Another trip to the Big Dance for McCaffery
Well, another disappointing Penn basketball has come to an end. And while there are many positives to pluck from the mess (Jerome Allen lighting a fire under the team and gaining the inside track to become the permanent head coach; Zack Rosen rightfully being named first-team All Ivy after a phenomenal season; Jack Eggleston earning a spot on the second team; a thrilling win over a then-Top 25 team; and a top-notch recruiting class set to join many quality returners), the fact remains this is the third straight year that Penn will miss out on March Madness – its longest drought since 1996-98.
Former Penn player and assistant coach Fran McCaffery hasn’t had such a problem. Over that same period of time, the man once known as “White Magic” has coached Siena to three straight NCAA Tournaments. And in his first two trips there, McCaffery has already won twice as many games (two) as Fran Dunphy did during his entire 17-year tenure at Penn (one), turning the Saints into a perennial upset darling of the Dance.
To get a pulse on things in upstate in New York, I shot a few questions over to the writers at the well-run Siena Saints Blog. Our chat is below:
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: How much is Fran McCaffery beloved over there after a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament?
SIENA SAINTS BLOG: I can tell you that Fran McCaffery is obviously loved by the community. Not only for winning but he does a great deal in the community. Yes Siena fans will always be hopeful that Fran will be here forever and whenever I hear him talk in the offseason, he sounds like a guy who really is happy with where he is at Siena. Plus three years of NCAA Tournament appearances give you some kind of job security.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: From those following from afar, what can people expect from Siena in the tourney? After two straight first-round wins, are fans hoping for Sweet 16 or better this time around?
SIENA SAINTS BLOG: The expectations game will be raised over the next week but when it comes down to the NCAA Tournament, it’s all about where you’re seeded and where you play. Siena had an almost impossible route to get to the regionals last year but still played Louisville extremely close. However, depending on Siena’s seed, they’re going to draw a (likely) major conference team capable of not showing up against the Saints veteran experience.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: What specifically has McCaffery done to build such a premier mid-major program in such a short period of time?
SIENA SAINTS BLOG: McCaffery started with recruiting, getting Kenny Hasbrouck as his first recruit who has since graduated and is playing in the NBA D-League. Add to him his first full class of the big three, Ronald Moore, Alex Franklin and Edwin Ubiles, and there was a core for a championship. After they lost in their first championship game in Bridgeport, they haven’t been stopped in the conference. After that class, Fran has recruited a ton of players including juniors Clarence Jackson and Ryan Rossiter, who both made All-MAAC teams this year. Fran also went out and grabbed players with lots of upside like O.D. Anosike — who turned down Big East offers to be a Saint and has shown flashes of potential – as well as Owen Wignot and Kyle Downey, who, respectively, will likely be the small forward and a key 3-point presence at the point next year. The success has come in getting good recruits, developing them into their roles and letting them play.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: What are people saying about the handshake incident? What is McCaffery’s reputation among the media and other coaches?
SIENA SAINTS BLOG: On the court, Fran is an intense guy. On our site, we barely have video of him breaking into a smile until when he cut down the net Monday night. At that quarterfinal game I was sitting next to the Rider coaches who were scouting the Saints and they were all in agreement, as the Saints began to pull away, the chances of something ugly happening were exponential. I’m pretty sure that if they were in Fran’s shoes they might have faced the same decision and made the same choice.
Fran is well liked among the media, except for one writer who happened to ask the question that set him off Saturday. I’m all for good journalism, and the reporter is trying to do his job when he asks the question, but if you get stopped twice and then use your column to lash out at the coach then you didn’t really do your job.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: Has there been any talk about McCaffery bolting for a major-conference job? I know Siena has become a better team than Penn over the past few years, but does anyone think he’d ever want to return to his alma mater?
SIENA SAINTS BLOG: I’ve thought about this and yes, Siena fans who hope Fran will stay forever might be kidding themselves, I think the optimal job that Fran would bolt for is a super-high major job or a Big 5 job.
I just got through reading Outside the Limelight (great book by the way) and it took me back to Fran’s Siena coaching debut against Penn (in 2005-06). You have to think Penn would make the phone call but Siena will be willing to do anything right now to keep Fran happy in Loudonville. And with Fran Dunphy departing Penn for Temple, Jay Wright extended until 2013 at Villanova and Phil Martelli extended until 2016 at St. Joe’s, Fran would have to wait a while for another Big 5 job.
