Hillel and hoops for Gordon

The Ivy League gets about as many All-American transfers as it does national championships. But this offseason, the Penn basketball team found one of the former.

Sort of.

Sophomore Zachary Gordon, a transfer from Yeshiva University, was a first-teamer on the Jewish Sports Review All-American team for Divisions II and III.

Gordon classifies himself as Orthodox Jewish, and at Yeshiva University - an officially Jewish D-III university in New York - the team's schedule is worked around the Sabbath. But even after he sits out this year due to NCAA transfer rules, he said he will not miss any Penn games or roadtrips due to his religion.

The 6-foot-6 swingman might not be Sandy Koufax on Yom Kippur, but his faith certainly plays a big role in his life - on and off the court.

"I definitely believe in God, I'm religious about it," Gordon said. "I believe that He's given me the power to play here. I just thank God for it every day."

Yeshiva is not usually considered a pipeline for hoopsters, but Gordon certainly impressed in his only year on the team. His 20.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks were best on the Maccabees, leading him to seek a higher level of competition.

"Very athletic, very coachable, very hard-working," said Jonathan Halpert, Gordon's coach at Yeshiva. "Certainly from the Yeshiva world he was among the top athletes to come out."

Playing for the Maccabees, however, was much more than a chance to develop into a well-rounded player. It was a chance to marry a commitment to faith and sport, and that's something Gordon will certainly give up when he dons Red and Blue.

"Whether he wants to or not, he's representing the Jewish people [at Yeshiva]," Halpert said. "There are very few opportunities that any individual gets who can say he does that. Penn can't give you that."

However, Gordon ultimately decided that furthering his basketball career outweighed the benefits of remaining at Yeshiva. He looked at several schools this offseason, including Miami, Maryland and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. But the Ivy League was a natural fit for him, as his father Larry was an honorable mention All-Ivy at Columbia in 1970-71.

The younger Gordon gave the Lions a look, but Penn was his first choice the whole way through.

And the fact that one of Larry's college rivals - scrappy Penn guard Steve Bilsky - was now running the athletic program made it an oddly intriguing choice.

"I talked to [Bilsky] briefly," Gordon said. "He made a couple jokes about my dad, kind of was hating on him."

But this time around, Bilsky and Gordon are in the same corner. While it is often hard to judge how a player will jump from D-III to the fast and physical play of D-I, the Penn basketball brass saw something in Gordon.

However, coach Glen Miller knows his success will lie in how well he can develop and adjust, particularly during his year off.

"He has versatility, and that's something we really like during the recruiting process," Miller said. "It all depends on the progress he makes. He has some talent, has some ability. He's going to have to work real hard."

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