I've given probably more attention on this blog than I should to the graduated Ivy hoops players who are making it big in professional leagues. (See Jeremy Lin, Louis Dale, Jeff Foote)
And I might stop blogging about this stuff soon, but not if I keep finding videos like this one, of the mammoth former Cornell center Jeff Foote, arriving in Israel to a troupe of singing and dancing fanatics.
And I thought Phillies fans were nuts.
In what we think may be a sign of the times, this year's Princeton-Harvard basketball matchup will be televised on ESPN-U.
With the Penn-Princeton rivalry on the back burner right now (Penn has lost the last three contests), is this the new rivalry for the Ivy League?
As a side note, that release announces the time for the Penn at Princeton game for 7 P.M.
As a side-side note, if you didn't pick up a hard copy of our massive welcome back issue of the DP with a full pull-out sports section, download it here.
To be filed under the category of "We don't really know what to think of this," a friend pointed us to a YouTube video starring some of Penn's men's lacrosse players. Judging by the locale (it was filmed in the hallways of the Quad), we're guessing it was made their freshman year.
Titled "Bock Nasty", junior attack Jacob Bock dances, does pushups, and makes serious faces--with a cameo from classmate John Conneely.
If this video doesn't speak for itself, feel free to check out some other related titles, such as 'Bock vs. Schwalje', 'Strange Friends', and 'Bathroom Awkwardness'.
Ahh, to be a freshman with a video camera.
The Ivy League media poll with Harvard as the preseason favorite came out a few weeks ago, but I had a chance to chat with coach Al Bagnoli and a few players about their thoughts on the poll at Penn Media day today. A few of their choice words:
Bagnoli:
It’s good. Obviously that’s a good thing. The Harvard thing I think will serve as good motivation when the time comes. We take it as a little bit of a slight, and Harvard had nothing to do with it… But when you’re the defending champ in and you beat them at their place, you’ve got 15 starters back, which is the most, and you’re still picked second, obviously there’s something wrong here. We’ll use it.Senior QB Keiffer Garton:
That’s not up to us to decide, we just have to go out on the field and try to prove them otherwise.Despite the "slight" as Bagnoli put it, the entire team seems very optimistic to get the season underway and go for a second consecutive championship.
"This is our last shot, and we all want to go out on top and that feeling we had last year is something we want to repeat," Garton said on the seniors' attitude.
Last year Penn men's basketball suffered one of its the program's worst defeat ever at Duke.
This year, the Quakers are headed to perennial powerhouse Kentucky. But it's okay, right? All their players left for the NBA draft...
According to the UK Athletics schedule, Penn heads down to Lexington to take on the Wildcats Jan. 3 on ESPNU.
Sorry, but no John Wall this year.
For the rest of the known non conference games, see this previous post.
College Hoops Net spoke with three of the incoming freshman hoops players on a variety of topics. Some of the interview is a bit mundane but you should check it out. Some highlights:
Miles Cartwright:
On what position he might play:
My whole life growing up I played SG, but then my coach needed me to play PG during my junior year. I feel most comfortable on the wing where I can create my own shot. The secret to being a great scorer is just always being ready, because you do not know where the passes are coming from. It is also important to read the defense.On the fact that there are 4,673 other freshman recruits who play similar positions:
The great thing about our class is that we just want to win, no matter what it takes or what the best formula is. We are already good friends through emails/texts/etc., so we are not worried about playing the same position. All we care about is wins and losses.On the Glen Miller/Jerome Allen transition:
I built a great relationship with former Coach Glenn Miller, and I was let down when Penn let him go. However, I am excited to play for Jerome, as he is someone who has been through it all and knows what it takes to win in the Ivy League.and a few other notes: His mom produced the TV Crime show Judge Joe Brown, which Cartwright reportedly does not like watching. He says he wants to go into sports broadcasting and looks forward to studying at Annenberg. Lastly, he claims his brother (four years younger) may be one of the top point guards in the class of 2014, and is already getting looks from Pac-10 schools.