Add comment March 10, 2010
Penn-Princeton rivalry never lacks drama
Unless the NCAA Tournament has expanded to 316 teams while no one was looking, tonight will mark final game of the season for the Penn men’s basketball team. But that doesn’t mean the game will be boring. Here are five exciting Penn-Princeton games where nothing was on the line for the Quakers:
March 10, 2009: Princeton 59 Penn 56. Let’s take you all the way back to last year, when Princeton scored the final four points – all on free throws – to lead the Tigers past Penn at the Palestra. Penn missed two threes in the final 30 seconds, a fitting end to a rough season.
March 9, 2004: Princeton 76, Penn 70 (OT). Penn may have lost the game in OT, but the end of regulation was classic. After Eric Osmundson missed a 3-pointer with Penn down two, Adam Chubb grabbed a rebound and attempted a putback. It missed, but Tim Begley got a hand on it and tipped it in with six-tenths of a second left to tie the score and send it to OT. Penn had beaten Princeton earlier in the season but finished three games back of the Tigers in the standings.
March 3, 1998: Princeton 78, Penn 72 (OT). Penn had a chance to knock off Princeton, ranked eighth in the nation, in the season’s final game. Penn’s Michael Jordan had a shot to win it at the end of regulation, but missed a 3-pointer. “One bucket shy of euphoria,” The Daily Pennsylvanian wrote.
March 9, 1993: Penn 52, Princeton 51. Penn had already locked up an NCAA Tournament bid and was just going for a perfect Ivy season. Princeton center Rick Hielscher had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but his shot rimmed out and the Quakers had a 14-0 record in the Ancient Eight.
January 12, 1906: Penn 40, Princeton 5. What happened in this game? Who cares! For all we know, Woodrow Wilson (then the Princeton president) was the one in charge of getting the ball down from the peach basket during this contest. It was over 100 years ago, and Penn held Princeton to five points. That should be enough to make you smile.
Add comment March 9, 2010
Justin Reilly set for Palestra farewell
What began with a flash of hope turned into years of upheaval, injury and untapped potential.
But for senior Justin Reilly – who will be the only four-year Penn basketball player making his final appearance at the Palestra this weekend – it was all worth it.
“I think it can be somewhat disappointing looking at our potential from freshman year,” said Reilly, who, along with fellow seniors Darren Smith and Andreas Schreiber, couldn’t shake the injury bug throughout his college tenure. “But I’m not sure I’d do it differently. We still had highlights and some flashes in our career. And I felt very blessed to be at Penn. I could have gone without getting a ring at all.”
Reilly, of course, earned his Ivy championship ring as a freshman in 2006-07, and most fans have fond memories of the Dallas, Texas native’s contributions in the Quakers’ final game of that season. Facing many guys he played AAU ball with from his high school days, Reilly buried three big buckets in a competitive first-round loss to Texas A&M in the NCAA tournament.
“It was cool,” said Reilly. “But the dagger about that game is that we could have won. That’s the hardest part. I make another couple of shots in the second half and we keep Acie Law contained and we win the game.”
Still, it seemed at the time that Reilly and his two classmates — Fran Dunphy’s final recruiting class at Penn — would be able to keep the program moving forward, even with the graduation of a phenomenal group of seniors in 2007.
But then everything went haywire.
Smith, after starting that NCAA game as a freshman, missed two straight seasons after fracturing his kneecap and has been a shell of his former self this year.
Schreiber, after showing great potential as a sophomore, has missed most of the last two seasons with a recurring shoulder injury.
And Reilly has been hindered for the last three seasons with a stomach injury. According to the senior forward, he had a sports hernia and on his right side and a shredded ligament on his left side, making it so “my abdominal muscles were not connected to my lower body,” he said, adding that the played his entire sophomore year with that injury, which was misdiagnosed at the time. Two surgeries and one concussion later and Reilly’s not even sure if his body could even hold up for another season.
Unlike Schreiber and Smith, who both applied for – and should be granted – an extra year of eligibility, Reilly is on track to graduate in the spring and, in all likelihood, will leave basketball behind.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Reilly said. “I never thought I wouldn’t be graduating with them. I looked at taking a fifth year, but in Wharton it’s not as easy.”
So in a few short days, Reilly’s college basketball career will come to a close. And even though it will wrap up with a third straight losing season, the Texan is feeling content – mostly because he will soon graduate with a Wharton degree.
