No time off for Quakers hoopsters

Penn basketball players tried, with mixed success, to stay sharp by playing in summer leagues. During a summer busy with lifting, shooting and playing pick-up games against teammates, area summer leagues provided the only opportunities for the Penn men's basketball team members to compete in organized games. "You put uniforms on and there are referees and you like to get out there and be competitive and do your best," said Matt Langel, the Penn sophomore guard. Summer leagues give players experience in a team environment under game conditions that involve the shot clock, three-point line and time-and-score situations. They also include college players who are able to test each other. "I wanted to play in Sonny Hill (local) league because the competition is some of the best in the area," Quakers center Geoff Owens said. Under NCAA regulations, college players can compete in just one summer league, and one summer league team can have only a single player from each college's team. This rule ensures that college teams do not, in effect, practice against other teams in an organized situation. The Sonny Hill Community Involvement Basketball League is the league in which most of the Penn players from this area compete because the competition in it is widely regarded as the best in the area. Among the top Quakers expected to contribute this year who played in that league are Michael Jordan, Langel, George Mboya, Owens, Paul Romanczuk and Jed Ryan. Another local summer league is the Media Summer Basketball League. There are subtle differences between the two leagues. While the Sonny Hill League has a division open to just collegians, the Media League is a summer league open to players who range from teens to men well out of college. According to senior Garett Kreitz, who is one of two Quakers to play in the Media League (the other being Kreitz's classmate Jeff Goldstein), the older players can be problematic -- not because of their skills but because of their willingness to do anything to win an otherwise meaningless summer league game. "You're taking a chance [by playing in the Media League]. There are some guys who don't care what they do to you," Kreitz said. Besides the chance to play in an organized environment, most of the Penn players cited the strong competition as their main reason for playing in one of the two leagues. Penn coach Fran Dunphy noted that while the summer leagues do have value, they are not essential to a player's improvement. "I don't think you're going to get appreciably better playing 10 games in the summer," Dunphy said. "You get better by playing together after summer school, summer jobs, whatever keeps these guys around during the summer time ? that's how you get better. So it's not a huge emphasis that we put on the summer leagues. It's more to keep sharp in terms of game conditions." One shortcoming that develops on numerous summer league teams is selfishness. Evidence of this was present one night when Jordan's Camille Cosby team faced Ryan's Jurin Distributing team. Repeatedly, Ryan was open for easy jumpers, but was denied the ball. Jordan's team, despite coach Michael Blackshear's pleas, constantly refused to swing the ball around the perimeter to find the open shot. "There's a lot of selfishness that goes on," Jordan said. Another aspect of the summer league games that prevents a player from improving significantly is the low intensity level of the games, labeled "pretty laid back" by Langel. Though the players want to win, the closeness with teammates and the sense of urgency is not present like in February and March. Part of the reason is the discrepancy between teams' seriousness. While Owens' team tried to practice once a week, the coach of Langel's team barely made it to his games. Sometimes teams were nearly unable to field five players. When they did show up, players found it helpful to play against and with players they will see in the regular season. "It's real good for me to play with and against some of these guys that I haven't seen as much as, say Michael [Jordan], who knows about every player in the city," Langel said. "You get a better feel of what they can do and what kind of player they are." Though the benefits were limited, players used the summer leagues to improve specific areas of their games. "I'm working on my penetrating and my defense," Kreitz said. Occasionally, the games can also be used as a tool to experiment with a new move. "This is the time when you really want to try and work on it because when you come to the season you really want to have it almost perfect," said Owens, who focused on a more effective hook shot. "I'm going to work on it now and use it in the games now so when it comes to the season, I'll be comfortable with it," For most of the Quakers, improvement comes more effectively from working out with others on the Penn team and from strong competition. Jordan and Owens have been working out at the Gustein Lake Recreation Center with future NBA players and former Big 5 players. Players have to balance a work or school schedule with workouts. Dunphy noted that while rest is very important, players can't afford to take off too much time while trying to get better. "In this day and age, there's not much of an offseason," Dunphy said. Dunphy himself was sidelined until July 8, the day in which college coaches are able to begin observing their players and recruiting prospective student-athletes. The mid-summer evaluation helps players focus on how much they are improving. The Quakers worked out regularly in the Palestra and the varsity weightroom. They continued the cycles of lifting and conditioning to which they had grown accustomed. They worked on their personal weaknesses individually and also play pick-up games against themselves and other local schools. And once or twice a week, they tried to improve a little in their summer league games.

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