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(06/01/97 9:00am)
Cleveland, Ohio The Quakers were a young team this past season, and all eight players in their rotation will be back next year. So will sophomore swingman Frank Brown, who missed almost all of last season while recovering from off-season surgery. But all of that youth didn't mean a break from the recruiting trails for Dunphy. There will be three more freshmen on the Quakers' squad next year -- Lamar Plummer, a 6'1" guard from nearby Abington Friends, Josh Sanger, a 6'8" forward from Harding High School in Charlotte, N.C., and Jonathan Tross, a 6'8" forward from Hamden Hall Country Day School in Hamden, Conn. Dunphy's strategy in recruiting the class of 2001 was to fill some of the gaps on the current team, with an eye toward the future. "We obviously need rebounding help," Dunphy said. "We needed at least two forwards. And when Garett [Kreitz] graduates next year, we'll obviously need someone who can play that one or two spot." Because he has everyone coming back, Dunphy doesn't expect this trio to make an immediate impact on the team the way Michael Jordan, Matt Langel and Geoff Owens did last season as freshmen. Instead, he expects the new crop to contribute more as sophomores. "It will be very difficult for any one of the three to be a significant factor immediately, unlike Michael, Matt and Geoff last year," Dunphy said. "The opportunity doesn't present itself as much." Leading the new class is Plummer, who for the last two years, participated in the prestigious Adidas/ABCD camp which annually draws many of the top prep players in the country. Plummer was primarily a shooting guard at Abington, but he occasionally played the point, and Dunphy sees him as a combination guard. "He's a good shooter, a good passer, and he has a nice feel for the game," Dunphy said. "I believe in time he'll be a good defender at this level, too." Penn fans will remember that Abington Friends was also the high school that produced Jordan, and the two of them played together there for a few years. "They're going to play real well together," said Steve Chadwin, their coach at Abington. "They played so much together, they have an idea of how to play off each other." Dunphy agrees that Jordan and Plummer work well together, but adds that Plummer will not be reunited on the floor with his former teammate unless he earns it. "He'll know Michael's game, but that's the only asset he'll have as a newcomer," Dunphy said. "There's no pressure on him to play right away and score points." Chadwin calls Plummer a good defender and finisher, but says his strength is his versatility. "He can mix up his game pretty well," Chadwin said. "If you leave him open he can knock it down, and he can get to the paint and cause problems there." Penn often had problems of its own in the paint last season, specifically on the boards. With that in mind, Dunphy went after Sanger and Tross. He expects both of them to help out with rebounding and, in time, add some scoring punch. Tross averaged 21.5 points and 13 rebounds a game as a senior at Hamden, while Sanger contributed 12 points and 10 boards per game as Harding's center. Sanger, who is the valedictorian of his class, also pitched for the Harding baseball team and was an all-conference tight end in football. "He's a team player," said Harding coach Myron Lowery of Sanger. "That's why Penn was attracted to him and he was attracted to Penn. He'll fit right into their system perfectly. He can do the little things that help a team." According to Lowery, Sanger is fundamentally sound, but rebounding is what he does best. In one game this season he pulled down 20 boards. Coach and player plan to spend the summer trying to improve Sanger's range. Plummer, Sanger and Tross knew that getting a lot of playing time as freshmen would be unlikely, but they also knew that they would get a shot to prove themselves in practice. "If it works out that they're one of the best in our rotation, they'll get their minutes," Dunphy said. "That's what I told them in the recruiting process."
(06/01/97 9:00am)
Cleveland, Ohio In a game that was not the usual grind-it-out, defensive struggle between these two, Princeton beat Penn, 86-73. The Quakers (12-14, 8-6 Ivy League) played pretty well in their final game of the season, as revealed by a look at the final statistics. They shot 50 percent from the floor. They committed only 10 turnovers. Penn had four players reach double figures in scoring -- an occurrence that had signalled victory seven previous times this season. The problem was Princeton simply did everything better than the Quakers. Five Tigers scored in double digits, and as a team they shot 60 percent from the field -- 50 percent from behind the three-point line. "This is a special team they have," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "They're filled with confidence, and obviously they should be. They've got the perfect blend of experience and youth." Princeton's performance might be considered flukish, except that it put on a similar display in its first win over the Quakers this year, a 74-59 win at the Palestra in February. In that game, the Tigers shot 76.2 percent in the second half to blow open a tight game. No second-half run was necessary last night at Jadwin Gym. Princeton (24-3, 14-0) took control of the game early, and although the Quakers were never out of it, they never seriously threatened to take the lead. Helped out by a trio of early three-pointers, the Tigers jumped out to a 15-6 lead six minutes into the game. Penn answered with a 10-4 run, sparked by a four-point play from Jed Ryan and two driving layups from Garett Kreitz. But Princeton responded with another run, this one 14-2 over four and a half minutes. It put the Tigers up 33-18 with five minutes left in the half, on the way to a 40-30 halftime lead. Key to Princeton's streak late in the half was the play of backup center Jesse Rosenfeld. Starter Steve Goodrich struggles throughout the game, finishing with 10 points in only 21 minutes. But Rosenfeld can off the bench and scored seven quick points over five minutes in the first half. The senior finished with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in just 19 minutes of action. "He's been terrific all year," Tigers coach Bill Carmody said of Rosenfeld. "The offense seems to run a bit better when he's in. When he's in there, guys cut harder." Princeton gradually continued to build its lead as the second half opened, eventually holding a 56-39 advantage with 12:35 left in the game. Nine straight points by Ryan and Paul Romanczuk helped trim the Quakers' deficit to 10 points. And with 6:16 left, a Kreitz free throw moved Penn to within 63-54. But the Red and Blue could move no closer, and two straight Princeton threes gave the Tigers a comfortable lead the rest of the way. Penn managed just 10 three-point shots for the entire game, well off its average of 20.8 per contest. Kreitz, who had launched 228 trey this season, managed only one attempt from behind the arc. Kreitz responded by driving to the basket effectively, but the Quakers usually have to make more than four three to win. "We knew Sydney Johnson was going to guard [Kreitz]," Dunphy said. "We ran a couple of sets where we thought there was no way [Johnson] was going to know where to be, and he was. He's got that sixth sense." So while the Tigers cut down the nets to celebrate their perfect season and turned toward the NCAA Tournament, the Quakers were left to consider this season and wonder how much they have to improve to win the league next year. "I think we played some good games the last five games," Dunphy said. "I'm pleased at how far we've come, but we've still got a ways to go." Penn will return everybody next season, but Princeton will only lose Johnson and Rosenfeld from its regular rotation. The gap between the two teams were apparent last night. "I think we're close," Kreitz said. "But not as close as we want to be."
(06/01/97 9:00am)
Cleveland, Ohio The Quakers were a young team this past season, and all eight players in their rotation will be back next year. So will sophomore swingman Frank Brown, who missed almost all of last season while recovering from off-season surgery. But all of that youth didn't mean a break from the recruiting trails for Dunphy. There will be three more freshmen on the Quakers' squad next year -- Lamar Plummer, a 6'1" guard from nearby Abington Friends, Josh Sanger, a 6'8" forward from Harding High School in Charlotte, N.C., and Jonathan Tross, a 6'8" forward from Hamden Hall Country Day School in Hamden, Conn. Dunphy's strategy in recruiting the class of 2001 was to fill some of the gaps on the current team, with an eye toward the future. "We obviously need rebounding help," Dunphy said. "We needed at least two forwards. And when Garett [Kreitz] graduates next year, we'll obviously need someone who can play that one or two spot." Because he has everyone coming back, Dunphy doesn't expect this trio to make an immediate impact on the team the way Michael Jordan, Matt Langel and Geoff Owens did last season as freshmen. Instead, he expects the new crop to contribute more as sophomores. "It will be very difficult for any one of the three to be a significant factor immediately, unlike Michael, Matt and Geoff last year," Dunphy said. "The opportunity doesn't present itself as much." Leading the new class is Plummer, who for the last two years, participated in the prestigious Adidas/ABCD camp which annually draws many of the top prep players in the country. Plummer was primarily a shooting guard at Abington, but he occasionally played the point, and Dunphy sees him as a combination guard. "He's a good shooter, a good passer, and he has a nice feel for the game," Dunphy said. "I believe in time he'll be a good defender at this level, too." Penn fans will remember that Abington Friends was also the high school that produced Jordan, and the two of them played together there for a few years. "They're going to play real well together," said Steve Chadwin, their coach at Abington. "They played so much together, they have an idea of how to play off each other." Dunphy agrees that Jordan and Plummer work well together, but adds that Plummer will not be reunited on the floor with his former teammate unless he earns it. "He'll know Michael's game, but that's the only asset he'll have as a newcomer," Dunphy said. "There's no pressure on him to play right away and score points." Chadwin calls Plummer a good defender and finisher, but says his strength is his versatility. "He can mix up his game pretty well," Chadwin said. "If you leave him open he can knock it down, and he can get to the paint and cause problems there." Penn often had problems of its own in the paint last season, specifically on the boards. With that in mind, Dunphy went after Sanger and Tross. He expects both of them to help out with rebounding and, in time, add some scoring punch. Tross averaged 21.5 points and 13 rebounds a game as a senior at Hamden, while Sanger contributed 12 points and 10 boards per game as Harding's center. Sanger, who is the valedictorian of his class, also pitched for the Harding baseball team and was an all-conference tight end in football. "He's a team player," said Harding coach Myron Lowery of Sanger. "That's why Penn was attracted to him and he was attracted to Penn. He'll fit right into their system perfectly. He can do the little things that help a team." According to Lowery, Sanger is fundamentally sound, but rebounding is what he does best. In one game this season he pulled down 20 boards. Coach and player plan to spend the summer trying to improve Sanger's range. Plummer, Sanger and Tross knew that getting a lot of playing time as freshmen would be unlikely, but they also knew that they would get a shot to prove themselves in practice. "If it works out that they're one of the best in our rotation, they'll get their minutes," Dunphy said. "That's what I told them in the recruiting process."
