Penn streaks to New England

There are no such things as secret weapons in Ivy League men's basketball.

All eight teams know even the benchwarmers because they recruit from the same select group of student-athletes who can stay afloat in an Ivy League university environment.

"Everybody recruits the same guys because there's such a small pool who are able to play, meet admissions standards and able for it not to be a burden to their family financially," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said.

So even though Jan. 29 was the first time Penn saw Brown's nine-man freshman class on together on the court, the Red and Blue was not surprised by their talent.

That might be one of the reasons that Penn (14-7, 7-0 Ivy) was able to easily defeat Brown (9-11, 2-4), 83-60. The Bears beat Princeton the night before they were in Philadelphia, but since their loss to the Quakers they have dropped three of four.

"Unlike the last few years, at this point, we have kind of hit a wall," Brown coach Glen Miller said. "We are definitely a struggling basketball team and not playing with confidence."

This is a change of pace for the Bears, who finished in second place in the Ivies in three of the last four years. After three key seniors graduated in 2004, they have had to rebuild -- and they began by recruiting eight new players and giving another a spot on the team as a walk-on.

Instead of taking their time to get acclimated to the pressures of Division I basketball, the Brown freshmen have been thrown into a role of collective importance far greater than any other Ivy rookie class this season -- primary support to Ivy League Player of the Year Jason Forte.

Brown's only other offensive weapon outside of the explosive senior is guard Luke Ruscoe, who is little more than a spot-shooter. Beyond that, the well has run dry for Miller, which is why he is giving his freshmen a baptism by fire.

With seven rookies logging significant minutes each game, the Bears are showing their inexperience -- they have lost four of their last five games.

"You cannot expect that much success with that little experience," Miller said. "This freshman class has talent but in the history of this league, you don't win relying on freshmen."

Leading the Brown rookies is guard Damon Huffman. The lanky, 6-foot-2 180-pounder has tallied big minutes thanks to his shooting touch and leads the freshman class in points, rebounds and assists.

"Right from the get-go, it was Huffman," Miller said. "He is getting a little worn down right now, but we had to play him. He has certainly earned his minutes."

Huffman contributed 32 minutes off the bench against Penn, finishing with eight points.

"He definitely played very well," sophomore guard Ibby Jaaber said. "He made a couple big shots and big assists, so we have to watch out for him."

Though Huffman is excelling, Forte and Ruscoe have not been able to find the basket. Forte has shot a combined 8-for-38 in the last three games and Ruscoe has shot 10-for-38 in his last four.

Miller said that part of their struggles -- especially Forte's -- can be attributed to the pressure of playing on a young team.

The freshmen "have relied and tried to defer to [Forte] too much, and in turn he has probably tried to do too much," Miller said. "Last year, I think he had more trust in his teammates since they could score the ball."

Another freshman filling the void is McDonald's All-American nominee Mark MacDonald, whose 6-foot-9, 220-pound frame will have an imposing presence down low against Penn's undersized forwards.

Last month, MacDonald scored six points in 11 minutes against Penn.

"I went to see MacDonald play a couple times [in high school]," Dunphy said. "He is giving them some good minutes and can really hurt us."

Next in his class is guard Mark McAndrew, who has been turning heads coming off the bench. He has had his biggest impact from behind the arc -- he is shooting 42 percent from three-point land.

Combine all these different skill sets and you get a team that is tough to beat -- once it has one or two years of league experience under its belt.

Though the Brown rookies will not be able to wipe the floor with Penn tonight, they will play well and give fans a taste of the future of Ivy League basketball.

"When next year rolls around, these guys are going to be [experienced] like juniors," Miller said. "Their struggles will help them propel to success in the future.

"Sometimes you don't learn unless you have some failures."

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