According to NBA.com and SNY.tv writer Adam Zagoria (of ZagsBlog), sources close to Penn have said that Jerome Allen will be announced as full-time Penn coach sometime before the Final Four.

"Not only alum [sic] have gone to AD Steve Bilsky, but boosters, donors, parents and players have pledged their unconditional support,” a source told the blog. “They might not even interview outside candidates."

After taking over for Glen Miller seven games into the season, Allen has gone 6-14, including an upset of then-No. 22 Cornell in February.

Make sure to check back at thedp.com as we pursue this story.

(HT Noah Becker)

I was at the Brown game last night, but didn't go to the postgame press conference. However, Brian Kotloff did and passed along this quote from co-captain Zack Rosen about whether Jerome Allen should be hired full time as head coach:

"Undoubtedly. I don’t know if I’ve hinted at it or tried to hint at it in different ways without saying he’s our guy, but Jerome Allen is the right person for the job and they should hire him as soon as they possibly can. They should be begging him to stay.

"He demands respect. He knows what it takes to win and he’s gonna do everything that it does take. He’s willing to put in the work. He’s special with people. I could write a list on the top of this stat sheet for you and get it to you next game."

And at least one columnist at the DP agrees with that. What do you guys think?

This year might not have been the best for Penn sports. But that's not to say that it wasn't an exciting year, with plenty of big news stories. So here is my personal top 10 moments ("moments" loosely defined) of the year. And yes, some are positive, while some are negative.  So continue after the jump for the picks.

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I just got back from men's basketball practice today at Weightmann Gym, where members of the media talked with interim head coach Jerome Allen and captains Zack Rosen and Darren Smith before the actual practice started. Unfortunately I have a project due in 24 hours, but I'll give my initial thoughts from what they said now and hopefully I can get a complete article up later If there are any specific questions you want answered, indicate so in the comments and I'll let you know if they were addressed at practice.

First of all, the mood did not seem somber or down. Players were laughing and joking just like any other day. When we asked Rosen and Smith about the mood of the team as compared to last week, they both said that while nobody is happy about what happened to former head coach Glen Miller, everyone's excited for change and to see what the team can do under Allen.

Read below the jump for more of my thoughts.

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In case any of you missed it over at thedp.com, the Athletic Department announced that men's basketball coach Glen Miller has been fired. Jerome Allen will be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

The move comes just two days after a disappointing, 80-75 loss to Monmouth. The Quakers, of course, are 0-7; unless they beat Davidson on Dec. 28 or No. 8 Duke on New Year's Eve, this year's squad will have the worst start in program history.

By replacing Miller, the Quakers get two weeks to adjust to Allen and to halt their season-long tailspin.

Athletic Director Steve Bilsky will be available to the media via a conference call at 1:30 p.m. Keep checking The Buzz and thedp.com for updates and reactions as the story unfolds.

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Update: From Penn Athletics' press release:

"We thank Glen for his time at Penn," said [Athletic Director Steve] Bilsky. "However, we have decided that a change is in the best interests of the program, the student-athletes, and the larger Penn basketball community.

"I have asked Jerome to help re-establish the identity of Penn Basketball," he continued. "For decades, Penn Basketball has been a source of pride for the University, not simply for the successes but also for the embodiment of the Palestra creed: 'To win the game is great, to play the game is greater, but to love the game is greatest of all.' Jerome was an outstanding player who respects the game and loves Penn. I believe our student-athletes will benefit from his tutelage, and our fans will unite around him during this challenging time."

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UPDATE on press conference: For immediate updates on the Bilsky conference call,  see Twitter (@dailypennsports). Here are some of Bilsky's thoughts; full transcript and audio to be posted shortly:

• "I think its an opportunity for us to recapture the Penn identity, or begin to recapture that, by hiring Jerome."
• Miller was notified this morning. "He was disappointed."
• "On any major decision, I keep the administration apprised of what my thinking is….The university is in a consensus embracing the decision."
• “The ultimate final decision was made in my mind late last week." Bilsky later implied that Miller would have been fired even if Penn had beaten Monmouth.
• Allen was the "first and only" choice for the interim slot. Future of the remaining assistants will be up to Allen.
• Could Allen get the full-time job? "I wouldn’t want to go so far as to say this is a trial, but we’re going to watch everything."
• Asked whether he regrets hiring Miller, Bislky said, "I’m not going to crystal-ball gaze. I know he brought great qualities to the program."

Just a day after a few more recruits were unofficially announced, Penn's getting another newcomer.

Well, he's not so new.

After playing in the NBA and Europe, Jerome Allen (Class of 1995) will return as an assistant coach, the team's Twitter feed announced earlier today. Allen -- who was enshrined in the Big 5 Hall of Fame back in February -- most recently participated in the Delaware County Pro-Am League. In addition to playing, he also coached a team stock full of Quakers:  Zack Rosen, Jack Eggleston and incoming freshmen Carson Sullivan, Brian Fitzpatrick, Malcolm Washington and Jack's younger brother Tommy all were on Allen's Trad Jazz team.

Back in June, Rosen said Allen's "really kind of taken me and the other guys under his wing and taken it upon himself to make us better." Good news for Quakers fans.

Allen is one of the all-time greats at Penn, as he owns the all-time Penn assists record (504) and was first all-time in steals (166) before Ibby Jabber shattered his record with 303. He also was the last Ivy League draft pick, as Minnesota selected him 49th overall in 1995.

You can read some classic Allen stories as well as FGM's reaction to the hiring.

But perhaps this ode to Allen best sums it up. The 2,100-word reflection on Allen's career ends with the line "Here at Penn, he will always have a home." Looks like he's returning home.

After spending two years as a Penn assistant and seven very successful years at Haverford College, Mike Murphy is returning to the Quakers as head coach of the men's lacrosse team, according to an athletic department announcement today.

Murphy is a former Penn assistant who could not have been any more successful in his first head coaching opportunity at Haverford. He leaves the Black Squirrels having been one win away from becoming their all-time winningest coach, but was by far the most successful coach in terms of winning percentage, wins per season, national rankings and postseason appearances.

Avid Buzz readers probably recall that I predicted this move after former coach Brian Voelker left for Drexel two weeks ago. OK, so I didn't exactly predict it, but I did mention Murphy as the most likely candidate. According to Insidelacrosse.com, other candidates for the job included Towson's Tony Seaman (sound familiar?) and current Penn assistant Chris Wojcik. Murphy has already said he would definitely like to keep Wojcik as an assistant (Voelker's other assistant, Conor Ford, is joining him at Drexel).

I like this move for Penn on every level. His history at Penn and tremendous success at Haverford made him an obvious choice in my mind, with the only hindrance being whether he would be willing to leave a program that he had built to such great heights. His transition back to Penn should be seamless, as his family lives nearby and he is already very well-established on the local recruiting scene. As I implied in the aforementioned post about Voelker's departure, I believe this move justifies the decision to let Voelker leave. Obviously only time will tell, but to me this seems like a step in the right direction for the Quakers.

On another positive note, Murphy seemed to contradict the impression I got from Voelker that Penn is not committed to its M. Lax program.

“I’m ecstatic,” he told Inside Lacrosse. “I think the Penn administration has proven that they support lacrosse and Coach [Brian] Voelker has put together a great deal of talent. For me, this is the ideal position.”

Whether he was being sincere or simply trying to say the right things and get off to a good start in his new job, that statement and his hiring should certainly bring a sigh of relief to frustrated Penn fans.

Stay tuned for more information and analysis on Murphy's hiring in this Thursday's issue of The Summer Pennsylvanian.