(06/01/97 9:00am)
Cleveland, Ohio In a game that was not the usual grind-it-out, defensive struggle between these two, Princeton beat Penn, 86-73. The Quakers (12-14, 8-6 Ivy League) played pretty well in their final game of the season, as revealed by a look at the final statistics. They shot 50 percent from the floor. They committed only 10 turnovers. Penn had four players reach double figures in scoring -- an occurrence that had signalled victory seven previous times this season. The problem was Princeton simply did everything better than the Quakers. Five Tigers scored in double digits, and as a team they shot 60 percent from the field -- 50 percent from behind the three-point line. "This is a special team they have," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "They're filled with confidence, and obviously they should be. They've got the perfect blend of experience and youth." Princeton's performance might be considered flukish, except that it put on a similar display in its first win over the Quakers this year, a 74-59 win at the Palestra in February. In that game, the Tigers shot 76.2 percent in the second half to blow open a tight game. No second-half run was necessary last night at Jadwin Gym. Princeton (24-3, 14-0) took control of the game early, and although the Quakers were never out of it, they never seriously threatened to take the lead. Helped out by a trio of early three-pointers, the Tigers jumped out to a 15-6 lead six minutes into the game. Penn answered with a 10-4 run, sparked by a four-point play from Jed Ryan and two driving layups from Garett Kreitz. But Princeton responded with another run, this one 14-2 over four and a half minutes. It put the Tigers up 33-18 with five minutes left in the half, on the way to a 40-30 halftime lead. Key to Princeton's streak late in the half was the play of backup center Jesse Rosenfeld. Starter Steve Goodrich struggles throughout the game, finishing with 10 points in only 21 minutes. But Rosenfeld can off the bench and scored seven quick points over five minutes in the first half. The senior finished with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in just 19 minutes of action. "He's been terrific all year," Tigers coach Bill Carmody said of Rosenfeld. "The offense seems to run a bit better when he's in. When he's in there, guys cut harder." Princeton gradually continued to build its lead as the second half opened, eventually holding a 56-39 advantage with 12:35 left in the game. Nine straight points by Ryan and Paul Romanczuk helped trim the Quakers' deficit to 10 points. And with 6:16 left, a Kreitz free throw moved Penn to within 63-54. But the Red and Blue could move no closer, and two straight Princeton threes gave the Tigers a comfortable lead the rest of the way. Penn managed just 10 three-point shots for the entire game, well off its average of 20.8 per contest. Kreitz, who had launched 228 trey this season, managed only one attempt from behind the arc. Kreitz responded by driving to the basket effectively, but the Quakers usually have to make more than four three to win. "We knew Sydney Johnson was going to guard [Kreitz]," Dunphy said. "We ran a couple of sets where we thought there was no way [Johnson] was going to know where to be, and he was. He's got that sixth sense." So while the Tigers cut down the nets to celebrate their perfect season and turned toward the NCAA Tournament, the Quakers were left to consider this season and wonder how much they have to improve to win the league next year. "I think we played some good games the last five games," Dunphy said. "I'm pleased at how far we've come, but we've still got a ways to go." Penn will return everybody next season, but Princeton will only lose Johnson and Rosenfeld from its regular rotation. The gap between the two teams were apparent last night. "I think we're close," Kreitz said. "But not as close as we want to be."
(05/16/97 9:00am)
Penn coach Fran Dunphy look to get some help in the paint, especially in rebounding, by signing two 6'8" recruits. The cupboard is not bare for Penn men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy. In fact, it's practically full. The Quakers were a young team this past season, and all eight players in their rotation will be back next year. So will sophomore swingman Frank Brown, who missed almost all of last season while recovering from off-season surgery. But all of that youth didn't mean a break from the recruiting trails for Dunphy. There will be three more freshmen on the Quakers' squad next year -- Lamar Plummer, a 6'1" guard from nearby Abington Friends, Josh Sanger, a 6'8" forward from Harding High School in Charlotte, N.C., and Jonathan Tross, a 6'8" forward from Hamden Hall Country Day School in Hamden, Conn. Dunphy's strategy in recruiting the class of 2001 was to fill some of the gaps on the current team, with an eye toward the future. "We obviously need rebounding help," Dunphy said. "We needed at least two forwards. And when Garett [Kreitz] graduates next year, we'll obviously need someone who can play that one or two spot." Because he has all of his players coming back, Dunphy doesn't expect this trio to make an immediate impact on the team the way Michael Jordan, Matt Langel and Geoff Owens did last season as freshmen. Instead, he expects the new crop to contribute more as sophomores. "It will be very difficult for any one of the three to be a significant factor immediately, unlike Michael, Matt and Geoff last year," Dunphy said. "The opportunity doesn't present itself as much." Leading the new class is Plummer, who for the last two years, participated in the prestigious Adidas/ABCD camp that annually draws the top prep players in the country. Plummer was primarily a shooting guard at Abington, but he occasionally played the point, and Dunphy sees him as a combination guard. "He's a good shooter, a good passer, and he has a nice feel for the game," Dunphy said. "I believe in time he'll be a good defender at this level, too." Penn fans will remember that Abington Friends was also the high school that produced Jordan, and Jordan and Plummer shared the same backcourt for a few years there. "They're going to play real well together," said Abington coach Steve Chadwin. "They played so much together; they have an idea of how to play off each other." Dunphy agrees that Jordan and Plummer work well together, but adds that Plummer will not be reunited on the floor with his former teammate unless he earns it. "He'll know Michael's game, but that's the only asset he'll have as a newcomer," Dunphy said. "There's no pressure on him to play right away and score points." Chadwin calls Plummer a good defender and finisher, but says his strength is his versatility. "He can mix up his game pretty well," Chadwin said. "If you leave him open he can knock it down, and he can get to the paint and cause problems there." Penn often had problems of its own in the paint last season, specifically on the boards. With that in mind, Dunphy went after Sanger and Tross. He expects both of them to help out with rebounding and, in time, add some scoring punch. Tross averaged 21.5 points and 13 rebounds a game as a senior at Hamden, while Sanger contributed 12 points and 10 boards per game as Harding's center. Sanger, who is the valedictorian of his class, also pitched for the Harding baseball team and was an all-conference tight end in football. "He's a team player," Harding coach Myron Lowery said. "That's why Penn was attracted to him and he was attracted to Penn. He'll fit right into their system perfectly. He can do the little things that help a team." According to Lowery, Sanger is fundamentally sound, but rebounding is what he does best. In one game this season, he pulled down 20 boards. Coach and player plan to spend the summer trying to improve Sanger's range. Plummer, Sanger and Tross knew that freshman playing time would be sparse, but they also knew that they would get a shot to prove themselves in practice. "If it works out that they're one of the best in our rotation, they'll get their minutes," Dunphy said. "That's what I told them in the recruiting process."
(04/24/97 9:00am)
The former Penn wide receiver hopes to latch on as a kick returner. Mark Fabish broke his left shoulder in a game against Brown last October, forcing the senior wide receiver to miss all but the last game of the Penn football team's season. It appeared as if that would be the end of his football career. Well, maybe not. Fabish is leaving tonight for Atlanta, and, tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, he'll take part in the Atlanta Falcons' minicamp. A good performance there could earn him a contract and an invitation to Falcons training camp this summer, where Fabish would get his shot at making the team for the 1997 NFL season. "I knew I wasn't done playing football yet," Fabish said. "This has been a goal of mine since the season ended." That was when Fabish and his agent assembled a tape of his college highlights and sent it out to various NFL teams, trying to get their attention. "We got it out to everybody, to teams that we figured would have a need for what I could provide," Fabish said. While he waited, Fabish kept himself in shape. Former Quakers receiver Miles Macik, a 1996 graduate who spent last season with the Detroit Lions, came back to the Philadelphia area in February. While in town, he worked out with Fabish and senior Aman Abye, a backup running back last season. When Macik left for his native Michigan in March, Fabish and Abye kept up their workout routine. They even tried out for the new Arena Football League teams in New York and New Jersey. Although it seems rather ironic now, the arena teams weren't interested. "We got a lot of praise from the coaches, but nothing came of it," Fabish said. "It was kind of disappointing, but I'm glad I stayed with it because now I have this opportunity. Hopefully something will happen for Aman, too." Before the NFL draft, which took place last weekend, Fabish worked out with the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants and says he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds. But none of the teams seemed to be as interested as the Falcons, for whom he did not work out. Fabish said Atlanta has been in contact with his agent for the last week-and-a-half or so. Then Sunday, right after the conclusion of the draft, Fabish got the invitation to minicamp. "I didn't know how it would materialize," Fabish said. "It was a waiting game." Over his four years at Penn, Fabish, listed at 5'10'' and 166 pounds, caught 69 balls for 928 yards and nine touchdowns. He also returned three punts for touchdowns, and that's how he's most likely to find a spot with the Falcons. "They see me as a punt returner who's capable of receiving," Fabish said. "Because of my height, I'm not a receiver first." Under new coach Dan Reeves, Atlanta currently has just three receivers on its roster, and the Falcons did not select any wideouts in the draft. Eric Metcalf, a wide receiver who returned punts for Atlanta last year, is an unrestricted free agent and has yet to sign.