On to the next one: Fran Dougherty
On whether he is concerned about playing time with a massively huge class:
Yes, but you just have to work hard every day. Everyone has an equal chance with a new coach coming in, so everyone has a shot at proving that they deserve some playing time.On what he knows about Jerome Allen:
I know that he was a great player and a big part of the program at Penn. When I talked to the guys before Coach Allen even got hired, they told me how he would work hard to make you a better player by the end of your four years.On the easiest/hardest part of the jump to college hoops:
I would not say there is an easy part from what I have seen so far. You are going up against experienced players who are stronger and faster, so that is tough.On his growth plates:
I am pretty sure that I am done growing, at least according to my doctor. There are other tall guys on the team, so I will also need to have the ability to shoot the ball and put it on the floor.And finally a word from Christ Hatfield, who will play with the JV team:
I know very little about Coach Allen, as I have never met him or exchanged an email with him. I have only seen interviews with him, but I have a lot of respect for him as the head coach of an Ivy League and Division I program.(Hat tip to Jon Teitel on the interviews)
Adding to my previous posts on upcoming opponents for men's hoops this year, the Quakers will also host Maryland Baltimore County, who, as you may remember, ended up being Penn's first win after the disastrous 10-game skid that opened the 2009-10 season. So with that in mind, the non-conf. currently schedule looks like:
Wednesday, Nov. 17: at Manhattan College
Notes: Penn hasn't played Manhattan since '03 at the Holiday Festival in Madison Square Garden. Though not much can be taken from that match (it was two coaches and two college generations ago) Penn eeked out a 49-47 win. For what it's worth, the Quakers also went 10-4 in the League that year, and trounced Harvard 104-69 (FREE cheesesteaks!) But then again, Jeremy Lin was a sophomore in HIGH SCHOOL.
Saturday, Nov. 20: UMBC
Notes: This ended up being a very important game for Penn last year after it stopped the bleeding. Maybe that's why it was moved up significantly in the schedule this year (just kidding) (kinda).
Saturday, Dec. 4: Army at the IZOD Center (Meadowlands)
Notes: Penn-Army will be the precursor to a game that will be a rematch of last year's NCAA Championship: Duke v. Butler. That should make this a big ticket for the program. After last year's trip to Duke (Penn lost 114-55), Quakers' fans will be happy to see that Penn and Duke aren't on the same ticket anymore.
Wednesday, Dec. 22: at Delaware
Notes: After finishing finals...Penn will head down I-95 to take on the Blue Hens. The Quakers' record-breaking slump at the beginning of the season almost didn't happen, as Penn lost to Delaware in double OT 94-97 last year in the third game of the season. And the worst part? The 3065 fans who came were just 6 points shy of a free cheesesteak from Abner's.
Wednesday, Jan. 12: La Salle (Location TBD)
Notes: The first day of the spring semester!
Wednesday, Jan. 19: at Temple
Notes: Temple has penciled the Quakers in after another Big 5 rival, Villanova, but before heading to NCAA champs Duke. Those who remember the Temple game last year know that Penn showed a valiant 2nd half effort but, as was the story all season, an early (and deep) hole was too much for the Quakers to overcome.
First, a random tweet from Sports Illustrated Senior NFL writer Peter King:
@SI_PeterKing: On the Acela heading north from Balt. Time to write for a week. Just passed Franklin Field/Philly. Wish I could have seen Eagles play there.Or he could come and see a championship team play there now.... (P.S. Follow DP Sports @DailyPennSports)
Anyway, moving on, there's a nice spot in Fox's Jeff Goodman's blog today about Jerome Allen and his goal of resuscitating the basketball program. Goodman focuses on the discord between how good the team was when Allen played in the early 90s to the current state. You should obviously read the whole thing, but some good quotes from Jerome:
"We try to use history to get guys to believe, but kids these days don’t remember what happened five years ago. What people don’t know is that Penn is No. 10 in all-time wins in NCAA history – ahead of Indiana, Arizona and Louisville.I got the feeling that might be a recruiting pitch. Very interesting point.Kids would think you were lying if you told them that"
"It’s going to take a minute,” Allen said. ``We’re not trying to go from A to Z overnight. We’re just trying to get to Z and the only way is to get to B first"A minute being a long amount of time...
Three of Philly's Big 5 teams will be playing during ESPN's annual 24-hour basketball marathon to kick of the 2010-11 season. You might remember Penn playing Drexel at 10 A.M. (?!?!?!) two years ago as part of this event — however, the Quakers will not be participating this year when it all goes down Nov. 16.
At 2 P.M. La Salle goes to Baylor (ESPN), then at 5:30 Marist visits Villanova (ESPNU). St Joe's travels to Penn State at some point, the time is TBD, (ESPN3.com).
Should you be looking for something a little earlier, there's at least one more Penn connection: Robert Morris plays Kent St. at 8 A.M. (ESPN) in what will be one of former Penn player Andy Toole's first games as head coach of Robert Morris. Toole graduated Penn in 2003.
While the rest of Penn is reeling from the drop to No. 5 on the US News & World report rankings (don't ask how Columbia snuck into the 4 spot), Penn Football has made its way into the FCS top 25 preseason rankings, grabbing the No. 23 in the media poll.
