Moments after posting my thoughts on Adam Zagoria's report that Jerome Allen will officially be named Penn's head coach, I was forwarded an e-mail from Athletic Director Steve Bilsky to Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Keith Pompey. Here's what Bilsky wrote:
"We're not going to comment on the veracity of any particular blog or rumor, but the search is ongoing and will intensify during this month."
As my colleague Zach Klitzman wrote earlier today, Adam Zagoria reported on his blog that "Penn interim head coach Jerome Allen will officially be named the program’s full-time coach before the Final Four, sources close to the program said."
If you ask me, it's way too early to accept that.
I just talked to the Athletic Department and am awaiting an official statement, but to me this seems like an extremely premature and questionable report. I want to be clear that I am not questioning Zagoria's legitimacy or responsibility as a journalist, but without knowing his sources I'll say from what I do know that in this case it seems like the best information he could have is that Penn decided it WANTS Jerome Allen back but hasn't finalized anything.
That is the farthest they could possibly be in the process right now. They need to agree to a contract before they can make an announcement, and I highly doubt they've been negotiating contracts as Allen tries to wrap up this season with a strong finish. Yes, Allen and Steve Bilsky could have verbally agreed that they both want this to be the situation. Yes, Bilsky could have decided that his timetable is the Final Four. He may have even decided not to bother with interviewing other candidates (although Zagoria's trustworthy inside source merely said they "might" not interview outside candidates). All of those things could definitely be — and based on Zagoria's report probably are — true. But you cannot jump from that to a definitive statement that Allen will be the guy.
To think for one second that this is set in stone right now would be irresponsible. Not only is the contract not finalized, and probably not even past the initial negotiation stages, but it would be disadvantageous for Bilsky to say anything publicly until it's final. That's why I don't think he will end up releasing any sort of press release today in response to Zagoria's report.
All that said, today's events definitely mean that, in all likelihood, Jerome Allen will be your new full-time Penn men's basketball coach. Just don't count that chicken until it hatches.
Jerry Carino of MyCentralJersey.com wrote a nice piece on Zack Rosen and how he is dealing with all of the losing at Penn these last two years compared with the tremendous success of his high school teams. Here are some interesting highlights from the article:
1. Rosen's comments: "I've always been on teams that have had a lot of success, and coming here I expected it would be the same thing," Rosen said last week. "That's not the case. It takes a lot more effort, more work, more commitment. It take a lot more of everything and it's been frustrating, but I think we've got a good foundation." ... On how he's stayed motivated on such a bad team: "By not letting it me bring me down, but embracing it and making me stronger for it," he explained. "That's been the key, taking the right attitude and working hard no matter what the circumstances."
2. One of his quotes in the story seems to imply that Darren Smith will be working out this summer and trying to return next season. After missing two full seasons with his knee injury, Smith would be eligible to apply for a fifth year if he proves that he needs the fifth year to do something academically as well. This usually entails something like taking on a second major or anything else that gives the player a legitimate academic reason for needing a fifth year before graduating. It's certainly something that's been discussed here and elsewhere in the circles of Penn basketball discussion, but I think the common opinion was that Smith wouldn't have a good reason to play a 5th year, especially considering the playing time constraints the team will face next year with a huge recruiting class.
3. The article mentions that Rosen has a 3.1 GPA in Wharton. I'm not in Wharton, so I can't judge that, but for someone with so much time tied up in basketball, it doesn't seem too shabby.
Hi, Penn basketball fans! This is Brian Kotloff bringing you live coverage of the Quakers’ first Ivy League home game against Cornell. Penn is looking for its third Ivy win of the season, but it will need to pull off a monumental upset of the Big Red in order to do so. Follow the action along with me below.
Ed. Note: The DP's story on tonight's game can be found here. We'll be updating steadily and filling in some of the missing details.
So it appears to me that we're all about the gambling here at the DP these days, but I thought I'd throw this in anyways.
For those unaware, ESPN.com has had an ongoing game for a while called Streak for the Cash. The rules change every so often, but the premise is fairly simple: they place a number of games/props for you to choose from, you pick one at a time and try and string together as long a streak of correct picks as you can. Under the current rules, the winner at the end of each month wins $100,000. It's completely free, so is a nice way for risk-averse people like myself to get a bit of a sports gambling fix and it's also very difficult.
