Jeremy Dubert: Ugonna comes into his own

Ugonna Onyekwe has had many titles over the past couple years, but Saturday night against Brown he looked much more like the Ivy League Player of the Year than Penn's sixth man. The 6-foot-8 forward's talent has never been doubted, but some of his decisions have occasionally opened him up to criticism -- even from his coach, who benched him for a five-game stint earlier in the season. But his performance before a near-capacity Palestra crowd on Saturday symbolized the very best of Onyekwe. He demonstrated his superior talent and did it while playing his most intelligent game in recent memory. The London native clearly came in with a plan against the Bears. His dominance was evident in the early stages of the contest, when he scored 10 points in the first 6:44. Yet it was the manner in which he so thoroughly dominated that was most impressive. Unlike in many previous games this season, Onyekwe took his game right to the basket. With just 1:36 gone by, he drew a foul on Brown center Alai Nuualiitia and connected on both free throws. Onyekwe finished 7-for-8 from the line, en route to a 21-point, 13-rebound evening. Just 44 seconds later, the power forward camped out in the post and was in perfect position to rebound and slam down a Koko Archibong misfire. On the very next possession, Andrew Toole -- battling the flu as well as a bruised knee -- missed a driving lefty lay-up, but Onyekwe was there again to clean up the mess. Another dunk. Following four points by Archibong, Onyekwe was at it again, tipping home a miss to tie the game at 12, and then going in for a two-handed stuff after receiving a beautiful entry pass from Archibong. This is what we should be seeing on a regular basis from Onyekwe. There are no Shaquille O'Neals or Tim Duncans playing in the Ivy League to intimidate him into falling back and settling for jumpers. And despite Brown's attempts at containing the Red and Blue's leading scorer by double-teaming him, Onyekwe was undeterred. "He took it at two people and he did a great job," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. Perhaps most significantly, it seemed on Saturday that in collecting his third consecutive double-double, Onyekwe may finally have realized his limitations on the court. He has considerable strengths, yet in the past he has displayed a proclivity to cater to weaker areas of his game -- namely, three-point shooting. The forward launched only two shots from downtown on Saturday -- and missed both -- but had the opportunity to fire up several more. Instead, though, he wisely passed the ball inside, even when he was afforded wide open looks at the hoop. Maybe he came to accept that he is shooting a solid 49.1 percent from the field this year but only 29.7 percent from long-range On more than one occasion, Onyekwe pump faked from behind the arc, subsequently pegging the ball perfectly from mid-air to a forgotten Penn player situated under the basket. All of Brown's defensive energy was focused on Onyekwe and when he drew the Bears far from the rim, at least one man was inevitably left uncovered down low. Dunphy said after the game that he was pleased with his star's shot selection and decision making all night. "He is our go-to-guy," Dunphy said. "And I think our guys are very comfortable when plays are breaking down to feed it to him."

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