Sharpshooting 6-foot-10 forward Keelan Cairns committed to Penn yesterday from the United Kingdom. Born in Belfast, Ireland and currently playing at Barking Abbey in Essex, England, Cairns tweeted around 11 p.m. British time that he had committed to play from Penn. Watch his highlights here.
Cairns' teammate, Simeon Esprit, a 6-foot-6 guard, committed to the Quakers today, a source close to the situation told a Daily Pennsylvanian Sports reporter. He played for England's U-16 men's basketball team. Watch his highlights here.
The two reportedly visited campus last week. They are the 4th and 5th recruits to join Penn coach Jerome Allen's first official recruiting class.
"Our high school in Ireland has connections with Penn through the Penn relays and Keelan was also part of a school tour to Philly & New England a few years ago, that's probably where he was first seen," the source said.
Senior Staff Writer Noah Rosenstein contributed reporting to this story.
UPDATE (10 AM): Lloyd Gardner, Cairns and Esprit's coach at Barking Abbey, responded to an email from a few days ago after waiting for the two to commit to Penn.
According to Gardner, Esprit was recruited by Maine, Valparaiso, Hartford and Davidson, while Cairns was recruited by Florida International, Hartford and Tennessee Tech.
Though Gardner provided no time frame, he said their interest began when they were contacted by assistant coach Mike Martin, so they sent him game tapes and then Martin spoke with the players and their families. Head coach Jerome Allen took a visit to London to see them both play, and invited them to the visit that took place March 21-22 with Martin and Allen.
Gardner wrote, "Both players fell in love with Penn during their visit. They loved the college setting and the chance to receive such a high quality education. They spent time with the players on the team and thought that Penn was an ideal fit for them. They have both now canceled visits with other Universities as they are completely sure that Penn offers them the ideal environment to succeed as student athletes. They both stressed to me how welcoming the players and staff were to them during their visit."
Allen's European playing experience proved to be another key, as Gardner called it a "vital factor in both of them committing to play for Penn." Both would like to play professionally following their college careers, and saw Allen as a great person to work with in order to accomplish that. Gardner explained that Allen has a "tremendous reputation" in Europe both "on and off the court" as a player and a coach, and he thinks all European players would be interested in playing for him.
As far as their immediate impact goes, Gardner said the Penn coaches are expecting both to "compete right away," but both need to add strength before next season. Barking Abbey plays in a league that includes three former Ivy League players - Nico Scott and Kevin Bulger from Columbia and Paul Nelson from Yale - and Cairns and Esprit have "matched up well against them." Here is Gardner's breakdown of the strengths of their games:
"Keelan is a 6'11 forward who's biggest strength is his ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter, he is very much a European style big man and possess a high skill set. He has an excellent basketball IQ and is able to pass and handle the ball well for a player of his position and size. He creates big match up problems for the opposition as he drags opposing big men away from the basket."
"Simeon is a 6'6 left handed small forward who is a good athlete. He is long and finishes well at the basket and is one of the top three point shooters in our league. He is an excellent competitor who is able to play well in any system and always plays under control."
This summer, Esprit will play for the England U18 Junior National Team in the European Championships, while Cairns is currently deciding whether to make himself eligible for the Great Britain U20 National Team after previously playing in Ireland.
On Thursday afternoon, coach Jerome Allen and the rest of the men's basketball coaching staff were seen giving a campus tour to freshman Keegan Hyland, a 2010 Maine Mr. Basketball finalist and former Gonzaga Bulldog. Yes, those Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Hyland was a scholarship athlete at the Gonzaga University during his one and only semester in Spokane, Washington but was sidelined for most of the year — first with a knee problem and then later with a concussion he suffered in the team's first game of the season. The 6-4 guard was forced to sit out the entire season and found himself falling behind and out of the team's future as Gonzaga offered scholarships to three new guards for the coming season.
