A FRONT ROW VIEW: Hoop holiday

Ten games, three conferences, six days. That's right, folks, while you were away over Spring Break getting a tan in Mexico or drinking margaritas in the Keys, yours truly was holed up in beachless Philadelphia getting his fill of college basketball's finest. Drexel's first-round conference tournament game. Penn's last Ivy weekend. The Atlantic 10 Tourney at the Palestra. The Quakers' annual trip to the worst college arena in the country -- Princeton's Jadwin Gym. Who could ask for anything more? Well, after my whirlwind tour of the hardwood I can't tell you the play-by-play from every game, nor can I produce every box score. Instead I offer you a a brief list of the week's hoop highlights. And if you think I'm crazy because of my choice of Spring Break locale, even Mayor Rendell knows that March Madness starts in Philadelphia -- "The Capital of College Basketball." Senior Night. I really wanted to make a sign for this game to show my appreciation, but I couldn't fit "The best single class of Ivy League hoopsters to ever grace the floor of college basketball's most historic gym" on one piece of oaktag, so I screamed throughout the game instead. Emotions were high for my last time in the Palestra, but it was hard to remain upset with Jerome driving the lane, Maloney and Kegler swishing treys from downtown, and Eric and Shawn battling in the paint. The Class of 1995. Dynasty. You won't ever see anything like this again in West Philly. The Shaq of the NAC. That's the North Atlantic Conference for those who haven't happened upon Philadelphia's most unheralded college basketball player -- Drexel's 6-foot-7 center Malik Rose. He dominated inside the paint, tallying 30 points and 15 boards in a first round tournament game versus Hofstra. He's big, quick, has great hands and can dunk with the best of them. Some say Barkley-esque, but I'll wait until his matchup with Big Country to decide. St. Joseph's. Shafted. That's exactly what happened to the folks on Hawk Hill. Are you kidding me? No NCAA bid for the comeback kids. Down 17 with six minutes left against St. Bonaventure and they win in double overtime. Tough showing against UMass in the semis and killer out-of-conference schedule. Wins over every Division I team in Philly. Manhattan? Santa Clara? Please. Carlin Warley and Bernard Blunt deserved better than the NIT. Christopher. Who let this wacko on the Palestra floor? No lie, this man makes a living dancing to Village People tunes with four mannequins attached to his body. Whatever motion Christopher does, so goes the cop, the construction worker, the biker?you get the picture. More entertaining than Temple's Huey Futch playing without a shoe? Yes. But Macho Man? Hardly. Rick Hielscher. It was Senior Night for the Princeton center/stiff and the sign said it all -- "Hey Rick, it's been great watching you suck." He played only 17 minutes as the Quakers wrapped up another perfect Ivy season, but Tim Krug found time to humiliate him once again. It all started long ago in 1993 with The Block, but Krug's ability to make Hielscher look pathetic has become as traditional as toast and highballs are to the Penn faithful. The rejection on one end was bad enough, but the in-your-face three on the other end added at least three more u's to Kruuuug! Thank God Rick is finished, because it hurts watching him play. Shawn Trice. Wow. Who lit the fire under this guy? Arguably his best three-game performance as a Quaker. He singlehandedly kept Penn in the lead versus the Tigers with a career-high 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field. Trice's resurgence couldn't have come at a better time -- the Quakers will need a solid effort in the post against Alabama in the Big Dance. The Hawk. The best mascot in the nation. No contest. You try flapping your arms for two hours straight. He even went the distance in double OT, but he paid the price. He couldn't raise his arms at all the next day. A true symbol for the tenacious, scrappy squad from St. Joe's. They might not be in the Tourney this year, but don't worry -- The Hawk Never Dies. Adam Kaye is a College and Wharton senior from Freehold, N.J., and a sports writer for The Daily Pennsylvanian.

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