“Looking back on my career right now, I got hurt twice and had two major surgeries,” he said. “Another place that may have been tough to come back from. It looks like I did the right thing (by coming to Penn) – at least I’d like to think so.”
Reilly is also confident Smith and Schreiber can help the Quakers restore their winning tradition next season. He even thinks his classmates will get another ring before it’s their turn to enter the real world.
“Absolutely,” he said when asked if Penn will win the 2010-11 Ivy League championship. “I’ll be the first one to say it.”
Add comment March 4, 2010
Inside Man with Ted Rawlings: Vol. II
Inside Man is a regular report written by Penn junior Ted Rawlings that takes you inside the world of Penn athletics. In addition to being a goalie on the lacrosse team, Ted is also a member of the Penn sprint football team, a manager for the men’s basketball team and an announcer for the women’s basketball team. This week, he discusses the hidden pleasure of the perfect hotel room – as well as an impressive performance in a season-opening loss at Duke.
About halfway into a seven-hour bus trip – after waking up from a sleep-induced coma caused by Dane Cook’s laugh-out-loud knee slapper Good Luck Chuck and after the stomach’s inevitable call for antacid relief immediately following a Burger King sourdough bacon cheeseburger – you begin to form questions.
- Why did this bus design leg room for a 10-year-old?
- What’s on the dinner menu?
- What are the hotel shower heads like?
- What 2-star movie is on TNT tonight at 10 p.m.?
- Are the pillows in the hotel designed for side-sleepers or back-sleepers?
- Is it improper etiquette for a 21-year-old to request chocolate milk at breakfast in the morning?
The Washington Duke Inn – “Destination Duke” – answered most of these questions with one cliché: it really is about the finer things in life. Though the hotel clerk was unable to explain the reasoning behind the tour bus’ inadequate leg space, her hotel was phenomenal.
The Washington Duke Inn warmly welcomed Ted to North Carolina
The bathroom alone won me over. Honestly, there’s nothing like opening the door to room 504, dropping the bags by the queen-size beds, and walking into a bathroom that has its toilet paper delicately taped down with a circular sticker of the hotel’s emblem. Or a six-foot towel that is miraculously dry even after two uses. And a shower head with multiple settings that can be adjusted to your liking. There must be a money-back guarantee that it will triple your shower time – which can’t be good for the hotel’s monthly water bill, especially in such strenuous economic times.
The electric bill surely runs at a premium, too. Comfortable chairs and convenient desk lamps provided the opportunity to stay up all night and finish an eight-page paper due on Monday evening about seduction in early American literature. Fortunately for the hotel, the bed, flat screen TV and TNT’s showing of Michael Irvin’s breakthrough acting role in The Longest Yard put me to sleep after just one incomplete run-on sentence – that and the dreaded 8:15 a.m. phone alarm for a 9 a.m. walk-through.
When I stepped outside the following morning, I could have mistaken the cold air of Durham for Philadelphia. But, after the waitress brought me a stirred-in Hershey’s syrup chocolate milk, I was absolutely satisfied – even if the pre-game beverage raised eyebrows at the coaches table adjacent to mine.
As for the purpose of our business trip – a season opener against the eighth-ranked Duke Blue Devils – we played a hard-fought game. The game was tied at 11 with just under five minutes to play before Duke erupted and pulled away, winning 16-11. But it’s safe to say that our performance was the “chocolate milk order” in lacrosse that weekend.
And though I won’t speak for others, I will attribute my performance – one of yelling and fist pumping on the sidelines in regular celebration and approval of our team’s success – to the “quiet and elegant” accommodations of “The Inn.”
Add comment March 2, 2010
The rise to national prominence
By Ted Rawlings
Karin Brower Corbett begins this decade as the Penn women’s lacrosse head coach with a much different feel than she did to start the previous one.
Hired in 2000, Corbett had the tall task of leading a program that had defeated just one opponent in the previous season.
Now, ten years later, it’s a hyperbolic understatement to say she has succeeded. On Saturday, her Quakers begin their 2010 campaign ranked third in the nation. The tall task this year: defend their three straight Ivy League titles, return to the final four for the fourth consecutive season, and ultimately win a national championship.
Clearly, the bar has been set high. Raising the bar, however, has been something Corbett’s done since she first arrived at Penn. The first step began with changing the culture.