This fact combined with his apparent unhappiness at Gonzaga led to his decision to leave the school in pursuit of another D-1 school, preferably one closer to his home in South Portland, Maine. He took visits took visits to Maine and Vermont in early January, and even told the Portland (Maine) Press Herald that he would choose between the two within a week of his visits. But that window has long passed, Hyland has not committed, and appears to be looking further south with his visit to Penn.
The sharp shooter would be a great addition to a Quakers team that will lose its second leading scorer, Jack Eggleston, to graduation and his outside shooting touch would also open up driving lanes for guards Zack Rosen and Miles Cartwright to penetrate and create shot opportunities. However, there has been no indication as to where he is planning to sign, although if he does choose to sign with a D-1 school, he may have to sit out the entire 2011-2012 per NCAA regulations.
Again, while there is no way to tell whether he is really considering coming to Philadelphia or simply visiting as a formality, this would be a strong get for Jerome Allen in his second year on the recruiting trail.
Here's a youtube video of Hyland's highlights from AAU in 2009:
Pretty big news hit this week in Big 5 basketball. We learned that La Salle will be losing its talented but troubled star center, Aaric Murray, to a transfer. As Dick Jerardi writes, coach John Giannini had been struggling with Murray's attitude all season, as the Explorers' leading scorer and rebounder went through lapses of apathy throughout the season.
There's no doubting La Salle loses a lot with this news. Murray is a special talent (perhaps NBA worthy?) and won't be easily replaced. But what does this mean to the Quakers? Well with the oft-discussed plights of Penn big men, a city foe losing the best one it's had in years has to make next season's matchup that much more favorable for Penn. After taking the Explorers to overtime this season (right before ending its long Big 5 losing streak), Penn might just have a shot at getting to .500 in the city series.
On the other hand, Big 5 fans often like to see any of the five teams doing well regardless of the success of their own allegiance. So from that standpoint, La Salle taking a hit like this doesn't have any silver lining, it just wreaks of disappointment.
What do you think? Has La Salle plummeted in Big 5 competitiveness with the loss of its star center? Or can the Explorers manage to bounce back quickly from this?
Most Penn basketball fans know freshman guard Dau Jok as the kid with the big smile, always one of the first off the bench to dole out high-fives to his teammates. But what most don't know is the heartbreaking and incredible backstory to his life. Jok moved to Des Moines, Iowa in 2003 to get away from the dangers of his homeland Sudan, where his father, Dut, was killed when Dau was just six. But now at Penn, Jok has been honored with the Davis Projects for Peace Award for his role in founding the Dut Jok Youth Foundation back in the Sudan, aimed at helping kids find outlets away from violence. The DP's print edition ran a profile on him entitled "Dreams from his father," and I'll leave it to the author Seth Zweifler to capture just how important Dau's role is off the court:
"Today, however, the boy who once knew nothing but violence is working to become a man who will bring peace to his home of Southern Sudan, which has suffered decades of civil war."
For two must-read pieces on Dau, check out the DP's and Philly.com's profiles.
Before my team's intramural basketball game, I got a chance to watch a four-person dunk contest at the Palestra. Of course, no varsity players were participating, but there was some Red and Blue presence. Freshman Dau Jok looked like a kid in a candy store and was loving every minute of the contest, as he took video with his iPhone. Meanwhile, Tyler Bernardini and asst. coach Leibovitz were guest judges on a panel of about 5 or 6 people.
Initially, I kind of scoffed at the idea that Penn Rec was even hosting this type of event because for all the pickup games I've played at Pottruck's courts, I have seen maybe a handful of dunks — and none was of the high-flying, posterizing sort. But I was wrong. These four participants — three were students, the fourth a West Philly local — were actually impressive leapers.
