On Buzz commenting

Buzz readers,

I have noticed a growing trend in the comments and subsequent responses that I would like to address.

From my perspective, blog comments are meant to add something informative to a discussion and are characterized by being knowledgeable and engaged. In other words, I see a good blog commenter as a courteous contributor that responds to the information published in a post.

It is one thing to ask questions or criticize an opinion stated in a piece--you have the right to agree or disagree with our opinions, and we don't expect every Buzz comment to be positive feedback. But it is another thing entirely to engage in demeaning attacks that seem to serve little purpose except to hurl excessive insults at our student writers. More importantly than being how this effects our staff, these malicious responses actually drive other readers away from joining the discussion.

While I have no intention of playing the "comment police," I just ask that you use discretion in your comments and keep these things in mind, whether addressing one of our staff members or a fellow commenter. Not only will this promote a better atmosphere in which our writers feel they can truly respond to some of your concerns, but it will foster a community of Penn sports fans that can engage in solid discussion of Penn athletics.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to send me an e-mail.

--Michael Gold, Senior Sports Editor

No fear for second-years

The nature of college athletics is such that each year, underclassmen need to step up. And with an Ivy League title to defend, it was even more important this season that a core group occupied the recent graduates' roles on the Penn football team.

Enter the Class of 2013. These Quakers seem to be in no sophomore slump — in fact, many of their statistics show incredible improvement between the 2009 season and this season’s first three games.

After the jump, more musings from these sophomores that didn't make it into today's DP article.

Sophomore punter Scott Lopano, who played every game as a freshman, praised his class for their efforts and determination. “The sophomore class has put in a lot of hard work and determination to be much better than we were last year, and to get better every year. So it’s always good to see that fire to win another one. Instead of the underdog fire, you have to have the repeat fire.” And the “repeat fire” that Lopano spoke about gives the young sophomores a reason to feel confident against older opponents.

“I know Billy Ragone had a great game last Saturday [against Dartmouth]. He’s built a lot of confidence from last year [even though he played] only two games before he got injured. But those two games he played were fantastic. He built a lot of confidence, even though he got injured … I think knowing that he was part of that team, and contributed to that team, gave him a lot of confidence coming into the season. I know he’s probably playing as well as he is because of that confidence. There’s definitely plenty of kids that have put in time — I know Brandon Copeland on defense is a really dominant sophomore for us and he’s just a ridiculous athlete. He played really well last year and he got recognized by the coaches, so the confidence that he has coming into this year is substantial too.”

Copeland echoed that sentiment.

“I don’t have to get comfortable playing physical. I’m comfortable with myself, I know I can play with the people I’m playing against because I played last year. Right now I’m more mentally aware, I’m more sure with myself, I know the plays and all that stuff. It’s helped me a lot, [I’m] more confident.

“This year has been so much easier, I know what to expect, I know what to look for, I know what we’re doing every day, [I know] pretty much the plan, I know we’re traveling on certain days, get your work done before a certain day, as compared to last year when I was just a freshman, I was just all about playing so I didn’t do that much work.”

Update (#2) on Wes Saunders

Wes Saunders has made all of his official visits, according to The Crimson, and will decide with his family where he wants to play college ball in the coming weeks. He is choosing between Penn, Harvard, Colorado, Loyola Marymount and USC. He visited Harvard this past weekend and Penn on the 18th of September.

He had one interesting note to say comparing Harvard to Penn:

“I felt like there was a better connection with the players; I thought the talent level was a little higher at Harvard,” Saunders said. “I thought that Penn had more of a social environment than Harvard did, just a more social school. Obviously the academics are really good at both schools.”
As a side note, the same Crimson article also reports that newly committed Corbin Miller will play his freshman year at Harvard before taking off to serve his Mormon mission.

Harvard, Cornell bag commitments

Here are two recruiting notes for a rainy Tuesday in Philadelphia:

Va. Teen's brain to be donated for CTE research

With an ever-increasing spotlight on head trauma in football, the parents of a Virginia teen who committed suicide shortly after suffering a concussion playing football will donate his brain to Boston University's Center for study of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), according to the Washington Examiner. The article, written by former Daily Pennsylvanian editor Emily Babay, says that Austin Trenum's suicide was "out of character," though it can't be linked directly to the concussion he suffered two days before his death.

The Center is the same as where former Penn football player Owen Thomas' brain was found to have early stages of CTE, a neurodegenerative disease found in athletes and linked to depression and impulse control.

Thomas' parents decided to make his case public to increase awareness of the dangers of head injuries in football. While the disease has been documented in the NFL, Thomas was the first non-professional player to develop the disease, and research in younger players is still in its infancy.