This can't come as much of a surprise after the undefeated Ivy season in which Penn finished with the nation's top overall defense, however, the Quakers did drop 3 spots from the No. 20 ranking with which they finished the season. Penn is the only Ivy in the top 25, while Crosstown rival Villanova is No. 1.
The minor surprise here is the fact that Penn was the top Ivy in the FCS poll, while Harvard was picked as the preseason favorite in the Ivy League Media poll announced a week ago. It's worth mentioning that Penn was a narrow second, just 4 ballot points behind.
Other news and notes from the past week:
In that same article, Men's team senior Porter Drake said he hoped for, "maybe someone younger who’s a little more keen and has more energy for the program to kind of reenergize it."
Wyant is in his mid 30s.
Penn '06 graduate Danny Cepero, famous for being the first MLS keeper to score a goal in open play (in his debut, no less) , was the backup goalkeeper in last nights Philadelphia Union game against Real Salt Lake.
He was brought to the Union on a one game loan from Union affiliate Harrisburg because the Union's normal backup was out for the match on a red card.
Anyway, you can read more about the alum's experience here, or you can listen to a post match interview from Philly.com's The Goalkeeper, run by DP Sports alum, Johnathan Tannenwald, who a little before Cepero.
Surprise surprise! Penn is playing the same 7 teams as always (bolded games are at home):
Friday Jan. 28: Yale Saturday Jan. 29: Brown Friday Feb. 4: Dartmouth Saturday Feb. 5: Harvard Tuesday Feb. 8 Princeton Friday Feb. 11: Cornell Saturday Feb. 12: Columbia Friday Feb. 18: Brown Saturday Feb. 19: Yale Friday Feb. 25: Columbia Saturday Feb. 26: Cornell Friday March 4: Harvard Saturday March 5: Dartmouth Tuesday March 8: PrincetonUnlike last year, when Penn spent the first two weekends on the road, they open the Ivy schedule with four home games this year, which has to be a plus for the players (and fans, I suppose).
UPDATE: sorry to keep changing things, but I got a little confused as I was translating Princeton's announced schedule into ours (we play the same teams on the same weekends as them just opposite.) The Princeton game at the Palestra will be during spring break, which means few students will be on hand for this year's installment of the rivalry.
Check this older post for some non-conference games I've seen scheduled.
Just a few weeks after the announcement of the incoming W. Hoops class, more news on that front: Jackie Kates, a senior point guard from St John Vianney in Holmdel, N.J., has announced a non-binding commitment to Penn for next year, according to an article from Asbury Park Press.
Her dad says she picked Penn because she couldn't pass up a chance to attend Wharton, despite interest from Cornell, Columbia and other schools that provide scholarships.
From APP.com's story:
A three-year starter at point guard for Lancers head coach Dawn Karpell, Kates averaged nine points and 5.7 assists per game last season, when Vianney went 29-4 and reached a second consecutive NJSIAA Tournament of Champions final.The 5-foot-6 Kates is the third Lancer junior and ninth member of the Shore Conference Class of 2011 to give an oral commitment to a Division I school.
For those Buzz readers who might not be checking theDP.com this summer, here's a story on M. Lax assistant coach Brian "Doc" Dougherty leaving the program to pursue other opportunities and advance his coaching career.
He was a surefire Hall of Fame goaltender until his recent retirement from his playing days, and his departure will certainly hurt the Penn defense and goalies this season. M. Lax head coach Mike Murphy, entering his second season with the Quakers, now has to fill his top two assistant coaching positions, as his former top assistant, Chris Wojcik, took over the head gig at Harvard.
Dougherty was also an old friend of Jerome Allen's, dating back to their playing days at Episcopal Academy under Doc's father Dan Dougherty. Replacing him won't be as important as replacing Brian Voelker last summer, but it will definitely impact the Quakers this season.
Anyway, the rest of the details are in my full story linked above, but right now the comments on theDP.com are disabled because we were having trouble with our spam filters and it was getting out of hand. So I figured I'd bring any discussion on this move and the state of M. Lax to The Buzz.
By the sound and look of things, Maalik Reynolds is a can't-miss athlete. The soon-to-be Quaker is attempting to serve double duty for Penn Athletics as a high jumper on the track team and a forward on the basketball team. Sure, that's been done before, but what stands out about Reynolds is how athletic he truly is. Penn track coach Charlie Powell, who is entering his 22nd year as head coach so he's seen his share of athletes, emphasized to me during an interview Wednesday that the high school All-American is "the reeeeal deeeeal." Here are some quotes from Powell and Reynolds' high school basketball coach Tray Malloy, both of whom seemingly could have gone on forever about Maalik's athletic ability, that didn't make the final edition of the Summer Pennsylvanian. Believe me, we wish we could have written even more about this kid.
