Basketball Preview | Quirky quintet joins Quakers ranks in 2009-10

The freshman quintet is a strange assortment of characters.

A mixture of the injured, the foreign and the outright goofy, the group has been training feverishly throughout the offseason with the knowledge that they each have something to prove.

There is Carson Sullivan. The Rivals “two-star” guard out of Charlotte, N.C., was fielding offers from more than 20 programs until suffering a devastating knee injury the summer before his senior year.

“When I got hurt a lot of schools stopped recruiting me, and it turned out that Penn and Princeton were the two that stuck with me,” Sullivan said.

Citing Big 5 tradition and a tough schedule as reasons for signing on with the Quakers, Sullivan will spend his first year proving he’s over his injury and that he’s ready to log serious minutes at the collegiate level.

“He’s been at full strength as far as I can see,” coach Glen Miller said. “We like his athleticism, his quickness, his ability to score the ball.”

There is Australian recruit Sean Mullan. The 6-foot-6 swingman must quickly make the adjustment not only to the intensity of Big 5 basketball, but to a new country as well. The fact that Mullan even found his way to Penn is impressive in itself.

“A lot of recruiters instead of coming over, rely on footage and videotapes,” he said.

Luckily for Mullan, his extensive basketball resume in the Land Down Under ensured there was a good deal of tape on him, enough to be heavily recruited by assistant coach John Gallagher.

Then there’s Brian Fitzpatrick. The 6-foot-7 power forward out of Cheshire, Conn., must prove to the coaches that he’s physical enough to hang with the bangers down low.

A definite glue guy, Fitzpatrick is already known by teammates for his playful demeanor.

“Brian’s probably one of the goofiest, funniest kids you’ll ever meet,” Sullivan said.

More importantly, Fitzpatrick has already made a name for himself after going Shaquille O’Neil on a backboard last month in Weightman gym.

On his first day back at practice after a long bout with knee tendonitis, Fitzpatrick ran down the court to complete an alley-oop from Sullivan. He went up, caught the ball and threw down an allegedly not-so-thunderous jam; however he fell to the floor, rim in hand, leaving a spray of shattered glass.

The aftermath unfortunately included yet another week on the disabled list for Fitzpatrick, as he needed four stitches after his fall onto the broken glass.

“I don’t regret it though. I mean, I shattered a backboard — that was pretty cool,” he said.

The trio were Miller's official recruits this offseason, but there's another pair of rookies that were recently officially added to his roster.

“The unheard heroes are Tommy Eggleston and Malcolm Washington,” Mullan mentioned. “There’s five of us in the Class of 2013.”

Both preferred walk-ons certainly have big names to live up to. Tommy is the younger brother of the team’s best rebounder, Jack Eggleston, and Malcolm is the son of movie star Denzel Washington.

Though none of the freshmen are projected to start — at least right away — the group is certainly an ambitious one.

“I think our chances are good,” Sullivan said. “Obviously, we’ve got to come in here and work hard every single day, but I think we can compete with anybody.”

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