(04/22/97 9:00am)
Mark DeRosa spent this past weekend playing baseball in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he and the rest of his Durham (N.C.) Bulls teammates faced the hometown Warthogs. While cheap hotels and bus rides in North Carolina may not sound as appealing as life as a college student in Philadelphia, DeRosa is quite happy where he is. "I definitely don't regret my decision," DeRosa said. That decision was made last June, when the Penn football quarterback and baseball shortstop was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the seventh round of baseball's amateur draft. DeRosa decided to sign with the Braves and spent the rest of the summer playing for the Eugene (Ore.) Emeralds, the Braves' short-season Class A affiliate in the Northwest League. Ivy League rules do not allow athletes to play one sport professionally and remain eligible for football. So, instead of coming back last fall for a third season as the Quakers starting quarterback -- and possibly being ruled eligible for the 1997 season since he redshirted his freshman season -- DeRosa's athletic career at Penn was over. In 70 games in Eugene, DeRosa hit .259 with two home runs, 28 RBIs and 43 runs scored. Adjusting to professional pitching was tough, according to DeRosa. But what the experience taught him more than anything else was to take everything day by day. "What I learned was that the season is really long," DeRosa said. "You've got to control your emotions a lot and relax and not carry what you do on the field off of it. A lot of guys say that if you go 0-for-4, it's not the last time you'll go 0-for-4." After the season ended, DeRosa came back to Penn for the fall semester to continue his course work toward a degree. (He's about 10 classes short right now.) But, when winter rolled around, he got ready for baseball again. "I got invited to early spring training, which is where they bring 28 prospects in early for 2 1/2 weeks before everyone else," DeRosa said. "We get to interact with the big league club. It was cool. I got to interact in the cage with Fred McGriff and Ryan Klesko." DeRosa was expecting to be sent to Atlanta's Class A affiliate in Macon, Ga., the next rung up from Eugene in the Braves system. Instead, after a good spring, he was assigned to Durham in the Carolina League, which is also Class A, but is considered one step above Macon. "The organization made the decision based on how well he handled himself in spring training," Durham manager Paul Runge said. "He showed he could handle that kind of jump." DeRosa has been the Bulls starting shortstop all season and has played in 15 of the team's first 16 games. Through Sunday, he was batting .264 with no homers and just two RBIs. DeRosa has also made five errors, second most on the team. But Runge isn't concerned about DeRosa's defense. "He's played outstanding shortstop in the early going," Runge said. "He's not only making the routine plays, he's made some very good plays behind second base and in the hole." DeRosa said he's concentrating on playing good defense, and, although he hopes to hit better than most shortstops, he feels that his main responsibility is making sure the defense is solid. Still, Runge thinks DeRosa can work on his hitting, and he's making sure that DeRosa gets instruction from the Braves hitting coaches. "He needs more balance in his stance," Runge said. "His feet kind of move around in the batter's box. Some of it has to do with him trying too hard, and some of it has to do with his stance." If DeRosa becomes a more consistent hitter and polishes his defensive skills, Runge thinks he can move up to a higher level. And DeRosa thinks he's in a good situation. "One of the positions in the Braves minor league system that they're not as strong at is up the middle," DeRosa said. "There's a chance for people to move up." But he does not have any ideas about how fast he should advance or where he should be playing in a couple of years. "I don't want to put that pressure on myself right now," DeRosa said. "If I perform, I've got to move up. I'll let them decide when I'm ready." For now, DeRosa plans to be with Durham until August 30, when the season ends. He is tentatively registered for fall classes, but if the Braves send him to play winter ball, he'll have to go. If he does come back to Penn in the fall, he'll probably find it a bit difficult to watch Quakers football games. After all, he said he used to consider himself a football player first and a baseball player second. But it won't be as hard as last year. "Last year, it was tough to come back and live with those guys and have to watch the games," DeRosa said. "Slowly but surely in my mind I'm starting to think of myself as a baseball player."
(04/15/97 9:00am)
Tyrone Pitts was steaming. Pitts, who won four letters playing for the Penn men's basketball team in the mid-1980s and captained the 1987-88 squad, had just been smacked in the face by a player from Brown. And nobody -- neither his teammates nor his coaches -- was going to calm him down. "I was furious," Pitts said. "Nobody could cool me down." Finally, somebody did. Howard Mitchell, a Wharton professor of organizational psychology, came down to the sideline from the stands and got Pitts to regain his composure. It sounds like an extraordinary scene, but only to someone who doesn't understand how important Mitchell is to the basketball program and how close he is to the players. Nobody else could have brought Pitts back to earth. "He was the only one," Pitts said. Mitchell has been doing things like that for Penn basketball teams for more than 35 years. So last Wednesday night at the team's post-season banquet, he was finally honored for his service. "Take a look around you," said Carl Robbins, captain of the 1969-70 team, after he and a group of former Penn greats posed for pictures with Mitchell. "These are all great people, and Dr. Mitchell had something to do with that." Robbins, who is now involved with the Friends of Men's Basketball club, was the one who suggested honoring Mitchell. His idea received complete support, and it brought back players from several eras in Quakers basketball history. Corky Calhoun (who played from 1969-72) was at the Penn Tower Hotel for the festivities, as were Craig Littlepage (1970-73 and head coach from 1982-85) and Pitts, to name just a few. That positive response is indicative of the effect Mitchell has had on players, especially African American ones, since he became involved with the program 37 years ago. Mitchell, who retired from full-time teaching two years ago, came to Penn as a psychologist in 1954. He was just the second black professor to get tenure at the University, and he would later become the first black professor in the country to hold an endowed professorship. And although he was a huge college basketball fan, it was academic curiosity that first drew him to Quakers basketball. In 1960 a physiologist friend who had studied Cal's NCAA championship team of a year before suggested a similar project with the Penn team. They sold Quakers coach Jack McCloskey on the idea, and for the next two seasons Mitchell studied the players on the team, conducting performance tests and collecting psychological profiles. "For example, I raised the question, 'What unique qualities do all very good shooters have'?" Mitchell said. "They'll tell you they're just feeling it. But when you ask them, they can't really explain it." Mitchell came up with the idea of having players throw darts so he could correlate their performance to their shooting percentage. He found a very high correlation between the ability to throw darts accurately and the ability to shoot. As Mitchell saw more and more of the team, he became more and more involved with it. "McCloskey and I had a lot of contact," Mitchell said. "He then started asking me for informal advice on problems the players were having. Then the next year, when he was bringing recruits in, he asked me if I would talk to them. That's a role that still goes on." Indeed, Mitchell has continued his involvement with the Quakers through all of their different coaches. He has also been a fixture in the stands, holding the same seats for 41 years and making 75 percent of the team's road games. He has even managed to talk to members of recent recruiting classes despite suffering two heart attacks in the last 13 months. Current sophomore swingman Frank Brown first met Mitchell on a recruiting trip. Brown said it was a recruiting experience unique to Penn. "I was talking to him about Penn and Wharton," Brown said. "He gave me a book to read, and I kept in contact with him." Mitchell had been a star athlete in college, playing football, basketball and baseball at Boston University, whose Hall of Fame he was inducted into last year. He even pitched for the New York Black Yankees of the Negro Leagues in 1941. So Mitchell knew what it was like to be an athlete, and he knew what it was like to be a black college student in a mostly white environment. Consequently, he was someone black players at Penn could turn to for help and advice. "He helped me tremendously in terms of adjusting from high school to college," said Pitts, who still talks with Mitchell a few times a year. "I could always go to him about anything." Words like "mentor," "advisor" and "father figure" come up repeatedly when friends discuss Mitchell. And none of the former players hesitate to credit him for affecting their lives in a positive way. "Everyone of [the former players] is a great guy," said Tony Jannetta, the president of Friends of Men's Basketball. "They're articulate, they're successful, they understand the world and have overcome a lot of adversity. And I think everyone of them owes a piece of that to Dr. Mitchell."