Penn men's track and field coach Charlie Powell:
On Reynolds' recruitment:
"I know quite a few high-powered schools were [after him]. Both he and his mom played things fairly close to the vest. We do know that one of the meets we were watching him at the coaches from Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, a few other top schools were very, very, very high on him ... But he chose a school that had great academics and a very very good athletic program. He wanted the whole package."
On two-sport athletes:
"We have a lot of guys that have played two sports. Most of the time it’s not basketball; it’s usually a fall sport like football. (Adam Chubb – school record holder for high jump/Heps champ, Henry Hipps "became one of the top multi-eventers and high-jumpers that we had”, David Whitehurst ran hurdles, Heps champ) … The pros: for the student athletes, it’s a heck of a lot of fun. The con part of that is the fact that you don’t get to train specifically for your event. But in basketball, he’s going to be doing a lot of jumping and a lot of conditioning. I’m sure coach Allen is not going to skimp on him. We just want him to do things where he’s happy. And to be very honest, he proved pretty much this summer by making the US National team and the world junior team that he’s got a great, great future in track and field. That’s really where his strengths lie."
"There’s this thing with basketball and Penn students that kind of cracks me up. I just hope that they don’t put too many expectations on him. And just let Maalik be Maalik. Because if they do, and the same thing with a lot of the younger guys – coach Allen is bringing in 7 or 8 very, very, very fine athletes and some great kids – and if they’ll just let these guys have the time to develop and breathe and not be in their face all the time and not have such high expectations, I think you’re gonna see some really great stuff from Jerome and the team. But these guys have to have some space to develop and they’re gonna make some mistakes and they’re gonna do some dumb things, but from the looks of it and chatting with him and his assistants, they’ve got some great kids coming in.
On Maalik's personality and potential:
"He’ll fit in real well. He’s got a real good sense of humor ... I think the fact that he’s got such a great personality – I think his head’s screwed on pretty straight – to be a two sport athlete here, I don’t think is gonna be a problem for him ... We’ve seen some things basketball-wise, we’ve seen some things track-wise. I’ll tell you, track-wise he’s the real deal. On the basketball side, there’s a lot of guys who are good basketball players, but there are very few guys in this country that can jump 7’2 in high school and have the capability of jumping 7’5, 7’6 or higher, and he does."
Westminster School (Ga.) basketball coach Tray Malloy:
On what Reynolds needs to improve:
"From his junior year to his senior year, we sat down with him and said, 'if you want to continue to develop as a complete player, here are the things you need to focus on.' We challenged him defensively and he ended up being one of the best defenders in the region his senior year, which was not the case his junior year ... He’s got to put some time into continuing to develop his perimeter game, his outside shooting and that midrange game. We know that he’s explosive, we know that he can get to the basket. At the level that he’s gonna play it, you have kids that certainly are going to be able to prevent him from getting to the rim as frequently as he did in high school, so he’s going to have to create some space by hitting some outside shots so kids will come out and play him and then being able to the make the decision, 'can I get to the rim or can I get the midrange jumper?'"
On whether Maalik is the type of kid that can pay his dues by riding the bench before earning playing time:
"Absolutely. I think he certainly is. But I also think he’s the type of kid that’s gonna look at that as a challenge. He’s certainly grown into understanding the concept of team basketball and being part of something larger than yourself, but he would not be content with that. Maalik’s the kind of kid that would say, ;I want to be out there on the floor and I feel like I can be and so what is it I need to do to be able to put myself in that position.'"
On how long it will take him to develop:
"I think by mid-season Maalik can be a contributing factor. I certainly do. He’s played AAU ball, but when you get to that collegiate level it is certainly even the next step. It’s putting it all together, it’s playing against kids your size, your speed, your ability. One area that Maalik is gonna have to grow over his course of playing at Penn is he’s going to have to continue to get stronger. He’s very wiry, he’s very lengthy, long. So I think as far as an immediate impact, I think he’s going to have to get adjusted to the culture, he’s going to have to get acclimated to the system there."
On whether training for two sports will hurt his performance:
"I don't [think so]. I think what we’re asking Maalik to do are not two entirely separate types of conditioning. Maalik’s improvements in his conditioning and strength from his junior to his senior year I think were very, very balanced. He came in stronger as a basketball player, more explosive as a high jumper. And I think those things are not two separate entities unto themselves. And when I say stronger, I don’t mean necessarily for Maalik to get bulkier. I just mean stronger, being able to use his frame, use his height and his size completely in the way that he needs to as far as basketball is concerned. And certainly getting stronger might mean putting on a little bit, but Maalik’s never going to be the type of kid that’s gonna completely bulk up, nor does he need to be."