As you can see on today's Streak page, one of the games to pick today is Penn-Dartmouth, I suppose it makes some sense, as the game is expected to be a close one, and thus a tough one to pick. Dartmouth, favored by 2 over the Quakers, has been picked by 87.2% of people as of this post, so the masses clearly are going with the 4-14 Big Green over the 2-14 Quakers. What do you think, loyal Buzz readers, should I wager by 5-pick Streak on this game? Let me know in the comments below.
On another note, tonight's matchup features two interim head coaches facing off against each other; I wonder when the last time that happened was?
See you in a few hours, when I'll be liveblogging the game from frigid Hanover, NH.
The Ivy League conducted an official review of Penn's last-second victory over Brown on Saturday, and ruled that they will not take any action. There is no indication of whether they ruled the basket was released before the buzzer, but rather a focus on the NCAA rules stating that "The final determination of the outcome of the game rests with the game officials and their approval of the final score," and that game scores cannot be changed once the referees leave the court.
Based on a bit of ambiguous language, I'm not sure if the League actually found that the bucket was good, or is just saying that they won't change anything regardless. If the former, great. If the latter, I think the discussion of replay being instituted will become an even hotter topic. What do you all think? Should the Ivy League institute instant replay at all men's basketball games, regardless of whether they're televised?
Hey all,
I'm here at the Pizzitola center for Penn's matchup with Brown in their second game of the young Ivy season. They'll be looking to bounce back from a loss to Yale last night. Follow along with me for all the action.
As Zach wrote earlier today, Fran Dougherty, star center of Archbishop Wood basketball, announced his college decision today at 1:30 p.m. We weren't able to get details from the press conference, but a source has confirmed to me that Dougherty has chosen Penn. I'm told the Philadelphia Daily News will have more details shortly, and we'll provide them as well as they become available.
[Updated 2:29 p.m.] The Ivybball twitter has also confirmed that Dougherty announced he is joining the Quakers.
[Updated 2:45 p.m.] And now the Daily News has it up and confirmed as well.
From the little I've gathered, Dougherty is dubbed as a very tough player with good skills, but he's not the most athletic guy ever. At 6-8, 225, he's got solid size for an Ivy big man, which the Quakers need desperately. I'm unsure but curious how much Jerome Allen had to do with this. I know he's been active on the recruiting circuit, but there's no telling how much of an impact he's had over assistant coaches John Gallagher and Mike Martin. Regardless, this is more good news for Penn.
[Updated 4:33 p.m.] Further reporting has revealed that Dougherty has actually been decided on Penn for some time now. He was accepted weeks ago, presumably in the early decision pool, and those close to the situation have known he was coming to Penn. Another important detail is that he played a great game against Roman Catholic High School earlier this season, scoring 22 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and notching four blocks. Roman is one of the best teams in Philadelphia and even up there in terms of national prominence. They've produced a number of NBA players including Marc Jackson, Rasual Butler and Eddie Griffin. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean anything for Dougherty, but it's certainly a good sign. Even more impressively, he played that game with a heavily bandaged foot that was later revealed to have a stress fracture.
In an exciting event for me as an aspiring journalist, the New York Times used some quotes from my preview of tonight's Penn-Temple matchup in a post about the game on their college sports blog. Given the apparent popularity of some of the comments these guys made, I figured I'd share some other worthwhile items from my interviews that weren't in the story. Also after the jump, an update on two of Penn's recruits.
Former Penn basketball player and WXPN color commentator Vince Curran has reportedly been hired as a volunteer assistant coach for the men's basketball team, filling the role vacated by interim head coach Jerome Allen. The Penn Sports Network's Brian Seltzer, who calls radio broadcasts with Curran on WXPN, mentioned the hiring yesterday on Comcast Sports Net's show, "Daily News Live," and the Athletic Department confirmed it for me today.
Curran played for one year at Penn with Allen. At the Big 5 Hall of Fame induction last spring, Allen mentioned to me that he has many fond memories with Vince and indicated they still keep in touch and have a strong relationship. I would imagine that Allen had some influence in bringing in Curran, but I'm not positive on that one. The move also fits the mold of Steve Bilsky's desire to bring in coaches with strong Penn connections to help restore the Penn basketball identity.
After the jump are some of Allen's comments about Curran from the Big 5 HOF induction.
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