(04/07/97 9:00am)
Glanville has started only two of nine games and is hitting .222. Currently he is batting second in the Cubs lineup. No one has ever confused Penn with a baseball factory. Only 16 Quakers have spent more than two seasons in the Major Leagues. The last one to have done it was Bob Keegan, who played for the Chicago White Sox from 1953 to 1958. Doug Glanville is trying to change all of that. The 1991 Penn grad -- he was a GTE academic All-American with an engineering degree -- is not likely to make the All-Star team anytime soon. But as an outfielder on the Chicago Cubs roster, he may be on the verge of carving out a nice career for himself. "I've had my ups and downs," Glanville said. "I don't know if you call it a late bloomer, a learning curve or what. It's been hard work. These last couple years I've kind of had everything come together." Glanville is a rookie with the Cubs, batting .222 through Saturday. He's started in leftfield twice and hit second in Chicago's lineup, between Brian McRae and Ryne Sandberg. But this is not Glanville's first taste of the majors. After more than five seasons in the minor leagues, he was finally called up to the Cubs last June 9. He was sent back to AAA Iowa on July 26, but he was brought up again in September. In total, Glanville appeared in 49 games with the Cubs last season, hitting .241 with 10 RBIs. He also hit his first big-league home run, off former Montreal pitcher Jeff Fassero. And his first two hits came against the Phillies at Veterans Stadium, in front of friends and family. It was a memorable season, but the most exciting moment came when Glanville first learned that he was joining the Cubs for the first time. "You feel everything -- part relief, part excitement," Glanville said. "It was an undescribable, great feeling, especially after what I've been through, and all the hard work." Baseball America chose Glanville as a second team All-American centerfielder before his senior year at Penn, and the Cubs made him their first-round pick -- the 12th selection overall -- in June 1991 amateur draft. Naturally, some heavy expectations came with the awards, the $250,000 signing bonus and the distinction of being a first-round pick. But Glanville did not put any extra pressure on himself, even if other people did. "When you're drafted in the first round, people expect a lot and they expect it fast," Glanville said. "The Cubs have shown patience." The trip to the big leagues was slow. Glanville spent two-and-a-half seasons playing A ball, and he could hit no better than .264 and .263 in a season and a half at AA Orlando. "I had a lot to learn as a hitter," Glanville said. "I didn't know how to hit the curveball or how to use rightfield." The change in Glanville's fortunes came when he played in the 1994 Arizona Fall League and he held his own against top minor-leaguers. He also played winter ball in Puerto Rico in 1995 and 1996. "I did well against top prospects," Glanville said. "I started thinking, 'I can do this.' " The bat finally came around. He hit .308 over 90 games in Iowa last year. This spring Glanville, a right-hander, was in a battle with five other players to be part of the Cubs' two-man platoon in leftfield. He hit .385 and scored 13 runs in 24 games, highlighted by a triple against Seattle' s Randy Johnson, which was good enough to win a spot on the roster. Glanville will start against left-handers and try to add speed and contact hitting to the lineup. He also expects to be a defensive replacement, and to do a bit of pinch-running and pinch-hitting. "I'd like to be getting a lot of playing time," Glanville said. "If you look at it rationally, it'll be mostly against left-handed pitchers. That's a start. You've got to expect that anything can happen. If people keep noticing you, that's going to open up a lot of paths." Glanville would like to play centerfield, where he's most comfortable, but McRae is locked up with a three-year contract. Two expansion teams next year might open up some jobs, but for now Glanville will play left and prepare for anything. "It's not available right now," Glanville said. "You never know what's down the road." Whatever happens, he's already found the road to success.
(03/05/97 10:00am)
Princeton's team game carried it to an 86-73 win and a 14-0 Ivy record. PRINCETON, N.J. -- Last night's game against Princeton was to serve as a measuring stick for the Penn men's basketball team. The result was quite clear -- while the Quakers are a good Ivy League team, the Tigers are a great one. In a game that was not the usual grind-it-out, defensive struggle between these two, Princeton beat Penn 86-73. The Quakers (12-14, 8-6 Ivy League) played pretty well in their final game of the season, as revealed by a look at the final statistics. They shot 50 percent from the floor. They committed only 10 turnovers. Penn had four players reach double figures in scoring -- an occurrence that had signalled victory seven previous times this season. The problem was Princeton simply did everything better than the Quakers. Five Tigers scored in double digits, and as a team they shot 60 percent from the field -- 50 percent from behind the three-point line. "This is a special team they have," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "They're filled with confidence, and obviously they should be. They've got the perfect blend of experience and youth." Princeton's performance might be considered flukish, except that it put on a similar display in its first win over the Quakers this year, a 74-59 win at the Palestra in February. In that game, the Tigers shot 76.2 percent in the second half to blow open a tight game. No second-half run was necessary last night at Jadwin Gym. Princeton (24-3, 14-0) took control of the game early, and although the Quakers were never out of it, they never seriously threatened to take the lead. Helped out by a trio early three-pointers, the Tigers jumped out to a 15-6 lead six minutes into the game. Penn answered with a 10-4 run, sparked by a four-point play from Jed Ryan and two driving layups from Garett Kreitz. But Princeton responded with another run, this one 14-2 over four and a half minutes. It put the Tigers up 33-18 with five minutes left in the half, on the way to a 40-30 halftime lead. Key to Princeton's streak late in the half was the play of backup center Jesse Rosenfeld. Starter Steve Goodrich struggled throughout the game, finishing with 10 points in only 21 minutes. But Rosenfeld came off the bench and scored seven quick points over five minutes in the first half. The senior finished with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in just 19 minutes of action. "He's been terrific all year," Tigers coach Bill Carmody said of Rosenfeld. "The offense seems to run a bit better when he's in. When he's in there, guys cut harder." Princeton gradually continued to build its lead as the second half opened, eventually holding a 56-39 advantage with 12:35 left in the game. Nine straight points by Ryan and Paul Romanczuk helped trim the Quakers' deficit to 10 points. And with 6:16 left, a Kreitz free throw moved Penn to within 63-54. But the Red and Blue could move no closer, and two straight Princeton threes gave the Tigers a comfortable lead the rest of the way. Penn managed just 10 three-point shots for the entire game, well off its average of 20.8 per contest. Kreitz, who had launched 228 treys this season, managed only one attempt from behind the arc last night. Kreitz responded by driving to the basket effectively, but the Quakers usually have to make more than four threes to win. "We knew Sydney Johnson was going to guard [Kreitz]," Dunphy said. "We ran a couple of sets where we thought there was no way [Johnson] was going to know where to be, and he was. He's got that sixth sense." So while the Tigers cut down the nets to celebrate their perfect season and turned toward the NCAA tournament, the Quakers were left to consider this season and wonder how much they have to improve to win the league next year. "I think we've played some good games the last five games," Dunphy said. "I'm pleased at how far we've come but we've still got a ways to go." Penn will return everybody next season, but Princeton will only lose Johnson and Rosenfeld from its regular rotation. The gap between the two teams was apparent last night. "I think we're close," Kreitz said, "but not as close as we want to be."
(03/03/97 10:00am)
With these two victories, the Penn men's hoops team will place fourth. Penn had been officially eliminated from the Ivy League race the week before, and Princeton had already wrapped up the league title. So for the first time since 1991-92 season, the Quakers entered the final week of the season with nothing to play for but their pride. That was more than enough this weekend, as they rolled to two impressive victories over Columbia and Cornell. With these wins, Penn guaranteed itself a winning record within the Ivy League. The Quakers also locked up fourth place in the conference, continuing a streak that began in 1968-69 of finishing fourth or better in the Ancient Eight. But Penn aims higher than fourth, and with this year nearly over, the Quakers are already getting ready for next season. "It is the first time in a number of years where we haven't had a chance late in the year to be a champion," coach Fran Dunphy said. "It's no fun for us, but hopefully we're preparing for next year." Penn is trying to do that by closing out this season on a high note. The team has now won three of its last four games and by sweeping this weekend, the Quakers won consecutive games for the first time since they beat Yale and Brown on January 10 and 11. Despite not having a shot at the Ivy title, the team is still motivated, according to guard Garett Kreitz. "I think it's a different type of motivation," Kreitz said. "We're more motivated to show people that we are a good team rather than motivation for a championship. In that sense, it's different. But you have to go out and try to win every game." Penn did that against Cornell and Columbia by jumping out to quick leads. With 11:30 gone Friday night, the Quakers were up 27-8 against the Big Red. The next evening, they blitzed the Lions early and led 26-5 with 11:20 left in the first half. Facing a fired-up team in a hostile gym, neither Cornell nor Columbia could recover. "They played with a lot of fire and intensity and we had a difficult time stopping them," Cornell coach Scott Thompson said. "I think they got the momentum going, and we had a hard time bringing it back to our side." Paul Romanczuk was the offensive star for Penn. The sophomore forward scored 37 points in the two games, racking up 18 against Cornell and 19 -- along with 10 rebounds -- against Columbia. But the outstanding aspect of Penn's play over the weekend was its balance on offense. Five Quakers reached double figures against Cornell, and four scored 10 or more against Columbia. "I'd like to take a look at statistics throughout the course of the year, of how we did when four guys got double-figure points," Dunphy said on Friday. "Tonight we go five, which is obviously even better. But we need that balance in order for us to be a good team." For the record, Penn is 7-0 when it has four or more double-digit scorers. Three of those games have come in the last two weekends, which might indicate that the Quakers are starting to come together -- and that next year might bring more of the same type of basketball. "Every game we've got to go out and improve," Kreitz said. "Next year? we'll start off in a better position. We'll have a team that knows each other." Tomorrow night's season-ending game at Princeton should tell Penn something about where it stands against the league's best heading into next season. "It's a terrific way for us to end our season this year, to play against the best team in the league, the team that's going to the NCAA tournament," Dunphy said. "It just gives us an indication of how far we've got to go to be of that caliber. It's a terrific basketball team, and one that is a great rivalry for us, so we'll certainly use it in the best way we can."