The one who stood out the most was former Penn player Remy Cofield. A solid 6'4, he left the team mid-season during the 2008-09 campaign — for those so inclined, read here, here, and here for more on why he left the team. Anyway, Cofield definitely showed D-1 athleticism and had a nice repertoire of dunks, including a 180 and a two-handed dunk off the backboard. One of the show-stoppers was his dunk over two of his buddies, who appeared to be around 5'8-5'10. He even tried dunking in place (with no running start) but couldn't quite get enough elevation — still impressive, nonetheless.
Some of the other highlights included a dunk in sandals by one student and the West Philly local's dunk over three Quaker dancers. Definitely a fun event — they even had a funny announcer who ribbed all of the participants in between dunks — despite the low turnout. I imagine not many showed up because nobody really thinks anyone on this campus can throw down, but maybe word will spread and more will show up if Penn Rec decides to do it again next year.
Various news outlets reported earlier today that former Penn football player and Eagles great Chuck Bednarik was hospitalized and in serious condition after experiencing shortness of breath. He was admitted to nearby St. Luke's hospital, though no comment was given on his condition.
Came across an interesting SI.com article by former Cornell basketball player Jon Jaques. The guard averaged 6.7 points for the Big Red last year during their incredible run to the Sweet 16. Now, he plays for Ironi "Eldan" Ashkelon in Israel. Penn's own Zack Rosen told me over the summer he'd love to play ball in Israel after graduation, so perhaps he could learn a bit from Jaques' experience as detailed in the article. Jaques talks about the adjustment overseas, using new media to keep in touch with those back in the States, and how he almost got enlisted into the Israeli army!
Here's a little treat from the DP print edition. With the Sweet 16 starting today, we put together a little infographic of the tournament so far, by the numbers.
Thanks to our designer, Leslie Krivo-Kaufman and Kevin Esteves for putting this together.
The Recruiting Moment: At breakfast during the recruiting trip, King and some other recruits were talking casually with offensive coordinators and it was all the things that he wanted to hear.
The Skinny: With 78 tackles and eight sacks on defense, Penn would have a good recruit on defense. On offense Penn has something better. A rivals two-star and 1st team All-State tight end, King is a receiving-first tight end who “likes to get out and spread things out.” He will need to improve his blocking, but getting stronger will help him out.
The Quote: “I want to establish myself as player who's going to work hard and be respected [by the team] for that.”
From time to time we like to stop and chat with Penn Athletes about things other than sports — what they're studying, who's on their iPod, favorite pickup lines, etc. This week's featured athlete for our '30 seconds with' feature is second baseman Justine Payne of the softball team. Alex Siegel is our man on the streets:
With only two weeks remaining in the college basketball season, we're starting to see coaching moves and rumors popping up across the country. I came upon two interesting notes today concerning the coaches of two prominent Penn opponents: Villanova and Princeton.
ESPN Insider, citing Adam Zagoria's ZagsBlog.com, listed Sydney Johnson as a candidate for the opening at Fairfield after the Stags' Ed Cooley moved on to Providence. It doesn't seem to be anything more than a rumor at this point, and Johnson's name was part of a list of five different candidates to replace Cooley. I would be utterly shocked if Johnson left Princeton, at least this season. Frankly I find it interesting his name is even being tossed around, not because he's unworthy of a better gig, but because I just don't see him leaving Princeton anytime soon.
According to GoVolsXtra.com, 'Nova's Jay Wright is being considered as one of five leading candidates to take over for Bruce Pearl at Tennessee. This seems like a much more likely scenario than Sydney Johnson leaving Princeton. 'Nova loves Jay Wright, and he loves 'Nova, Philadelphia, and the Big 5, but I don't see him being as tied down to the Wildcats as Johnson is to his alma mater. It definitely wouldn't be an easy or obvious move for Wright to make. Some might even see it as a step down from Villanova to Tennessee (I would be on that boat). But in the craziness of the coaching carousel, this at least seems plausible and it's worth keeping an eye on. Wright's name has come up in coaching rumors the past few years, and after a very tumultuous end to this season, it might be the time we see him move on.
