Men's Hoops' focus in practice pays off on court

One of the most difficult things in sports is to win when you're supposed to.

The Penn basketball team, which was projected to coast through the regular season on its way to the NCAA Tournament, learned this the hard way by suffering early-season setbacks to Drexel and Delaware.

But something has clicked for the Quakers in their last two outings, as they have thoroughly dismantled Big 5 rivals Temple and Villanova.

Penn's 71-62 loss to Drexel at the Palestra on Nov. 25 was especially concerning to coach Fran Dunphy, and went a long way in getting the club to rededicate itself to fundamental, yet inspired, play.

"We had a meeting after the Drexel game and we talked about a lot of things," senior point guard Andrew Toole said. "Maybe the message didn't sink in as good as it should have because we went to Delaware and ended up losing.

"But after that, I think we realized how hard we have to work in practice everyday in order to be ready for the games."

Not that the Red and Blue are necessarily the "hunted" in all of their games, but it does appear as though they can no longer sneak up on anyone.

Opponents do not simply dismiss Penn as a viable team because it plays in the Ivy League. They recognize the Quakers for the solid team that they are.

And because of that, "intensity" was a word that continually popped up in Penn's post-game press conference.

The Quakers understood after the Drexel loss in their second game of the season, and even more so following their defeat at Delaware in the following game, that they could not get by with a second-rate effort.

"I don't think there's any way to put your finger on teams or personalities of teams," Dunphy said. "Maybe this particular group, this particular year, just needed some incentive to play better, and it obviously came to be somehow, some way.

"They did a good job against Temple and a good job tonight and hopefully we can keep it going."

Dunphy explained that he had to rely on some of his senior leaders like Toole and forward Koko Archibong for some advice as to how practice could be run with a heightened concentration level.

"I think it was just getting guys to focus on every possession for the entire game," Toole said. "In the Drexel and Delaware games, we had lapses where we weren't shooting the ball well, but we weren't playing defense either.

"In the last two games, we've really focused on playing defense for an entire 35 seconds, limiting second chance opportunities, and getting good shots."

The intensity was clearly evident at the beginning of the Temple game on Saturday night, as the Quakers immediately jumped out to a 13-0 lead before the Owls could blink.

The Red and Blue then fed off the energy of 12,052 fans at the First Union Center on Tuesday to assume an 11-point advantage by halftime. Penn collected assists on 11 of its 15 first half baskets, and played tenacious defense throughout the game.

Villanova power forward Ricky Wright, whom the Quakers successfully double-teamed all night, was very impressed with Penn's emotion on the court, but also its intelligence.

"When we would make a little run, even in the first half, it seemed that they would have a long possession. And then when they got an offensive rebound, rather than putting it right up, they'd get it out," Wright said.

"I think it's a sign of a very good team, a well-coached team."

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