“They needed to learn how to win,” Corbett said. “We added teams we could beat so we could learn how to win.”
Scheduling easier games wasn’t her only ingredient. A revamped culture included the installation of hard work, consequences and discipline.
“It’s a sacrifice and privilege to play on Penn’s lacrosse team and there’s a responsibility,” she said. “They have to respect the uniform, wear it with pride. And they have to respect each other.”
Accountability and responsibility were not just requirements of the players. From the beginning of her tenure at Penn, Corbett has held herself and her staff to those same standards.
“Our job as a coaching staff is to make them better and to figure out how to reach a player in order to make them better,” said Corbett of her duties. “You have to own up when you don’t do well. It shows credibility to the kids.”
Now, with a new culture and Penn’s ascension to the top of the women’s lacrosse mountain, Corbett has been able to recruit higher-level prospects to play for the Quakers. There was a time, though, when convincing high school girls to play lacrosse at Penn wasn’t even the most significant challenge. Instead, between the historic struggles of the program and a past perception of Philadelphia, Corbett initially struggled to even have prospects come look at Penn.
“I didn’t expect [that] challenge…when I first got here,” Corbett said. “Now, kids will come because we are good. They are automatically interested to play for a good program.”
Corbett is also able to attract the game’s most valued prospects because of the “fabulous” work of the athletic department, led by Athletic Director Steve Bilsky.
“They allowed me to play [teams] I wanted to play, gave me the opportunity to recruit and to fundraise,” said Corbett.
Even with Penn’s increased recognition, Corbett still targets specific characteristics of prospects. Of course, speed, height, vision, competitiveness and a high lacrosse IQ are invaluable. Corbett, however, also values the intangibles and players who prioritize lacrosse right below their education.
“Lacrosse really is a job and we need to get kids who feel it is that important,” she said, before adding “and we want players who want to be coached.”
And, starting with the 2006 class, which she cites as the group that “planted the seed,” Corbett has successfully found those players. It was that class, too, that paved the way for Penn’s first visit to the final four in the following year, 2007. That same season, Corbett was named the National Coach of the Year.
Unfortunately, the Quakers were dismantled by eventual champion Northwestern, 12-2. Yet, it was the blowout, Corbett believes, that drove them in 2008.
“They were going to show everyone it wasn’t a Cinderella team,” said Corbett of her 2008 squad. “They worked really hard and proved that they weren’t.”
The proof: an 11-7 regular-season victory over the top team in the nation, Northwestern, and a second place finish in the NCAA tournament, losing to the same Northwestern team, 10-6 in the title game.
Then, last season, the Quakers reached even higher heights, winning their third consecutive Ivy League championship and finishing the season ranked second in the country. Only Northwestern, who defeated the Quakers in triple OT in the semifinal, were better all year.
This most recent and sustained success is as much about chemistry as it is the hard work.
“They really believe each class needs to leave the team better than it was when they came … They foster friendships and don’t have class lines,” said Corbett of her players. “They want to push each other and they want to win for each other.”
This current senior class, led by four co-captains – Ali Deluca, Barb Seaman, Emma Spiro and Emily Szelest – has only experienced success. Losses have been few and very far between. In their three previous years, they’ve lost to only Stanford and Northwestern. Additionally, they’ve been to three final fours and one national championship game.
“They understand that because we’ve been so good every year that they have to win,” said Corbett of the class of 2010. “They’ve done a great job leading this team and an amazing job trying to leave the team better. I am very proud of them for really wanting to keep Penn up there after they leave.”
If they help the Quakers accomplish their goal – to win a national championship – then they will have left Penn as high as it could possibly be.
And the decade is only beginning.
Add comment February 26, 2010
Philly Fight Night back for another round
Professional Irish dancers, dwarfs dressed as leprechauns and more than 1,000 Penn students who enjoy the thrill of seeing their classmates get pulverized will embark on the Legendary Blue Horizon gym Saturday night – all of which can only mean one thing. It’s time for another Philly Fight Night.
If you don’t know about Philly Fight Night, you should. Last year, Gazette associate editor Trey Popp wrote a terrific piece on the semi-barbaric spectacle that pits Wharton graduate students against students from Penn’s law school in a series of boxing matches to raise money for the Boys & Girls Club of Philadelphia.
Saturday will mark the event’s sixth anniversary – and organizer Arie Barendrecht WG’10 expects just as much hoopla as in year’s past.
