Todres | Miller just what doctor ordered

Before the winter break layoff, Penn found itself at the lowest point of Glen Miller's tenure. In a December posting on The Buzz, The Daily Pennsylvanian's sports blog, I questioned the Quakers' passion, direction and leadership, fearing that the program might be in serious jeopardy.

I suggested that Miller bore much of the responsibility for Penn's performance, putting the onus on him to set the team straight and get more out of his players.

I don't know exactly what he said in the locker room on Wednesday at Tom Gola Arena against La Salle, but the Quakers have responded in a big way. They are playing with passion and intensity. They are playing with direction. Leaders have emerged.

And after last night, I am more convinced than ever before that Miller is the right man to lead this team, and that this team, with all of its youth and inexperience, is ready to make a legitimate run in the Ivy League this season.

Perhaps it's wrong of me to make such a bold claim after only 60 minutes of Big 5 basketball, when anything can happen. To be fair, Penn did lose both games.

On Saturday, however, Miller squeezed every last bit of effort out of his young team, coaching them and challenging them to play like there was no tomorrow.

Since it was technically a home game for the Hawks, I had the unique opportunity to sit right behind the Penn bench. Miller's jacket rested on my backpack for the last eight minutes of the first half, as I gained a new perspective on his coaching style.

Competing with intensity on both ends of the court and a willingness to attack the basket and move around quickly on offense, Penn snapped out of its funk against La Salle and scored 53 points in the second half.

And much of that intensity can be credited to Miller, who just might be the most intense coach this side of Jimmy Patsos that I have ever seen in action.

I have often mistaken that intensity for ugliness and written it off as counterproductive. But throughout the game on Saturday, Miller made sure that his players were in the right frame of mind.

"Stay aggressive on offense," he urged them repeatedly during the first media timeout, with Penn up 10-4.

Two possessions later, Brennan Votel was stuffed on a shot attempt inside. Although not immediately fruitful, it was an aggressive play that helped him establish a presence inside, helping Penn go on a 14-4 run. Miller's response to the play was not angry - he simply clapped.

Throughout that impressive run, the coach urged his floor general, Zack Rosen, to attack and push the tempo.

"Motion! Move it, Zack. Let's go!" Miller shouted.

Rosen fed Jack Eggleston inside for an easy layup. The sophomore forward played 36 gutsy minutes against a formidable big man in Ahmad Nivins, hitting the floor over and over and getting up every time.

All the players seemed to get Miller's message. After Tyler Bernardini got yanked when his man blew by him for a layup, he said "my bad" to Miller on the way back to the bench, stood up and yelled at Rosen to "go at [his man]," echoing his coach's exhortations.

Maybe there are times when Miller scares his players and indirectly stifles their aggressiveness. But a little while after Miller ripped into Rosen when he left his man open for a three-pointer, the freshman countered with a strip and started a breakaway, which Eggleston finished off with a confident, thunderous jam.

Midway through the Hawks' 17-0 run, a fan sitting a few rows behind the bench yelled, "Bring back Fran." Miller turned around, got his attention, and shouted back, "Come down and talk to me after the game." A few poor calls later by the official, and he picked up his second technical in two games.

It wasn't classy on Miller's part, but it was remarkably unfair to him, too. He coached a hell of a basketball game that day - the game probably should have never been so close.

If Miller has any real flaw, it's that he's too intense. But it's just that level of intensity that this young team needs right now to push it through the rest of the season.

Andrew Todres is a senior political science and history double major from New York. His email address is todres@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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