Rosen, Eggleston, Turley named M. Hoops captains

Just two weeks before the official start of the men's basketball preseason, the team has chosen its captains for 2010-11.

A captain last year, junior Zack Rosen, will be joined this year by seniors Jack Eggleston and Conor Turley.

Rosen was a no-brainer to get the nod again, his leadership skills both on and off the court are more than evident to those who have seen him in action. On top of that he was a unanimous all-Ivy selection last year and led the league in scoring.

Eggleston also seems an obvious choice. As Penn battled injuries last season he was a constant in the post. His most notable performance was a career night, scoring 24 points in the upset of ranked Cornell last February.

Turley is the less expected of the three. He missed a chunk of the season after breaking fingers in both hands against Cornell. But perhaps that incident is exemplary of the larger reason why he was voted a captain — the injury was a result of pure hustle as Turley dove for a loose ball.

"While these three guys will serve as our captains I expect everyone in the program to take ownership as we get our program back to where we think it belongs," said coach Jerome Allen in a statement.

Recruiting File: Camryn Crocker

Camryn Crocker, a 6'3'' senior guard from Los Alamitos, CA, has a strong interest in attending Penn, he said in an e-mail Saturday.

“Penn would be a no-brainer if they were allowed to offer full scholarships,” he said.

Crocker says he is interested in Penn due to its “strong academic foundation and prestige.” In terms of basketball, he feels that he could have an “outstanding career” here because of the team’s “up-tempo style of play.”

Crocker, who averaged 9.3 points and 2.7 assists per game in 2009-2010 at Los Alamitos High School, says his biggest asset is his vision and his ability to get himself and others easy baskets. He says that he needs to work on his strength and to expand his basketball knowledge.

Crocker has not yet visited Penn, but said he has heard about the beauty of the campus, along with the great atmosphere for college basketball. He plans to visit before making a decision.

He noted that he wanted to commit early, but due to certain circumstances, was unable to do so. He has not yet set a deadline for his decision.

Crocker is also considering Harvard, UC-Irvine, Princeton, Cornell and Northeastern.

-Alyssa Kress

Update on Wes Saunders

As speculated in this previous post, it seems that Colorado will be the Quaker's biggest rival when it comes to landing Wesley Saunders. According to Cali High Sports, Saunder's took his official visit to Colorado the weekend of September 24th.

"I really loved the campus," Saunders told CaliHighSports.com. "It's so beautiful and I love how your right there in the mountains, it seems like a great place to go to school." The article says that Saunders met with a number of people ranging from the athletic academic coordinator to Head Coach Tad Boyle.

Saunders even scrimmaged with members of the Colorado team. The Colorado coaching staff told Saunders he would see time early on if he committed to the Buffaloes. "They have a lot of wings graduating so I could step in from day one and fill a need. They are looking to run and get up and down the court and I think that fits really well into my style," Saunders said.

Saunders visited Harvard last weekend.

"My top five is Penn, Colorado, USC, LMU and Harvard, in no particular order," Saunders said. "I want to take my official to Harvard see how I feel about it and then I'll sit down and start to think about everything and get closer to making my choice."

Seeing Saunder's timetable, his decision will likely come in the next few weeks.

--Brandon Bell

Recruiting File: Chukwuemeka Iroegbu

Class of 2011 Northern California standout Chukwuemeka Iroegbu (6-4, 195, SG) has listed interest in playing basketball at Penn.

In his junior year at powerhouse Franklin High (26-6; Elk Grove, Calif.), Iroegbu, known for his freakish athletic ability and knack for getting the ball in the basket in a variety of ways, averaged 12 points and nearly seven rebounds while helping lead his team to the San-Joaquin section finals. He is also established on the AAU circuit, playing for the nationally acclaimed, Drew Gooden-sponsored Oakland Soldiers, which boasts talents such as junior Brandon Ashley (#10 ESPN 100; Undeclared), senior Kyle Wiltjer (#12 ESPN 100; Kentucky) and senior Nick Johnson (#21 ESPN 100; Arizona), in addition to four other top 30 players in the nation.

If for no other reason more than the fact that he plays on a team that has been touted as the “best AAU team in the nation”, Iroegbu will almost certainly be looking at more mid-major and high-major D-1 offers after his senior season ends, but Penn, with its Ivy League status and storied hoops program, remains in the picture according to his Rivals.com profile, along with Colorado and two California schools. Chuks, as he goes by, and his high school coach could not be reached for comment.

