Hello and welcome to the historic Palestra for what should be a relatively even game between the Penn Quakers and the Delaware Blue Hens. Both Delaware and Penn come into the game 0-2 on the season, and each are looking for a big win. The Blue Hens are looking to parlay the scoring of junior Jawan Carter, while the Quakers hope for a win in their first game back at the home since March. This is Eli Cohen bringing you live game updates. Enjoy...
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November 21st, 2009 at 11:19 pm
Yo! C'mon! Somebody drive the lane in second half. Thank God for Washigton and Monckton, at least they were trying to get to the basket and draw fouls. Make adjustments to keep Carter off his right hand dribble; he can't go left as easily. The team needs a player or players to get tough (not cheap or dirty) to demand respect from an oppenent. Do this by making most of your open looks. Do this by making your goddamn foul shots. I'm done believeing that these "kids" are playing their hearts out. It is time these "young men" start kicking ass. This Delaware loss was just plain sad.
November 22nd, 2009 at 3:37 pm
In the immortal words of John L Smith, "the players are playing their asses off and the coaches are screwing it up!"
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:56 am
The players went 5-for-14 at the foul line in OT. It's not always the coaches fault.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:31 am
I can't argue with you on the free-throw shooting being a killer in OT. My point is they wouldn't have have been shooting free throws in OT had the coaching staff better managed the last 5 minutes of the second half with a 10-point lead. Furthermore, we wouldn't be talking about free throws had the team not taken so many awful shots at the end of regulation and the first OT. There is no reason to be shooting threes with the lead in overtime.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:12 am
I understand your point. The philosphy of this team, so far, is to live or die with the three point shot, not good.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:15 am
I have to laugh at myself for being so pissed-off at the end of the game.
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Good reporting. Plenty of work to do for this team.
Gensler and his cronies thought we played hard!
Penn Basketball - The Little Engine that Could
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Penn played hard. You can't fault the effort. and yes, the free throws did them in. This game was not lost strategically. You can't drive the lane with players who can't drive the lane. The basic fact about this team is that they're not good...most of all, they can't shoot.
Nobody's exactly a stiff...they're a bunch of decent athletes, but they are very seriously shooting-challenged.
Zach Rosen played a great game. Many of his passes were too good; his teammates couldn't handle them. He'd have had 12 or more assists in the game with a good supporting cast. Howlett rebounded like a monster. His intensity was incredible.
Darren Smith can hit open threes but he can't do anything else well, and he's certainly not going to see lots of open threes.
Sullivan and Washington, the two frosh who saw some action, were both overmatched; neither can be expected to make a meaningful contribution in the forseeable future.
This won't sound very politically correct, but Penn is alarmingly white. They look like a high school prep squad, certainly no more intimidating. Miller shuffles in and out indistinguishable white, 6-5/6-6 athletes...Monckton, Belcore, Loughery, Turley...well, Howlett distinguished himself against Delaware, rebounding, as I said, ferociously.
Sure, Bernadini was out, and he's their alleged scorer, but c'mon...he's no "go-to" guy. This team is going nowhere. This is a personnel issue. These guys play hard, they're just not, skill-wise, competitive. The talent caliber has sunk to Div. II.
I feel bad for Zach Rosen. I give him credit for gutting this out. The answer, if there is one, is better recruiting. Hopefully next year's batch will be an upgrade? Miller's just got to find some better players. It's not about his coaching. His kids simply lack the athleticism to break defenses down, hence they rely on threes--and none of them, Bernadini included, can hit anything but wide-open threes (and inconsistently).
There's not a player on this team, perhaps Rosen excepted, who can come close to creating his own shot.
Eggleston, I forgot Jack. He's tough, he's can shoot a little, but of course he's no presence defensively (the team has no presence defensively). This is a sorry situation. I doubt Penn makes a serious Ivy run. A .500 Ivy record won't suprise me in the least.
The foul shooting, of course, was an atrocity. That said, had they canned their free throws, they'd have eked out a win against Delaware. Big deal. Delaware?
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Steven: I agree with your contribution. The team is going nowhere. Quickly.
What galls me is the rose colored glasses that plenty of others continue to look through.
Shame on them
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:54 pm
I hear you FOJL. There's really in my view not much in the way of "silver linings" with the presently constituted team. Watching them play Delaware, I can see how they lost by 38 to Villanova. It makes sense that they were overwhelmed by Villanova, given what I saw.
And it's really not Miller's coaching, in my view, nearly as much as the fact that Penn lacks so many important, fundamental assets, like good Div. I shooters, a semblance of a defensive presence, and anyone who can break defenses down, like a Jaaber could.
Rosen can really play, but the team doesn't do him justice, and it won't, at least not this year. But this isn't a case of Penn's fielding a team that doesn't "come to play." They played hard, with a lot of defensive intensity. They seemed well-coached to me, at least in this game.
Ultimately, Delaware had better athletes. They had guards who could shoot the ball, as well as create a bit off the dribble.
Make no mistake, Penn was not better than Delaware. They didn't "deserve" the win, notwithstanding the fact that they could have won, if they'd hadn't choked at the free throw line. But Delaware was easily their equal and, big surprise, clearly more athletic.
And, of course, need it be said that, without Zach Rosen in the lineup, Penn automatically (and helplessly) sinks to a Div III level?
Not long ago Penn was engaging Big 5 opponents, not the likes of Delaware, in such intensely matched games. Now it seems they really don't belong on the court with a competitive Division I school. And they really don't.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Bravo Steven!
November 24th, 2009 at 3:03 am
Miller. Enough said. That and the lack of players on this team who can get their own shot. Expecting Smith and Belcore to do it would be asking too much of their 52 year old bodies. The only ones who ive seen (from scrimmages and opening games) and heard (from those who attend practices) are capable of creating for themselves are Rosen and Sullivan. Too bad we arent playing horse. Seeing Rosen already plays basically 40 minutes a game, and Miller isnt too fond of giving the freshmen an opportunity besides a few spotty minutes here and there, looks like we will continue to be a glorified team of old men at the Y.