'Trials and tribulations' for M. Hoops

One telling sign of a veteran team is an ability to put together a complete game - 40 minutes of solid play in all phases, offensive and defensive.

The youth of the Penn men's basketball team is no secret, and it has most often manifested itself away from the Palestra.

While the Quakers have clearly improved as the season has worn on, the four Ivy road games have only reinforced their inexperience.

In each of those four contests, the Quakers have done certain things well, but with the possible exception of Friday's win over Dartmouth, they have not succeeded across all aspects of the game.

Saturday's loss at Harvard is the latest and perhaps the best example of the Penn's Jekyll and Hyde nature. Some of the offensive numbers look good: The team had six more assists than turnovers, went 9-for-12 from the charity stripe and had an amazing 21 offensive rebounds.

But besides a five-minute stretch in the second half when they were executing on offense, the Quakers were mostly settling for individual efforts that led to many low-percentage attempts.

"You can have a couple individual plays down the stretch,w but most of the time you have to have execution," Justin Reilly said after the game.

"We have to be a more disciplined team and that comes with maturity."

In the first half, Penn's defenders, for the most part, did a good job stopping penetration by the Crimson guards. Starters Drew Housman and Jeremy Lin, who gave the Quakers fits in the first meeting, were held to a combined nine points in the opening frame.

Instead, Penn allowed forwards Brad Unger and Evan Harris, who combined for 32 first-half points, to take over the opening 20 minutes.

In the second half, the Quakers seemed to adjust, as Unger and Harris only had three combined baskets.

But the Red and Blue were unable to demonstrate any defensive balance. By limiting the interior scoring, Penn's perimeter defense suffered and Lin was able to get into the lane nearly at will.

Red and Blue coach Glen Miller has known from the start that his team would have to battle inconsistency this season.

"We're going to live through some trials and tribulations," he said in an interview before Penn's season-opener against Drexel.

"Our guys have to get on the floor in competitive situations against an opponent to become better, to gain experience, to gain confidence and to better their execution."

As much as the Quakers have gained valuable experience, the ups and downs continue.

Senior captain Brian Grandieri is just as curious as anyone to see whether his team will be able to pull it all together by the end of the season.

"We have five more games, and we'll really see what we're made of now," Grandieri said.

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