(02/17/97 10:00am)
Penn coach Fran Dunphy has said all season that every game would be a struggle for the Quakers. Anyone who didn't believe him before this past weekend has to believe him now. Penn managed only a split of two home games against Brown and Yale, two teams who had just three Ivy League wins between them before visiting the Palestra. The Quakers (9-12, 5-4 Ivy League), managed to do enough to get by the Bears on Friday, 58-47. But the next night, the Elis stole what appeared to be a certain Penn victory in the final seconds and emerged with a 60-58 win. This was a game the Quakers had in their hands. After taking a 27-24 halftime lead, they continued to slowly build their lead in the second half. When Michael Jordan hit a jumper with 10:18 to play, Penn took a nine-point lead, 49-40. But Yale (9-13, 2-11) scored nine straight over the next 2:52 seconds. Daniel Okonkwo, who had been held to two points in the first half, erupted for 14 in the second half, most of them from the inside. His tip-in and jumper tied the game at 49-49 with 7:26 remaining. "We did not defend him very well," Dunphy said. "We kept him off the foul line, which I was pleased with. But there was a stretch there where we didn't do a good job of stopping his thrust to the basket." The Quakers regained a five-point lead on a Jordan jumper and three free throws from Garett Kreitz with 4:42 left. Two more foul shots from Kreitz (19 points) gave Penn a 58-55 lead with just 26.9 seconds left. Then everything went wrong for the Quakers. Junior Gabe Hunterton hit a three from the top of the key to tie the game. Jordan came right back and drove the lane at the other end, getting the ball to Owens under the basket. But the rookie was called for a charge with just 1.5 seconds left. It was a questionable call from Penn's perspective, but the worst was yet to come. Quakers guard Jamie Lyren was called for a push on Hunterton, who was trying to catch a baseball pass near the Penn foul line. Lyren did have his arms on Hunterton's back, but his push did not appear to be much more than a nudge. "I thought I was going to catch it and have a chance to get a shot off," Hunterton said. "Jamie Lyren put his hands on my back and gave a little shove and the referee called it." Hunterton hit two free throws to put Yale ahead, 60-58. Penn had a chance to tie, when Romanczuk cleanly caught a long inbounds pass about 15 feet from the hoop. He turned and fired, but missed everything as the buzzer sounded. "I caught the ball, and I guess I figured I'd be contested a little bit, and I missed the shot," Romanczuk said. "There's not much else I can really say about that shot. I had to opportunity to tie the game and I didn't." Dunphy was still upset about the calls against Owens and Lyren. "For us not to win the game, a series of four things had to happen, all of them to go against us," Dunphy said. "All four of them did, with Hunterton making the shot, with Geoff getting an offensive foul to give them the ball back, to a foul on Jamie Lyren that ... you don't make that call at that point." It was Penn's third Ivy home loss in four games. The last time the Quakers dropped three league games at the Palestra was during the 1990-91 season. "If we're playing at our best, and we're at home, you'd think we can win the game," Dunphy said. "But we're not playing at our best." Although not at their best the night before, Penn did escape with a win over Brown. "I think we do have some people who are not quite understanding how important every single contest is," Dunphy said after the Brown game. "And to take it a step further, every possession of every game." Dunphy tried to correct that and motivate his players after last Tuesday's loss to Princeton by reminding them how quickly their college basketball careers will go by. But it didn't seem to have much of an effect early on against the Bears. The Quakers jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead,but then Penn froze, going scoreless for the next 7:15. Fortunately for the Quakers, Brown (3-19, 2-8) couldn't do much offensively either. The Bears failed to take full advantage of Penn's drought and scored just six points during the stretch. Both teams shot 10-of-28 from the field for the first 20 minutes and Penn held a 24-21 lead at intermission. It was as if the teams were celebrating Penn's basketball centennial with a score from a hundred years ago. The Quakers hit in the second half, connecting on 12 of 26 shots. Kreitz and Jed Ryan opened the Penn scoring with two three-pointers, and a steal by Romanczuk led to a layup for Jordan, giving the Quakers a 32-24 lead. "We were swinging the ball pretty well," said Kreitz, who led all scorers with 15 points. "We just weren't knocking them down. I think they had to come out of their zone because we were getting so many open looks. " The most encouraging aspect of the game for Penn was the play of freshman center Geoff Owens, who finished with six points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots. He also avoided foul trouble and played 35minutes. "Just [having Owens] on the floor is a nice luxury to have," Dunphy said. "Because he's got great size, he can block some shots and he can change some shots." But Owens is a freshman, and things didn't go quite as well Saturday against Yale. He fouled out late in the game after seeing only 23 minutes of action.
(02/10/97 10:00am)
Foul shots once again cost Penn a win over Dartmouth and ended a winning streak. For the second year in a row, Penn had a chance to beat Dartmouth with free throws at the end of the second half. For the second year in a row, the Quakers missed. The Big Green went on to knock off Penn in overtime Saturday night, 74-70, dealing a blow to the Quakers' Ivy title hopes. The loss and a 85-68 win over Harvard on Friday moved Penn to 8-10 overall and 4-2 in the league. The Quakers are now two full games behind Princeton (16-3, 6-0) and a game behind Dartmouth (14-6, 6-2), two teams they must face a combined three more times. Penn's margin for error is now almost nonexistent. But things could have been different. After Big Green center Brian Gilpin hit a short jumper from the left baseline to tie the game at 53-53 with 11.7 seconds left in regulation, the Quakers had a chance. "I was very happy that we were in the position that we were with a couple seconds left to go," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "That was unbelievable that we were at that stage. But we didn't find a way to put it away, and that's disappointing." Sophomore Jed Ryan quickly pushed the ball upcourt and found freshman Michael Jordan, who drove the lane and dished to forward George Mboya under the basket. He was immediately fouled by Dartmouth forward Sea Lonergan with just 2.9 ticks left. "I definitely didn't want them to have a lay-up," Lonergan said. "I wanted them to have to do it from the line." Mboya could not. The sophomore had made only five of 20 free throws on the season, and he missed both of these badly. Mboya did manage to rebound the second miss, but Ryan missed a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer. "I just knew that he had a wide open lay-up if I didn't go for the ball," Lonergan said of Mboya. "So we got lucky there. He missed the two and we had confidence in ourselves in overtime." Ironically, the Quakers found their touch from the foul line this weekend. Until Mboya's misses, they had made 11-of-13 against the Big Green after sinking 17-of-21 against Harvard. Adding a cruel twist, Dartmouth slowly killed Penn in overtime from the line. The Big Green made its first 10 free throws in the extra session. Those, along with an alley-oop dunk by forward Shaun Gee and a Gilpin lay-up, gave Dartmouth a 67-59 lead with 1:03 left. The Quakers got back to within three after Garett Kreitz hit a three-pointer and Ryan converted a three-point play. But on the ensuing play Gee broke free from the Penn defense, received a long inbounds pass and scored a lay-up while being fouled by freshman Matt Langel. The free throw, with 30.6 seconds left, gave the Big Green an insurmountable 71-65 lead. "I just felt that we clearly played hard, and we executed well in the overtime," said Dartmouth coach Dave Faucher, who got his first win in 13 visits to the Palestra. "It's a credit to my guys, and I'm really proud of them. I feel like a million bucks right now." The difference in the game was the Big Green defense. Against Harvard the previous night, Penn shot a red-hot 57 percent from the floor en route to an 85-68 win. The Quakers made 12 of 20 three-pointers, and despite not playing badly, the Crimson lost by 17. "We got our rebounds, our assist-to-turnover ration was adequate, and we got four guys in double figures," Harvard coach Frank Sullivan said. "Everything for us sorted out nicely except our defense against the three. It was just a glowing example of how the three-point shot can neutralize a lot of things in the game." Faucher did not want the same thing to happen to him. Kreitz made five of eight threes against Harvard. When he came off the bench to enter Saturday's game, the Dartmouth coaches yelled to make sure the Big Green paid attention to him. "We really wanted to play defense and make a stand," Faucher said . "I think Harvard's a pretty good defensive team, but not many Ivy League teams are going to score 85 points against us the way we play defense." The Quakers wound up making exactly one-third of their shots. Excluding Jordan, who scored a career-high 24 points, and Ryan (18 points), the rest of the Penn squad went 8-of-36 from the floor, including 2-of-11 from the arc. "Any time you shoot a percentage like we did, there's going to be some of us, that we're not making shots, and some of them," Dunphy said. "I thought they did a nice job defending us as well." Dartmouth led for almost all of the first half, taking a 26-21 lead. Six Quakers turnovers in the first 4:05 led to the Big Green's initial eight points. "We were really poor turning the basketball over and gave them three or four easy baskets," Dunphy said. "They didn't even have to work for them. That's as meaningful as the game coming down to the last minute or two." Dartmouth's lead grew as large as eight points early in the second half, but Kreitz hit the first of two free throws to tie the game at 35-35 with 10:25 left. He missed the second, but Mboya grabbed the rebound and put it back to give Penn its first lead since 2-0. The Big Green, however, refused to fade, and the game went to the wire, with the lead changing hands eight more times down the stretch. The end of regulation was remarkably similar to the conclusion of the game at Dartmouth last February, when former Penn star Ira Bowman missed the front end of a one-and-one with three seconds left and the Big Green escaped with a 54-53 win. On Saturday, the score was 53-53 when Mboya had his chance. The loss ended the Quakers' 34-game Ivy win streak at home, while last year's loss stopped Penn's 48-game league winning streak. And the superstitious might note that both Bowman and Mboya wore jersey No. 13. "We had a second chance tonight when we got to overtime," Dunphy said, comparing the two games. "This was probably more disappointing in that we were home and also we had our second chance opportunity."