-Ike Onyeador

Video: Penn-Dartmouth post-game press conference

Like I did for the last home game, here's the raw footage from Penn's post-game press conference after beating Dartmouth, 35-28, in overtime. Sorry I don't have the Dartmouth footage. It didn't come out too well and I didn't have time to edit. In this video are coach Al Bagnoli (left), linebacker Zach Heller (middle) and quarterback Billy Ragone (right).

Sprint Football huge upset over Navy

Big news coming out of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. for Penn sprint football fans: the Quakers defeated perennial Collegiate Sprint Football League favorites Navy 24-14 on Saturday.

With a heavy dose of Penn's running game from senior Mike Bagnoli (who netted 104 yards on 29 rushes) and a bruising defense that tallied four sacks and four forced fumbles, the Quakers snapped a 10-game losing streak to Navy. The victory is even more impressive considering the Midshipmen had not lost a single game and were on a 25-game winning streak that dated back to 2006.

Coach Wagner spoke to me before the season about how the favorable schedule (two tune-up games against Princeton and Post, followed by a matchup with Navy early in the season) might give Penn a great shot at taking down Navy and lo and behold, the Quakers followed through.

As a result, Penn (now 3-0) is definitely in the driver's seat to make a legitimate run at the title. The CSFL certainly got a lot more interesting.

--Kevin Esteves

Dartmouth vs. PENN football live blog

More on Penn Crew

It's no secret that Penn Crew has an illustrious history and a huge alumni presence, despite the program's recent struggles. While interviewing seniors Piero Russo and Nick Barnes for my article about the Ted Nash challenge, I asked them about the contributions of alumni and others involved with the program.

"The alumni support system for us is unbelievable," Barnes said. "Whenever we need something -- and we have needed things in the past -- they're always here for us."

Alumni can often be seen watching Penn's races, and many of them come back each year for Class Day in March and race against the current team members just for fun.

"I think Crew is such a team sport where you bond together that you don't just walk away from it and never talk to those kids again," Russo said. "You're waking up at 6:00 in the morning every day, you don't go out, these are your only true friends you really have, save a couple more.

From my experience, DP crew articles receive some of the most online comments from fans and alumni, rivaled only by football and basketball.

"How much they comment on the articles on the DP is just a testament to how much they care about the success of Penn Crew," Barnes added.

Recruiting files

As the now year-long recruiting season kicks into (a higher) gear, we're trying to put together posts on as many players as possible that have some connection to Penn. Whether they have listed interest in the Quakers, visited West Philadelphia, perhaps the Penn staff is reportedly looking at them, or their cousins' dad's best friend's sister went to Penn, we want to know.

There's a huge spectrum of interest (from both the players and the coaches) and hopefully as the weeks progress we'll be able to keep updating as we learn more about specific players.

These posts will also give us a great opportunity to give our new crop of writers to report and post on The Buzz, so you'll see some "Contributing Sports Writer" tags. They're trying to get in touch with high school coaches and to compile as much information about potential recruits for Penn and around the League.

Recruiting File: Wes Saunders

Wesley Saunders, a 6-foot-6 shooting forward out of Windward School reportedly has offers from Penn, Harvard Colorado and Loyola Marymount. Sources say that he visited Penn the weekend of Sept. 18. Saunders is ranked the 20th-best at his position in the nation by Rivals.com, has also garnered attention from big-time Pac-10 programs such as Arizona and USC.

Saunders has great athleticism and a good habit of finding the basket. A little too small to be a power forward, it seems Saunders would fit well into the Ivy League.

Currently, Penn’s top competitors for the senior forward are Colorado, where Saunders visited this past weekend according to Rivals and Harvard. Some may remember Windward High School as the same school that Malcolm Washington, who recently stepped down from the basketball program, attended. The Windward basketball coach could not be reached for comment on Saunders' recruitment.

Saunders' height would help coach Jerome Allen fill out a roster that will lose considerable size to graduation after the 2010-11 season.

-Brandon Bell

Recruiting: Northfield Mount Hermon school

One small boarding school in Western Massachusetts is attracting a lot of attention from Ivy League programs.

A tweet from the Northfield Mount Hermon school today says that Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, along with representatives from Yale, will be visiting the school on a recruiting trip tonight. There are currently eight NMH alums playing throughout the Ivy League, and many more in Division I.

NMH sent Brian Fitzpatrick to Penn before he decided this summer to transfer to Bucknell where he hopes he'll get more playing time. Fitzpatrick left with some choice words about the Penn program, and one can only wonder if his experience and criticisms have and will affect NMH seniors as they make college choices. I can't imagine any ill-effects lasting long, but this year's seniors likely knew Fitzpatrick (now a junior) and they may have heard his sentiments.