“Everyone gets really into it,” says Barendrecht. “It’s so unique. No other business school has an event like this. It’s definitely marked on everyone’s calendar.”
Just like last year, Wharton’s own Donal McElwee will enter the ring accompanied by his leprechauns, a Law student who goes by the name “The Russian Bombshell” will trade spars with a fellow female, and more of Penn’s finest will submit themselves to the possible embarrassment of being knocked out in front of all their friends.
There are some new additions, too – for one, Philadelphia Eagles tight end Brent Celek will be a celebrity judge. And Barendrecht is excited he found sponsorship deals with Comcast and Roosevelt’s Pub – as well as what should be a riveting marquee fight between heavyweights Jason Carter (Wharton) and Andrew Pinkston (Law).
Jason Carter
Andrew Pinkston
But above all else, the organizers are pleased to see their classmates rallying together (tickets sold out online in about 15 minutes) to help kids that need help. The event is expected to raise $60,000 for the Boys & Girls Club – about $5,000 more than last year.
If nothing else, the fighters can think about that while getting punched in the face repeatedly.
“Last year, when I was a fan, it was the best social event of the entire year,” Barendrecht says. “The fact that money also goes to benefit the community makes it even better.”
Add comment February 25, 2010
Penn grad looking for next MLS opportunity
Danny Cepero C’08 enjoyed one of the greatest debuts in the history of Major League Soccer when he scored a goal – as a goalie. He went on to lead the New York Red Bulls to the league championship game as a rookie in 2008, all while finding time to finish his coursework at Penn so he could graduate from the school where he starred on the soccer field for four years.
The Penn grad, profiled recently in the Gazette, had it all going for him it seemed. But a little more than a week ago, the Red Bulls released Cepero – a victim of new management looking to clean house after a disappointing 2009 season.
I recently got in touch with Cepero, who was gracious enough to write me back a long, poignant e-mail, which I will share almost entirely unedited.
Here, in his own words, is Cepero’s reaction to being released, his thoughts on the ongoing negotiations between the league and the players’ union, the support he’s received from friends, family and other people in the Penn community, his disappointment in missing out on the Red Bulls’ new stadium, and, most of all, his hopes for the future:
I was a bit surprised at being released by New York. No one really wants to think they’re replaceable but it is an unfortunate reality of playing a professional sport. That being said, I knew that going into this preseason, there would be a good deal of change. Last year, one of the club’s worst, we finished dead last in the standings. So this year, with a new coach and general manager, a number of the players foresaw new players coming in and others going out. Unfortunately, I was in neither the coach’s nor the general manager’s plans for the future and was thus one of the players who found himself on his way out.
This past week has been one of mixed emotions. Initially, it was disappointing to hear that you are no longer in a team’s plans for the future. I thought about my parents, my family, former coaches, and close friends – and about how I was to inform them I had been released. It felt like I would be letting all these people – these people who had helped me to become a professional soccer player – down. I found myself wondering what more I could have done to secure a roster spot and if I still had a future in the sport. I was also sad to leave my teammates, many of whom I still consider great friends.
But as the days went on, I realized that perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. It was an opportunity to move to another team, to start over, and to hopefully restart my career. So right now, I have been in contact with a few teams in both MLS and the lower divisions of USL (United Soccer Leagues) and that have expressed interest in my abilities.
Unfortunately, under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement that MLS shares with the MLS Players Union, no contracts are guaranteed. As such, a team can release a player without having to fulfill the financial aspect of that player’s contract. The issue of guaranteed contracts is actually a controversial point of debate between the league and the players union. The previous CBA expired a few weeks ago and the two bodies have been meeting to discuss this and all other issues in order to reach an agreement before the season starts. It just so happened that I was released before an agreement could be reached and thus find myself not only out of contract but also without a paycheck. For the sake of the rest of the players in MLS, I hope a suitable agreement is reached soon.
I do regret not being able to play in the new stadium. I have visited it many times in the last few weeks and it looks incredible. It will only serve to improve the soccer viewing experience in the region and hopefully attract more attention to soccer not only in the region but the country as a whole.
People around me have been nothing but supportive. I suppose I wouldn’t keep them around me if they weren’t supportive. My parents and my friends have been tremendously helpful in terms of discussing my future plans. My former teammates have continually expressed their support and their confidence in my abilities as a goalkeeper, and my former goalkeeper coach has been helpful in contacting teams around the league in hopes of me finding a new club.