(02/06/97 10:00am)
Quakers assistant coach Gil Jackson pointed the fellow Delaware native toward the Big Green. Dartmouth coach Dave Faucher smiles when he talks about Kenny Mitchell. He's talking on the phone, but the listener on the other end can tell that Faucher's face has brightened after hearing Mitchell's name. "He's one of my favorites," Faucher said. "He's a great kid and a hard worker, and he's improved so much. It's a great story." And Mitchell is a pretty good basketball player. If statistics mean anything, the senior is one of the better point guards in the country. In fact, Mitchell leads the nation with 7.9 assists per game. "I think he's as good as any point guard in the league," Faucher said. "I wouldn't trade him for anyone. He's as important as anyone on our team. The position he plays, the way he plays -- he's absolutely critical." Faucher admits he did not expect Mitchell to have this much of an impact on the Dartmouth program when he recruited him. Accordingly, Mitchell saw little playing time as a freshman, sitting behind first-team All-Ivy guard Gregg Frame. But at least one person knew Mitchell would be a success. "He's very bright, very intelligent, extremely competitive," Penn assistant coach Gil Jackson said. "Yeah, I definitely expected him to do very, very well." In the small world of basketball, Jackson and Mitchell go back a long way. Mitchell played in high school at the Sanford School in Wilmington, Del., where Jackson was the head coach until 1989. Mitchell was a freshman at Sanford during Jackson's first year as a volunteer assistant at Penn. But Jackson continued to teach history at the school, and that was how he grew close to Mitchell. As a senior, Mitchell was interested in attending an Ivy League school. He got advice from Jackson, who in turn brought Mitchell to Faucher's attention. "He recommended him," Faucher said. "He said he was a good kid who worked hard. We followed up on Gil's lead, saw him and liked him." Finally Mitchell chose the Big Green, after also considering Brown and Columbia. "I wanted to get away from home," Mitchell said. "Also, in terms of playing, I wanted to go somewhere where I could play." Ironically, Penn's success in recent years discouraged him from joining the program, despite his ties to Jackson. Mitchell considered becoming a Quaker, but he would have been stuck on the bench for two years behind Jerome Allen and Matt Maloney. "I think it would have been unfair to ask him to sit behind Jerome and Matt for a couple years," Jackson said. "That would have been more of a selfish motive on my part. I didn't want to do that." "The coaches at Dartmouth owe me a favor," Jackson added with a laugh. No doubt Faucher will be forever grateful. But Mitchell still had to do his share of pine time as a freshman. After making the switch from high school to college, he realized he had "a whole lot of work to do." "I had to work on everything," Mitchell said. "Ballhandling, shooting, passing, defense -- it definitely was not satisfying, but I was happy that I was progressing." With constant practice, Mitchell made improvements in his game. He gained some strength, took better care of the ball and became a defensive force. (He is tied for 12th in the nation with 2.9 steals per game.) "I'm sure he was frustrated in his first year," Faucher said. "I'm sure he was frustrated at times with the system and at times with me. Now we're extremely close. That's part of his buying into the program." Mitchell now also has the complete confidence of his teammates. As a co-captain, he directs the Big Green offense and sets up scorers like Sea Lonergan and Brian Gilpin. "I definitely try to be a leader," Mitchell said. "I try to make sure everybody's on the same page, make sure everybody's getting the ball." "He really looks to handle the ball, and set up his teammates and defend -- put pressure on opposing point guards," Jackson said. "And make free throws. That's what we kind of talked about when he was young, what a point guard would do." Mitchell has also improved his scoring this year, throwing in 9.3 points a game. He is a decent threat from the three-point line, shooting 36.7 percent. And at 5-foot-11, he is a surprisingly good rebounder, averaging 4.3 boards a contest. "I think he's special because of the number of things he does," Faucher said. "We won three games last year by him diving for balls on the floor at the end. He gets tips, long rebounds, charges -- anything that's related to hustle, he gets." Mitchell's ultimate goal is to play in the NCAA tournament, which requires breaking the Penn-Princeton stranglehold on the Ivy League title. He places that ahead of any individual accomplishments. "I'd so much rather be winning than leading the nation at anything," Mitchell said. Dartmouth can take a big step towards that goal this weekend when it visits Princeton and Penn. Mitchell had a fine game in the Big Green's 54-53 streak-buster against the Quakers last year, totalling nine points, seven assists and seven rebounds. He'll be looking to do more of the same on Saturday. He'll even have his own cheering section -- a group of friends and faculty from high school have hit Jackson up for tickets. "We're going to have to do a good job containing him," Jackson said. "He had a great game against us up in Hanover, the game that they won. I think if you can contain Kenny, that shuts them down. He's the real heart of their team."
(01/27/97 10:00am)
The second-year coach of Lafayette hosts the Quakers - the team he was an assistant coach for two years ago. Fran O'Hanlon is starting over at Lafayette -- again. Last season was O'Hanlon's first as head coach at Lafayette, after six seasons next to Fran Dunphy on the Penn bench. It wasn't the most enjoyable campaign, either. The Leopards won just seven of 27 games a year ago. Things didn't figure to get any easier for O'Hanlon this year. He lost four starters and his sixth man from last year's squad to graduation. "Last year we had a number of seniors," O'Hanlon said. "So this is really my first year. We have all new starters except one." So O'Hanlon is reloading. With youth. Lots of it. If you thought Penn had a young team, take a look at the Lafayette roster. There is but one junior among the 13 players. The rest are freshmen and sophomores. Youth has its advantages, but it can also bring plenty of difficulties. The Leopards' have a 6-12 record heading into tonight's game against the Quakers (6-7) at the Allan P. Kirby Field House in Easton, Pa. Lafayette's record looks promising compared to last year's mark, but it's still on the wrong side of .500. "I'm used to winning," O'Hanlon said. "But it just doesn't take place overnight." The Leopards are making progress. Four of their losses have been by 10 points or fewer. According to O'Hanlon, once his team figures out how to win close games, wins will come more easily. "We have to learn how to win those games," O'Hanlon said. "One or two wins will give us the consistency we need to get." Things may be getting better. Lafayette beat Army, 79-77, on Saturday. The problem is that with just one upperclassman on the team, there's no one on the court to learn from. "We have a lot of new faces here," O'Hanlon said. "They don't have any junior or senior leadership to show them how to do it." Leading the way on offense for the Leopards is 6-foot-11 center Stefan Ciosici, a sophomore from Romania. Ciosici averages 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds a game, and has two straight double-doubles. Guard Mike Homer chips in 12.6 points per game and is the team's best three-point shooter (36.8 percent). But on the whole, the Lafayette offense is not what you would call explosive, shooting just below 40 percent as a team. "They're very inconsistent," O'Hanlon said of his players. "Last year at this time they were getting ready for high school games in Long Island. Now they're getting ready to play Army or Penn or Tulane. That's a big difference." O'Hanlon is looking forward to tonight's game against the Quakers for a couple of reasons. For one, he thinks his team will be better for it. "One of the things I try to tell my guys is that Penn has a championship attitude," O'Hanlon said. "That's the point we want to get to. When you play a team that's well-coached, you learn from it." O'Hanlon also just likes seeing the Quakers again. He recruited some of them, and he still talks with the coaching staff once or twice a week. "I pull in any other game for them," O'Hanlon said. O'Hanlon thinks Penn has a good shot at the Ivy League title, with more-experienced Princeton as the other favorite. He should know something about the Ancient Eight -- the Quakers will be Lafayette's seventh Ivy opponent this year. "They're inexperienced, but very talented," O'Hanlon said. "That young nucleus of Michael Jordan, Matt Langel and Geoff Owens -- they're going to be terrific in the league. Talent-wise, intensity-wise, Penn's up there with anybody in the league."
