Gross | Don't lock me up: Penn will win in '09

With Cornell returning nearly every player from this year's undefeated squad, you would have to be crazy not to pick the Big Red to repeat as champions.

Call me crazy, or call me partial, but Penn will win the Ivy League next season.

The Quakers finished the season with six Ivy League losses; to contend for the title next year, that number will probably have to fall to no more than one. But putting the two defeats against Cornell aside, Penn should be able to nullify the other four league losses.

First of all, you can wipe out the three losses to Brown and Columbia. The Bears are losing their two best players, Damon Huffman and Mark McAndrew, along with big man Mark MacDonald.

The Lions, who gave the Quakers fits inside, will be without big men John Baumann and Ben Nwachukwu. Expect both teams to take a step back similar to the one the Quakers took this season.

And with more experience, there's no way Penn will lose again at Harvard. The Crimson will also have to deal with the loss of Brad Unger and the recruiting scandal looming over Tommy Amaker's program.

On paper, Penn should be able to sweep those three teams, and there is no reason to believe that it will not sweep Dartmouth, Princeton and Yale, as well.

To have a shot at the title, all Penn would have to do is split the season series with Cornell. The Quakers proved they are already capable of playing with the Ivy champions in the 94-92 loss two weekends ago. If it wasn't for a blown foul call on the last play, Penn might have even won the game.

The Red and Blue even hung tough in the loss at Ithaca, and that was without Tyler Bernardini.

With the graduation of Brian Grandieri, Penn will lose a lot of leadership. But it'll gain a lot more from the maturation of Harrison Gaines and Bernardini. Also, the addition of Zach Rosen - known for his decision-making - will help stabilize the Quakers.

The return of Darren Smith should improve the perimeter defense, a necessity if the Quakers hope to contain Cornell's guard trio of Louis Dale, Ryan Wittman and Adam Gore.

Penn already had an edge on the low blocks - Andreas Schreiber had his best game of the season at Ithaca. The graduation of Cornell forward Jason Hartford and the inevitable improvement of Jack Eggleston will only serve to bolster the advantage.

Not losing any of their star players, the Big Red will be just as good - if not better - next season. But the leap the Quakers should take will be much greater than any improvement that Steve Donahue's team will undergo; Penn came into the season as the most inexperienced Ivy team, by far.

Now, with all of the big-time minutes their underclassmen accumulated this season, the Quakers will become one of the more experienced squads.

Though a six-game swing in the standings may seem far-fetched, the Red and Blue could certainly split or even sweep the season series next year.

And if they can accomplish that and take care of business against the rest of the league, Cornell's reign atop the Ivy League will be short-lived.

Rob Gross is a senior English major from Somerset, N.J. His e-mail address is rjgross@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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