Atlanta Braves) 7th Round
1991 - Doug Glanville (Chicago Cubs) 1st Round
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