(01/22/97 10:00am)
Despite a hopeless situation, Penn impressed with its tenacity and the play of its younger players. BALTIMORE, Md. -- Penn lost last night to Maryland, which could not have been a major surprise or disappointment. After all, the Terrapins are the seventh-best team in the country, according to the polls. And they were coming off a win at Wake Forest. If Tim Duncan couldn't stop the Terps, what kind of chance did the Quakers have? In the end, Penn had a particularly tough time dealing with Maryland's quickness, especially when trying to handle the ball. The Terrapins pressed and trapped and swiped and stole, forcing an eye-popping 31 turnovers and turning them into 34 points. But the Quakers can extract a few positives from the 103-73 loss. First, the game was quite competitive for at least a half. Despite committing 10 turnovers in the first half, Penn trailed by just six points with four minutes left, before a Maryland run stretched the deficit to 13 at halftime. "We turned the ball over five or six straight times during one stretch [in the first half]," Quakers coach Fran Dunphy said. "With this kind of firepower against us, you can't go six straight possessions without a score." Still, Penn seemed more confident playing against the Terrapins than it had against, say, Villanova. Sophomore forward Jed Ryan continued his strong play of late, scoring inside and from long range to finish with 17 points. Paul Romanczuk also refused to back down against the bigger Terps, finishing with nine points and five rebounds. And although they combined for 16 turnovers, the Quakers' three freshmen all made solid contributions on offense. Matt Langel coolly knocked down three of four three-pointers in the first half, while fellow frosh Michael Jordan flashed some of his wizardry with 11 points, all in the second half. Center Geoff Owens chipped in with eight points and four boards. And while the 30-point loss had a few bright spots for Penn, it is games like this that will bring even better times for the Quakers in the future. This, after all, was Penn's third game against a team ranked in the top 10 in the nation. The Quakers have found themselves on the wrong side of a blowout each time. But getting thrashed by national powers is like eating your vegetables -- you may not like it, but it builds character. "If the kids are good enough to play, they'll be O.K.," Dunphy said. "They'll weather the storm. The next time we play somebody more like us, we'll be better for it. If you can't learn from this, you're not paying attention." Playing "somebody more like us" refers to the Ivy League, which is what Penn is really interested in winning. Arch-rival Princeton, by the way, has played Indiana and North Carolina this season. "The Ivy League is real important," senior guard Jamie Lyren said. "If we win it, we go to the NCAAs, and that's our most important goal." Losing by 30 to Maryland or by 42 to Arizona isn't fun, but it will give the Quakers an edge during those tough Ivy weekends. If you've gone up against Keith Booth, playing Dartmouth's Seamus Lonergan doesn't seem as daunting. Dunphy pointed out an instance of Penn's continuing education. In the first half, Owens received a pass under the Terrapins' basket. But instead of taking a clear path to the hoop, he moved right back into the Terp defense. "Off of today's performance, I think he'll learn from it," Dunphy said. "Next time he'll turn away from the defense." As for the 31 turnovers, don't count on the Quakers committing nearly that many against an Ancient Eight foe. "I don't think we're going to see a similarly athletic team in our league," Dunphy said. Even Maryland coach Gary Williams realized how his team was helping Penn, suggesting that when crunch time in the Ivies arrives, the Quakers will have an edge.
(01/20/97 10:00am)
St. Joseph's defense stopped Penn's chance to score a go-ahead basket with three seconds left in the game. You might not have expected a lot from the Penn men's basketball team Saturday night. The Quakers were coming off a poor-shooting loss to Drexel on Wednesday and were facing St. Joseph's, which regularly beats Penn and is 3-1 in the Atlantic 10 this year. Perhaps you had forgotten that this was a game in the Palestra between two Big 5 teams. A thriller was almost guaranteed, right? It was a thriller, a treat for the 8,722 that filled every seat in the house. When Garett Kreitz banked in a ridiculous three for the Quakers from the top of the key with 49.2 seconds left, the game was tied at 61. And with 6.4 ticks left, Penn, trailing by one, had the ball in the frontcourt and a chance to win the game. But an inbounds pass from Michael Jordan to Paul Romanczuk was knocked away by Hawks forward Duval Simmonds. St. Joe's guard Arthur "Yah" Davis recovered the ball and was fouled with 3.5 seconds on the clock. Davis knocked down two free throws to give the Hawks a 64-61 lead, and then sealed the win by stealing the Quakers' inbounds pass and emphatically dunking at the buzzer. The 66-61 loss -- the 17th against St. Joe's in the last 18 meetings -- was disappointing for Penn (5-6), but it was not without a silver lining. The Quakers' performance against the Hawks was clearly a step in the right direction after the Drexel game. "Obviously we improved tonight over the Drexel game," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "That's our goal. We need to get better as the season goes on, and I'm pleased. I think we gave a good effort tonight. I'm sorry we didn't win the game. We had our chances." As the game started, it didn't look as if the Quakers would have much of a chance. St. Joe's (9-4) jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead with just over three minutes gone by, and the margin continued to grow until the Hawks took a 26-10 lead with nine minutes, sixteen seconds left in the first half. Penn showed a disturbing tendency early on, to pass the ball to the fans in the bleachers, but overall the Quakers' offensive execution resulted in good looks at the basket. The problem for Penn was making shots -- the team went 8-for-28 from the field in the first half. St. Joe's, meanwhile, made 13-of-29 shots (44.8 percent), pretty good for a team that had failed to break 40 percent in its last three games. "We made shots," Hawks' coach Phil Martelli said. "It was really fool's gold, what was going on, because we're not a great shooting team and we made shots. That's what enabled us to get a big lead." A 10-0 run -- featuring seven points from sophomore forward Jed Ryan -- brought the Quakers back into the game, and at halftime the St. Joe's lead was a more manageable nine points, at 33-24. "I wasn't displeased with the shots we were getting," Dunphy said. "We got enough open looks, and I thought they made some real tough shots in the first half. You have to think they're not going to make every shot they take, and we're going to keep firing away and hopefully have some confidence and make some shots." Penn tightened the game even more at the beginning of the second half. Romanczuk scored five quick points on two layups and a free throw, and Kreitz bombed in a three from the deep left corner to pull the Quakers within three at 35-32. "I think they got back in it because in the second half, we weren't ready to play," said Hawks guard Rashid Bey, who led all scorers with 18 points. "We didn't keep the intensity that we had in the first half. They were ready to play and hit a lot of threes." Penn -- in particular Kreitz and freshman Matt Langel -- finally broke out of a prolonged shooting slump in the second half. The Quakers shot 54.2 percent from the floor, including 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from behind the arc. Consecutive threes by Langel and Ryan, who scored a team-high 13 points, tied the game at 46, and another three from Langel with 7:31 left gave the Quakers their first lead at 51-50. "I think we have some guys that are good shooters -- Garett Kreitz and Matt Langel and Jed Ryan," Dunphy said. "We want them to continue to shoot. I think we'll be O.K. with that." Less than a minute after Langel's second three, Penn fans erupted again. Jordan drove the right baseline, hung in the air and made a layup after being fouled. His free throw gave the Quakers a 54-52 lead with 6:47 left. "We fought back hard and went up a couple of points," Jordan said. "We thought we were going to pull it off." But St. Joe's refused to fade. Forward Dmitri Domani immediately buried a three to reclaim the lead, and Bey hit two more treys down the stretch to give the Hawks a 61-58 lead, setting the stage for Kreitz's shot and Simmonds' defensive heroics. "They did a good job rallying in the second half," said Dunphy of his team. "They understood they were right there. Maybe a made jumper by us and a missed jumper by them, and maybe the outcome's a little different."