I obviously hope that everything works out in terms of soccer and my continuing to play. However, the reality of the situation is such that I need to prepare for that hope not coming to fruition. At the end of the day it is comforting to know that my degree from Penn may still carry some weight in the business world – or so I hope it does. Time will tell I guess. It’s just the waiting that’s the tough part.
Add comment February 23, 2010
Inside Man … With Ted Rawlings
Want to know all about Penn athletics from the inside? Penn lacrosse goalie Ted Rawlings is here to give you a look, writing a feature called “Inside Man” that will appear regularly in this blog. To get things started, Ted describes the joys of an early-morning wake-up call, a snowy trip down south and scrimmages against some of the nation’s premier teams:
There’s nothing quite like celebrating the Penn basketball team’s upset win over nationally ranked Cornell with the incessant beep of an alarm clock at 5:45 in the morning. Nothing beats a night on the town like a rushed five-minute shower before even the sun has started its day. And what could be better than a Tastykake coffee cake from Wawa for breakfast?
But this past Saturday, all of that was an appropriate manner to celebrate for myself and 42 other student-athletes. As varsity lacrosse players first and basketball fans second, we were more excited to scrimmage at Charlottesville against Virginia (ranked third in the nation) and Georgetown (13th in the nation) than to throw back drinks in tribute to the “Upset of the Season” in college basketball.
And if that didn’t already have our juices flowing, the 9:30 a.m. Burger King French toast sticks or Arby’s roast beef sandwich may have helped – at least to get something moving. If all else failed, there was the 10 a.m. bus screening of Law Abiding Citizen (three days before its scheduled DVD release date) – for anyone who could manage to keep his eyes open.
For those playing in the competitions, obviously game responsibilities kept their minds preoccupied. But for players like me who would be watching from the sideline – well, I was equally enthusiastic for some warm weather, or at least the sight of green grass. Unfortunately, that enthusiasm went unfulfilled. Snow banks lined the turf fields of Virginia’s campus and strong winds flew into our faces as we played five sessions between the two contests. The sun-baked Virginia I hoped I was visiting had an all-too-familiar Philadelphia feel.
The strong performance I hoped for, though, was the one fulfillment of the trip as we beat Georgetown, 5-3, in three quarters before barely losing to UVA, 4-3, in two quarters. Above all else, that’s what made that 5:45 a.m. alarm clock buzz – which for me was actually a Bruce Springsteen song that I had since forgotten about – worth it.
It probably also explains why the Jimmy John’s bacon and turkey hoagie tasted so delicious and why the window sufficed as a suitable pillow on the five-hour journey home.
Add comment February 19, 2010
Commentary: A night to remember
“I told Amy to get on the microphone and give Jerome the job immediately.”
– Ed Rendell, moments after Penn’s shocking upset of Cornell
So it happened, in a crowd of exuberant but slow-moving Penn fans, I found myself next to one of the biggest Penn fans of all: Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.
One person tried commending him on the job he was doing in Harrisburg, but Rendell quickly changed the subject. The final buzzer had just sounded on Penn’s stunning 79-64 dismantling of nationally ranked Cornell on Friday – a result some have called the upset of the year in college basketball – and the governor was in the mood to reminisce.
He told whoever would listen about the 1970-71 Penn team that didn’t lose a game until its 43-point loss to Villanova in the NCAA tournament and about the 1994-95 team that should have beaten Alabama in the first round of the tourney.
The governor was proud of his team Friday
And then he said what everyone was thinking: the win over Cornell should eliminate the interim tag from Jerome Allen’s title. He even told Penn president Amy Gutmann as much after the game.
Of course, it’s hard to judge a coach on one game. And I’ve heard some alumni say defeating Cornell – a team Penn dominates in most years – should never warrant enough excitement for students to rush the court.
But for anyone that has sat through some of the rock-bottom games of the past two-and-half years, Friday’s performance was a sight to behold – a however brief respite where, for one night, the magic of the Palestra returned and Penn was dominant again.
Like other thrilling Palestra games, this one was chock full of memorable moments – from Mike Howlett returning from injury (surprise!) in dominating fashion to Darren Smith’s long 3-pointer to beat the shot clock to Jack Eggleston’s ferocious block/foul of Jeff Foote to a seemingly endless 15-0 run to start the second half.