Ed's note:rumors are also swirling around the internet that former Penn coach and current director of basketball operations at UConn, Glen Miller is top on the candidate list for an opening at Colgate. Interestingly, the athletic director at Colgate, David Roach, was the AD at Brown when Miller was hired there, so the two are already well acquainted.
Recruit: Trevor Niemann from Palos Verdes, California
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 180 pounds
High School: Suffield Academy, Suffield, CT.
Position at Penn: WR/DB
Recruited By: Dartmouth
The Recruiting Moment: Niemann, a three-star recruit on ESPN.com, had committed to Dartmouth at the end of his junior year, but at the end of his senior year decided to do a post-graduate year. This past fall he applied early decision to Dartmouth, but took an unofficial visit to Penn a week before the application deadline. The visit caused him to withdraw his application to Dartmouth and choose Penn.
The Skinny: The speedy WR/DB originally hailed from Chadwick School, CA where he was named second-team All-State. He completed his postgraduate year at Suffield Academy and is an athletic freak with impressive 4.49 40-yard dash and 41 inch vertical at the Army Combine. “The post-graduate year helped me and gave me another year of football under my belt,” Niemann said. He will have to continue to his development from last year to come up to speed in coach Jon Dupont’s cornerback corps.
The Quote: “I always kind of saw myself as a defensive player…and my height would give me and advantage as one of the bigger corners.”
I chronicled much of my great experience at the NCAAWrestlingChampionships this past weekend at the Wells Fargo Center, but there's one big story I left out. The subway rides to and from the event were very interesting, as I'm used to riding with Phillies/Sixers/Flyers/Eagles fans. Instead, wrestling fans from all over the country were on board discussing that night's matches.
On our way home Friday night, Kevin Esteves, Sushaan Modi and I met some former wrestlers from Duquesne and talked with them on the ride from AT&T Station to City Hall. The interaction is notable for a few reasons:
1) They were very nice, funny guys, which wrestlers typically are, despite sometimes being intimidating to talk to; 2) the assistant wrestling coach at their Pittsburgh-area high school? Local hero and wrestling legend Kurt Angle, a two-time NCAA champion at Clarion University (Pa.), 1996 Olympic gold medalist and, later, a World Wrestling Federation superstar. Apparently Angle is also a nice guy, and coached high school while training for the Olympics; 3) Duquesne plans to drop its wrestling program in the near future, an all-too-common occurrence on the collegiate level since wrestling is not a revenue-generating sport like football and basketball. The sport may also be dealing with the consequences of Title IX. La Salle, Temple and Villanova have all dropped their varsity programs. 4) One of the reporters at the championships was a woman studying how wrestling in college can help people the rest of their lives. She's found that wrestlers are particularly good at preparing themselves for things like tests, job interviews and speeches because they prepared so rigorously for wrestling. The guys we talked to said this was definitely true.
Last thing of note: this weekend's event was such a success that a push to bring the tournament back to Philly in 2015 has already begun. I can say first-hand that this would be a great thing for the city, and a great thing for Penn.
I was recently directed to a new website, stadiumjourney.com, which reviews different sports venues, and their review of Penn's own Palestra. The survey hits on the main points one would expect from someone taking in the historic Cathedral of College Basketball. "The arena’s intimacy, acoustics and atmosphere are unmatched," the reviewer writes. "When you are inside, it feels like you have taken a step back in time. The Palestra is college basketball at its finest."
The review is broken up into different categories. Tellingly, food gets 3/5 stars (I wouldn't have been so generous in that score), atmosphere gets 5/5 (I'll agree, on some nights), Neighborhood gets 5/5, Fans get 5/5, and Access is 2/5.