(01/15/97 10:00am)
Despite being situated just blocks apart, tonight's game will be the first meeting of the two schools since 1988. At last, The Battle For 33rd Street. It's hard to believe, but University City neighbors Penn and Drexel have met on the hardwood just eight times in their respective histories. The ninth meeting, and the first since 1988, takes place at 7 p.m. tonight in the Palestra. It's difficult to explain why the Quakers and Dragons haven't gotten together more often. Even the game in 1988 wasn't really planned -- Drexel (8-6) beat Penn (5-4) in the second round of the Josten's Classic tournament. Their last game before that was in 1928. "This is only my sixth year here, and I have no idea why they haven't played in the past," Dragons coach Bill Herrion said. "But I've become very friendly with Coach Dunphy. I think our relationship is, hopefully, the reason why this is [happening]." Drexel's emergence in recent years as the sixth major program in the city no doubt also helped. The Dragons are a stronger and more worthwhile opponent, and their schedule this year also includes La Salle and St. Joseph's. "I think Philadelphia college basketball has changed to the point where now Drexel has been given its proper respect," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. Much of the credit for that goes to Herrion. Under his reign, the Dragons have enjoyed their greatest success. And strangely enough, it has been remarkably similar to the Quakers' under Dunphy. Drexel has won four North Atlantic Conference [now America East] regular-season titles in a row and has made three straight trips to the NCAA tournament. The Dragons were the closest thing to a Cinderella team in last year's tourney, upsetting Memphis and giving Final Four-bound Syracuse a scare before losing. This year's Drexel squad might not be as strong as other recent teams, simply because former center Malik Rose is now playing forward for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets. The Dragons lost two conference games on the road last weekend, at Northeastern and Boston, but Dunphy believes the Quakers will have their hands full tonight. "I still think they're an outstanding basketball team," said Dunphy, whose own team will try to extend its modest two-game winning streak. "I didn't think we played particularly well against Yale or Brown either, so it's just one of those things that happens on the road in the league." Leading Drexel this year are a pair of 6-foot-2 shooters, senior Jeff Myers (17.0 points per game) and sophomore Mike DeRocckis (12.4 ppg). But the Dragons are not just a two-man team. "I like Linderman a whole lot, and I like (Chuck) Guittar very much," Dunphy said. "So, I think they've got a nice, solid team. I think they're pretty balanced." Indeed, freshman center Joe Linderman (12.5 ppg) and senior forward Guittar (11.9 ppg) have demonstrated the ability to score. With four players averaging double figures in scoring, Drexel has demonstrated nice balance on offense. The team's biggest problem, according to Herrion, is finding a leader in tight games. The two losses over the weekend were by a combined seven points, and two other setbacks were by four and five points. "We lost by three Friday, we lost in overtime Sunday," Herrion said. "I think when you get in those kind of games, you need people to step up and make some plays. We're struggling right now trying to find somebody to kind of step into that leadership role." Herrion hopes that will change tonight. He expects his players to be fired up, and says this is a big game for all of Drexel University, not just its basketball team. "I think it's a game that's really probably way more important for Drexel than it is for Penn," Herrion said. "We're in a situation, being in this city and not being in that Big 5, where we need games like this. We need to build some tradition and some pride. So it's a big game for Drexel from that standpoint." Even though the two teams are not traditional rivals and the game is not a Big 5 matchup, both coaches foresee the same kind of intensity tonight. "You get into these city games, and you throw the records out the windows," Herrion said. "I'm expecting it to be a war." "I think they'll be fired up and ready to go," said Dunphy. " We should be. If we're not... we'll issue a saliva test before the game." Herrion hopes the Penn and Drexel continue to meet every year. Dunphy said there have been discussions between the two schools about hosting doubleheaders at the Palestra. If their relationship continues to develop, a real rivalry might be born. As Herrion said, "It's a natural."
(12/06/96 10:00am)
The Quakers hope to put together two good halves for the first time. The new season finally began on Tuesday for the Penn men's basketball team. And though the Quakers' 80-74 victory over Towson State was a solid win to kick off the campaign, it wasn't perfect. There's always something to work on, even after just one game. In the Quakers' case, as they prepare for tomorrow's game at the Palestra against Lehigh, it's putting everything together for 40 minutes. Against the Tigers, Penn held a 21-point halftime lead. But in the second half, Towson State cut the deficit down to three with two minutes left, before the Quakers put the game away for good. "I don't know if we let up because of the score," Penn guard Garett Kreitz said. "It was a combination of a lot of things. It was our first game, our first time out there in front of a crowd and everything. We had a couple exhibitions, but nothing compares to real regular season games. We just have to keep it strong for 40 minutes." "In the second half, when Towson made some adjustments, we didn't react to those adjustments very well," Quakers coach Fran Dunphy said. "We needed to make a couple of big shots that would have put us over the hump, and we did not do that. So I'm concerned about our consistency of effort offensively, and I think we can do much better things defensively over the course of a game." One of Towson State's adjustments was in its defense against Kreitz, who made just one field goal in the second half after shooting six-of-eight from the floor in the first. Dunphy wasn't completely satisfied with the reaction of the rest of the team. "We knew they were going to take Garett Kreitz out of the game to the extent they could," Dunphy said. "Then other people have to step up and respond. We did that at the end of the game, but not during that stretch when we needed a couple of crucial baskets to make it more comfortable." Still, Kreitz thinks opponents who focus their defensive energies on stopping him will get burned by the rest of the Quakers, any one of whom could lead the team in scoring on a given night. "I think we have the type of team where they can't afford to focus on me," Kreitz said. "We have a lot of scorers on our team, good shooters, and if they focus on me, that'll just open everything up for everyone else. That would be beneficial for us as a team." Playing against Lehigh has been very beneficial for five teams this season. The Mountain Hawks have fallen to all five of their opponents so far this season, including a 69-68 loss to Cornell, a 103-51 thrashing at Duke and an 82-72 setback against Yale on Wednesday. In at least one respect, however, Penn and Lehigh are similar. Both teams don't have much in the way of experience. The Mountain Hawks have just one senior in their nine-man rotation, and the starting five includes three sophomores and a freshman. But new coach Sal Mentesana does have some talent, especially in the backcourt. Sophomore Brett Eppehimer is the only Lehigh player averaging double figures in scoring, at 19.6 points per game. Running the show is fellow sophomore Sean Tuohey (5.4 assists per game). "They play real hard, they have a lot of young players, and they're playing them," Dunphy said. "They're playing nine and 10 players. So they're going to be deep, they're going to run a lot of people at us, and we're going to have to respond to that pressure." On defense, the Mountain Hawks like to apply pressure. Opponents have turned the ball over an average of 17.2 times a game against them. Against Towson State, the Quakers committed only eight turnovers. "We're going to have to try to push through their pressure and make good decisions," Dunphy said. · Dunphy did not know yesterday if sophomore Frank Brown would be able to play tomorrow. Brown is not yet at 100 percent after knee surgery, although Dunphy said he could have played against Towson State if needed. "The opportunity didn't present itself where I was comfortable putting him in the game," Dunphy said. "And I want him to be comfortable as well."
(11/20/96 10:00am)
Jordan, Langel and Owens proved that their future is right now. Scan the roster of the Penn men's basketball team, and you'll see a lot of youngsters. In terms of sheer numbers, sophomores and freshmen dominate the Quakers lineup. Two exceptions can be found in the Penn backcourt, where senior Jamie Lyren and junior Garett Kreitz return to lead the Quakers guards. They've been part of coach Fran Dunphy's program the longest, and their experience should help everyone. "I think it helps out, especially early in the season," Lyren said. "You've been there before, you know what to expect, you don't really have any questions to be answered." Lyren, the lone senior on the team, was voted captain by the rest of the players. But oddly enough, this will be his first full season as a starter. The native of Wadsworth, Ohio, spent most of his first two years at Penn on the bench, making spot appearances in 27 games. Last season, Lyren began the season as the Quakers' top point guard, averaging 7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. But a foot injury suffered against Penn State in the fourth game forced him to miss the rest of the season. After surgery in February, Lyren says he's as good as ever and ready to resume his duties at the point. "I look at playing the point guard position as establishing the team atmosphere, where everyone should get a touch," Lyren said. "Everyone has to be involved to be successful. That's what I try to incorporate when I'm on the court." While Lyren is a distributor, Kreitz is a pure gunner. As a sophomore, he emerged from the bench and was a starter by the fifth game of the season. He became Penn's best three-point threat, shooting 40.6 percent from behind the arc. And with the graduation of Ira Bowman, Tim Krug and Donald Moxley, Kreitz (9.0 ppg) is the Quakers' top returning scorer. But Lyren and Kreitz won't be alone in the backcourt. As indicated by last night's exhibition game, freshmen Matt Langel and Michael Jordan will see plenty of action immediately. "They're very good basketball players, Matt and Michael," Dunphy said. "So they have a nice feel for the game to start with. All it is is just getting a feel of how we're going to do things offensively and defensively." Lyren and Kreitz have been doing their part to help the youngsters adjust to their new surroundings. "They've been here longer," Jordan said. "They gave me the mentorship that I needed on how to run the offense and what role I have in the system. So they helped me a lot in getting used to the system." When he recovers from his recent surgery, sophomore swingman Frank Brown will essentially be a third guard. Until then, the competition for the three spot is wide open, according to Dunphy. "Right now we have Garett and Jamie, Matt Langel, Mike Jordan probably vying for three spots as we speak," Dunphy said. "Jed Ryan can swing back to that three spot should we need him. So that would probably be the rotation at this point." Regardless of who starts and who comes off the bench, all four of the guards will see lots of time on the court. Junior Mike Dzik, sophomore Nate Allison and freshman Mike Koller could also get playing time if needed. Dunphy will stick with whoever produces. "I'm not much on starting," Dunphy said. "Finishing is much more important. That's always a function of who plays the best during the course of a game." And though Lyren and Jordan both exhibit pure point guard tendencies, and Kreitz and Langel are bombers, the Quakers guards won't be locked in at one spot in the backcourt. In yesterday's game, for example, Langel started at small forward, and Lyren, Jordan and Langel were often on the floor at the same time. "At this point, Jamie's a point guard and Michael Jordan's pretty much a point guard, but you could play both of those guys at the two or three spot as well," Dunphy said. "The way we play our system, once you're into your offense, everybody's a point guard. Whoever has the ball is a point guard."
