Seifter | Out of Ivies, Penn out of its league

Yesterday, my colleague Neil Fanaroff asked what we have learned about the men’s basketball team after a season-opening 70-55 loss at Penn State and a blowout 103-65 loss at Villanova — and he concluded that we haven’t learned all that much.

In terms of Penn’s competitiveness in the Ivy League, that may be true, although I certainly haven’t seen anything in the last week to suggest that Penn can overtake Cornell for the Ivy crown.

But regardless of what the Ancient Eight season holds in store, I would argue that we have indeed learned an uncomfortable truth. The talent gap between Penn’s program and those in the big-money conferences may be larger than ever before, and I see no reason to expect that gap to narrow in the immediate future.

There is already evidence that the team has conceded this very point. Before the season opener, junior forward Jack Eggleston said that as a Big Ten school, Penn State isn’t really a rival “because it’s two totally different levels,” and Monday night Penn coach Glen Miller bristled at the suggestion that the loss to the Nittany Lions was “disappointing.”

Some fans might find that kind of attitude self-defeating, especially since history indicates that Eggleston and Miller have it backwards — the Quakers still hold an all-time 31-14 series record over the Nittany Lions.

Or maybe they are willing to accept that the competitive balance has changed, and those with higher expectations are in denial. If that’s true, Penn’s long-term competitiveness in the Big 5 could be at stake.

The challenge Penn faces in recruiting impact players shouldn’t be much of a mystery, especially considering Penn’s pre-professional attitude. The fact is, basketball players at power conference schools, even those with middling histories like Penn State, gain a distinct resume advantage if they plan on pursuing a career in professional basketball.

At the very least, these schools offer more media exposure and ample game tape against the nation’s highest-caliber opponents, not to mention full scholarships. As basketball has exploded in international popularity, and as the demand for professional players has subsequently risen, that difference has been made all the more vital.

Asking a star recruit like Penn State’s Talor Battle or Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds to choose Penn would be like asking a prospective investment banker to forgo a full ride to Wharton and instead pay his or her own way at one of those schools.

I’m not suggesting that returning the program to its former glory is a hopeless cause, or even that a 38-point blowout should be rationalized or considered acceptable, no matter how great Villanova is this year.

Penn won the Big 5 as recently as 2001-02 — when a strong Quakers team coincided with down years and scandals at the other schools — and the fortunes of college programs have an inherently cyclical quality. That year was recent enough that Villanova freshman and Philadelphia product Maalik Wayns cited the history of the Big 5 as a motivating factor in Monday’s game.

With some combination of adjustments by the coaching staff, a moderate dose of luck, and a little help from the administration, Penn could find itself back on top.

I just hope that in 30 years, the thought of Penn as a Big 5 contender won’t be relegated to the same status as the Quakers’ trip to the Final Four in 1979 — as a fond but fading memory.

Ari Seifter is a junior computer and information science major from Ellicott City, Md., and is former Associate Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. He can be contacted at dpsports@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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