Tourney loss leaves different feel than last year

BOSTON -- It seems too early to look ahead.

Look at the group of six seniors whose collegiate careers are over and next season seems ages away. And so the challenge for next year's seniors is to make next year look not so far.

It's a tough one, for sure.

"It's going to be really hard," junior guard Jeff Schiffner said. "Six guys who donated so much on and off the court."

The outlook after Penn's loss this season is far different than a year ago. After last year's 82-75 defeat by California, the Quakers were upbeat -- sure, upset about the loss, but ready for next season. Only 0.5 percent of the 2001-2002 team's scoring was lost for the 2002-2003 season.

For next year, the Red and Blue graduate 63 percent of this year's points.

So with the core of the team gone, the non-graduating members of the Quakers have a tough task ahead of them.

"It's real tough to see them go," junior guard Charlie Copp said. "They're so good on and off the court."

Three juniors -- Schiffner, Copp and Adam Chubb -- return next season. Coach Fran Dunphy said after the regular season finale that he expected all three to start next year. Schiffner was the only starter this season, was named first team All-Ivy League and lead the nation in three-point field goal percentage.

All three, however, logged significant minutes in Friday's season-ending 77-63 loss to Oklahoma State. Schiffner scored four points, Chubb had a basket and Copp was used as a defensive stopper after Tim Begley's ankle injury.

After losing Michael Jordan and Matt Langel to graduation following the 1999-2000 season, the Quakers sputtered to an 0-8 start and a 12-17 season. Penn finished second in the Ivy League at 9-5, losing a chance at the title with a season-ending loss at Princeton.

But when the Quakers lost Jerome Allen and Matt Maloney after the 1994-1995 season, Penn was able to capture a share of the Ivy League crown again, losing to Princeton only in a playoff game.

Next year, the Red and Blue will add two transfers to the lineup -- Eric Osmundson from Utah and Eric Heil from Lehigh. Osmundson averaged 1.9 points in nine minutes for the Utes in 2001-2002, while Heil was on the All-Patriot League Rookie Team in 2001-2002, averaging 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

The question is, can next year's seniors deliver the kind of leadership that the current group of seniors did? They'll have to make the team look toward the future again, something that is much harder than it was after last season.

"It's going to be tough to see them go, for sure," Chubb said.

It's a shame for the Quakers, because Friday's game was one they could have won. Now it's up to three juniors to try and get Penn back into a position to win an NCAA Tournament game.

"It's tough to end on a note like this," Schiffner said. "We wanted it so bad, but we just didn't get it in the end."

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