By the time, reserve Drew Godwin slammed the ball on the floor as time expired, it became real: the same Penn team that sputtered to just one non-conference win, fired its coach midseason and was decimated by injuries had played flawless basketball to upset a ranked team for the first time since 1998.
Sure, it may turn out that Cornell runs the table the rest of the way, and Penn falls back into the bottom half of the Ivy half standings.
But for the freshmen, sophomores and juniors at Penn who had seen nothing in the Palestra besides empty seats and ugly basketball – well, in my mind, they deserved the right to run onto the same floor that produced such an inconceivably glorious performance. (Although next time they should leave the “overrated” chant at home.)
Ed Rendell has seen plenty of great moments in the Cathedral of College Basketball. Now these students have seen one, too.
Add comment February 15, 2010
Another Palestra reunion for Donahue
For most of this decade, Steve Donahue could not win at the Palestra – which made sense since Donahue coached perennial doormat Cornell while Penn was a perennial power.
Those days are long gone as Cornell is now the best team in the Ivy League, Donahue is one of the hot coaching names in the entire county and Penn – well, Penn, is struggling.
Before he left Ithaca for a key Ivy League weekend against Penn and Princeton, Donahue was nice enough to give me a few minutes of his time. He also talked to the Inquirer and Daily News for stories, which you can find here and here.
It makes sense that the former Penn assistant is the talk of the town heading into tonight’s game against the Quakers. Cornell, after all, has become the first Ivy League team to be nationally ranked since Princeton in 1998.
It’s also noteworthy, and a bit tragic for Quaker fans, that Donahue interviewed for the Penn job following the 2005-06 season, a job that would eventually be given to then-Brown coach Glen Miller. Everyone knows how that worked out, but it should be noted that Cornell lost by 40 to Penn at the Palestra in 2006. It wasn’t until the 2007-08 campaign that Cornell’s dominance over the rest of the league truly began.
“I was not upset about it,” Donahue told Penn Gazette Sports, just as he told the Inquirer. “They called me and asked if I was interested in the job and if I was willing to talk about it. That was really the extent of it. I was never upset or disappointed or angry. I appreciated they thought enough of me to think I may be a good coach there.”
Among other things, Donahue also talked about his relationship with Jerome Allen. Although he said he didn’t play too big a role in his recruitment, he credits a lot of his success as an assistant coach to Allen and the rest of that 1995 senior class: Matt Maloney, Shawn Trice, Eric Moore and Scott Kegler.
That 94-95 team, he admitted, was similar to this current senior-laden Big Red squad. Both groups even boasted key transfers (Maloney at Penn, Jeff Foote at Cornell) that pushed the team over the top.
“I feel the same way about this group as that group,” Donahue said.
And like seemingly everyone else who’s come in contact with Allen, Donahue had the nicest things to say about Penn’s new head coach.
“He meant a great deal to Penn basketball and to me personally,” Donahue said. “The thing I remember most about Jerome was it really didn’t matter if he scored or didn’t score; he just wanted to make guys compete harder and lead by example. He was like a coach on the floor…
“It’s a very difficult thing to be a coach, but he’s doing all the right things. They play hard and share the basketball. It’s only a matter of time until Penn basketball gets back where everyone wants it to be.”
At the same time, Donahue said he didn’t like to see a fellow coach get fired midseason, though he’s tried to distance himself from the Penn program.
“I feel bad for Coach Miller,” he said. “I think he’s a very good basketball coach. His teams were well-prepared, they played hard and they played the right way. … But I’m kind of separated from all that. I feel differently about Penn because the people I was there with (aren’t there anymore). I’ve been so engulfed with Cornell for the past 10 years that I don’t have those same feelings anymore, and I’d be speaking out of turn if I said I did. But I feel bad for any program that goes through stuff like this because I feel bad for the kids.”
Naturally, there were some things Donahue was tight-lipped about – like whether he would use this dominant three-year run to springboard himself to another, better coaching gig. (At this point, Penn might not qualify.)
But here’s some scary news for the rest of the Ivy League: Even when the team’s “Big 3” of Foote, Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale move on after the season, Donahue is confident Cornell’s grip on the Ivy League won’t loosen.
“The level of talent,” he said, “is not going to drop off dramatically.”
And to think he could be coaching at Penn.
Add comment February 12, 2010