On his fondest memories of Maalik:
"He’s hit a couple last second shots with the ball in his hand, wanting the ball. The maturity of deciding that he is the kind of player and stepping up in a leadership position and really commanding that. Probably the highlight that if you were to ask his peers, if you were to ask coaches that were there, in our tournament this past year, we were playing Baylor, a school up in Tennessee, another private school well known for basketball ... And Maalik transitioned dunked where he -- they call it 'posterizing'. A kid was down there trying to take a charge and he literally almost and basically he did elevate over the kid almost where his legs were spread going over his head and elevated and dunked over the kid and just erupted the place. To see him be the first one down the floor, the ball pitched up to him, it just kind of to me put everything together – his ability to run, his good hands, his ability to elevate and his ability to finish"
And now for a dose of cute: a story from the Alexandria (Va.) Times about Penn baseball players and the families that host them while they play for the Alexandria Aces summer league team.
The story features sophomore Spencer Branigan and senior Will Davis.
Branigan:
"It's a home away from home. I know that's cliché, but that's exactly what it is. I'm never lonely, there's always someone in the household."And Penn may have made a few fans in the process. The first comment on the story is from his proud host father:
Nice article Austin! We had a great time hosting Spencer, and watching some great baseball. We hope to get up to Penn and see him play in the spring.
Though I'm an avid viewer of my local ComcastSportsNet-Philadelphia television station, I rarely expect to hear anything about the Quakers while I'm getting my daily Philly sports fix. To my surprise, however, I heard this on today's 6 p.m. airing of Toyota SportsNite: the Sixers' Evan Turner, last year's Naismith Player of the Year in college basketball and the number two pick in June's NBA draft, has been working out this summer with none other than the University of Pennsylvania's Rob Belcore.
We at the DP will surely look into this story once the fall rolls around, but some quick research shows that Belcore and Turner attended nearby Illinois high schools Loyola Academy in Wilmette (Belcore) and St. Joseph's in Westchester (Turner), about 29 miles and 39 minutes apart. And, apparently, we'll be able to find the future of the Sixers franchise and a key cog in Penn's rotation reunited right on our campus next year.From CSNPhilly.com: "Turner is adjusting to living alone for the first time in his life. He said he has always had a roommate and will be getting two when his brother and friend soon come to live with him. He has reconnected with a former AAU teammate in Rob Belcore, who is a junior at Penn – the two planned on regularly putting up shots at the Palestra."
I've been slowly updating my previous post as I hear about games added to the basketball schedule. Check the link for the updates (added Manhattan College and La Salle).
I'll also link to Cornell Basketball Blog, which has posted a projected schedule for the Big Red, only because they list Penn traveling to Ithaca Feb. 11, and hosting Cornell two weeks later on the 26th. I have no reason to believe that are either right or wrong, but I thought I'd post it for speculation's sake. Based on the Ivy travel schedule, we would go to Columbia on the 12th, and host them on the 25th.
The Penn women's golf team has been on fire in 2010. After winning an ECAC championship in the fall and the team's first Ivy title (at a course legendary for its difficulty, no less), Penn also competed in its first NCAA championship tournament in May and had three players named all-Ivy.
But just because it's summer doesn't mean that the team is relaxing: three of Penn's golfers recently qualified for the U.S. Golf Association's U.S. Women's Amateur tournament. Perhaps of most interest is the performance of incoming freshman Michelle Lee, who tied for fourth overall at the qualifier. One of three new additions to the Quakers' roster, Lee has placed third at two American Junior Golf Association tournaments this year.
For me, the real boost to the Quakers' prospects next year is the continued success of rising sophomore--yes, I'm using that expression again--Isabel Han, who tied for third at the qualifier with a 72. In her freshman season, Han placed second at Ivy Champs and was Penn's low-scorer at four tournaments. (We also named her first team All-Penn at the end of April)
We could spend our time here debating the merits of a large freshman class, tallying projected minutes or even commenting on Jerome Allen's pocket square ensembles.
Or we could just marvel at these two youtube clips, "Insane Basketball Shots" and the sequel, created by men's hoops incoming frosh Casey James. With Harlem Globetrotter-esque skills, James turns his California neighborhood into the set for his videos, which have been viewed almost 700,000 times.
#1:
and in better quality, #2:
If you pay close attention to the shot around 25 seconds into the first video, you might notice some weird physics going on. We'll be sure to ask Mr. James what happened when we see him in the fall.
Have a nice weekend.
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