The reviewer notes that his scoring is based off of none other than Penn's first Big 5 win in years, when a sizable crowd saw Penn beat St. Joe's in January. I'd be curious to see how the review would change had he come to see Lafayette play on a Tuesday night. He's also spot on in terms of access. Parking nearby can be an issue, and for a non-regular, I can understand it being difficult to find the actual building. Hopefully the creation of the new green in front of the building once the tennis courts are moved will fix that problem.
Two items to share following Penn 141-pounder Zack Kemmerer's big weekend at the Wells Fargo Center. Kemmerer became the 14th Penn wrestler to reach All-American status (the Quakers' have reached the status 25 total times), the first at 141, by beating Andrew Alton of national champion Penn State. Kemmerer lost his next match and finished eighth.
Here's a video of Kemmerer's announcement from Sushaan Modi from his balcony seat on press row:
And here, courtesy of Jennifer Scuteri, is the front door of the fraternity house in which many of the wrestlers live, Alpha Tau Omega ("Congrats Kemmerer, 2011 All-American"):
Fran Dunphy's Owls take on Steve Fisher's San Diego State Aztecs tonight in Tucson, Ariz. The last time Dunphy and Fisher coached against each other? December 13, 1994, when current Temple assistant Shawn Trice found current Penn head man Jerome Allen for the game-clinching bucket in the Quakers' 62-60 upset of then-No. 25 Michigan. That Wolverines team featured just two of the Fab Five - guards Ray Jackson and Jimmy King - after Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose and Chris Webber left for the NBA in 1993.
Another note in Penn history: yesterday marked the 17th anniversary of Dunphy and Allen's 1994 upset of Nebraska in the NCAA tournament. Allen posted 18 points and 10 assists in Penn's 90-80 victory, which remains its last tourney win.
Penn women's lacrosse looks to extend their Ivy winning streak to 31 games against Yale this afternoon. Alyssa Kress will give the play by play from Franklin Field. Follow along below:
So the Tigers came up just short against powerhouse Kentucky, to the surprise of anyone who doubts the talent level within Ivy League basketball. But for the second time in a week, Princeton put on a good showing in front of a national audience. The first time was Saturday in the thrilling playoff game for the Ivy title. The game was watched by 54,449 unique viewers on ESPN3 according to Ivy Athletics. That number is nearly double what Executive Director of Ivy Athletics Robin Harris told me earlier in the week - she heard 30,000 from "a reliable source." And though numbers aren't yet available, surely a lot more watched on CBS Thursday in the tournament. Here's more from my interview with Harris on the success of the ESPN3 webcast and Princeton in general:
On getting the game on ESPN3: "It was very easy. ESPN was very interested in covering the game. They had covered 2 other games recently for us (Harvard-Princeton, Penn-Princeton). We reached out to several networks about a month or so ago just to see who might have air availability."
"They were also interested to cover it on ESPN-U but had a limited window of availability. We were thrilled to have coverage ... The issue came down to availability in those timeslots."
On Douglas Davis' buzzer-beater leading SportsCenter, and national attention in general: "It’s great publicity for the Ivy League during a huge basketball weekend … It was just very exciting to see that featured over and over … It shows that in Division I athletics we can operate competitive athletic programs."
For anyone hoping the game could have been televised on a major network, Harris explained that no network would award the game a timeslot a month ago when a playoff wasn't guaranteed to happen (it was the first playoff game since 2002). All in all, it's been a great week for Ivy League basketball
Four months after the Penn men's basketball season began, we've arrived at our final episode of This Week on 33rd Street. I've had more DP writers and editors join me than I can count. Nonetheless, check out this week's video to see Kevin, Sushaan and my thoughts on the season as a whole.
Thanks to our video producers, Levi Gikandi and Shumita Basu and multimedia editor Liz Jacobs for all their help with the video.
Just a friendly reminder that brackets in our DP/Smoke's Bracket Challenge close at noon today. Good luck to everyone who's entered!
Once you've got your picks squared away, feel free to share any thoughts on the field or today's games below in the comments. Or feel free to tear mine to shreds!
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