Before Penn fans get worried about Amaker's visit and Fitzpatrick's move, know that NMH has hosted 55 college coaches so far this fall, including reps from all eight Ivy League schools, according to the linked article.

And even if he hasn't, some of NMH's players have been through West Philadelphia. Tommy Carptenter (6-7 F, 2012), Lucas Van Ness (6-9 F, 2012) and John Golden (6-6 F, 2011) all attended a Quakers basketball camp this summer, according to the Cornell Basketball blog.

The only senior in that group, Golden is taking a post-graduate year at NMH. He was a New Jersey All-American nominee last year at Peddie School in Highstown New Jersey, where he is from.

His classmate at NMH, senior Joe Sharkey has already committed to Brown.

Blackmon, Hamscher embody Penn football

You have probably already heard about football coach Al Bagnoli's decision to switch two key running backs from last year's team onto the defensive side. If not, check out this story in today's DP on senior co-captain Bradford Blackmon and junior Matt Hamscher making a successful transition from the backfield to the secondary.

Hamscher in particular impressed me a lot in the Lafayette game. He was all over the field and showed tremendous instincts on the sack, which came at a key time in the game. I've known Blackmon is a tremendous athlete from the story I wrote on him last year, so his ability to play both ways wasn't as much of a surprise.

For two reasons, this storyline of the 2010 season resonates deeply with me, because it demonstrates exactly what Penn football is all about — running and defense. First, it shows the type of running back Bagnoli loves, and how important the position is to the team. Second, given the importance of Penn's running backs, the fact that Bagnoli could afford to take two of his best players out of the mix there and move them to defense not only reinforces the notion that running back is Penn's most talented and deep position but also speaks to the paramount importance of the defense.

The ability of two running backs, especially a more physical runner like Hamscher, to be successful as defensive backs is a testament to the type of athlete that the Quakers consistently recruit to man their ground game. I was talking casually with one of the players last week and I mentioned how impressed I was with Hamscher. He told me that Hamscher might be the best athlete on the team. It's nothing against Hamscher, but if I was told that before the season started, I would have been shocked. Yet after seeing what Hamscher and Blackmon could do in the wildcat last year, and seeing what they're doing now in the secondary, it's clear that Penn's best athletes reside at running back. And it's not only about the quality but also the quantity. As Cal wrote in a column today on the impact (or lack thereof?) of losing Lyle Marsh for the season, the Quakers always have great depth in the backfield.

That's what I really find incredible. Blackmon and Hamscher were second and third on the team, respectively, in rushing yards last season. But with talents like Mike DiMaggio (when healthy), Jeff Jack and Brandon Colavita among others, Penn is so loaded at running back that Bagnoli could feel comfortable having two of his top three guys at a key position switch to a new one. To do something like that you need, of course, great talents like Blackmon and Hamscher who can make the transition, but you also need plenty of depth behind them as well. To have enough of both of those things is just ridiculous. And even then, you risk major consequences if the injury bug hits, so you have to have a very good reason to do so.

And that's where my last point comes in. Taking talent away from arguably your most important offensive position to bolster the defense shows that the latter is the more highly valued aspect of the team. Bagnoli wanted to be absolutely sure that his defense could remain the best in the country, so he took his two best athletes and flipped them across the line of scrimmage. He can certainly switch them back to offense if necessary (read: more injuries), but that decision at the start of the season was made for one reason and only one: defense wins championships. Sure, you could say that Bagnoli just wanted to get the best talent on the field as often as possible, and having depth behind Blackmon and Hamscher allowed him to do that. He gets the best of both worlds, a revamped secondary and a still-potent ground game. But that doesn't change the fact that he made a calculated decision based on the priorities of the team, which are defense always first and foremost.

Even further, Blackmon's and Hamscher's willingness to give up their favorite positions for the good of the team, agreeing with Bagnoli that a seamless defense was more important than a slightly deeper backfield, confirms what Penn football is all about: Defense first. Ground game second. And then everything else.

ESPN takes notice of M. Soccer's Stephen Baker

After week one when freshman Stephen Baker scored three times, it was easy to assume there was a little beginner's luck at play.

But here we are a month into the season and Baker just won't quit. He scored his seventh goal through eight games this weekend and leads the league in a bevy of statistics:

  • Shots: 5.43/game
  • Points: 16 (1.86/g)
  • Goals: 7 (.86/g)
  • Game winning goals (tied): 2 (.29/g)
So after a stellar first month, it's only fitting that ESPN put Baker in a weekly piece featuring "impact performances" from NCAA sports (below). With the conference slate starting this weekend, the question is will the honeymoon end? I can't see any reason why it would.

LIVE BLOG: Penn at #1 Villanova

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