Sanfilippo | Two roads diverge for Quakers

Today marks a new season. Penn begins Ivy League play this Friday with an 0-0 record — at least that’s how coach Jerome Allen and his players view it.

The Quakers could run the table, finish with a winning record, grab their first Ivy title in three years and head back to the NCAA tournament as one of the biggest — and hottest — Cinderellas ever.

Or, the Red and Blue could continue their recent pattern, shatter the program record for single-season losses (19) and go quietly into the annals of another Penn media guide.

Well, when you get to a fork in the road, you take it, right?

The gap between non-conference and Ivy League play is huge. Though it lasts just several days for most teams, a squad can change the entire complexion of its season based on second-half performance.

It’s improbable the Quakers will win out, dealing with Cornell and Harvard, two “monsters,” according to St. Joe’s coach Phil Martelli.

But if Martelli’s other assertion is true — that Penn is on par with a Princeton (9-5) club that handed the Hawks a 70-62 loss this month — then Penn could expect to pick up at least several ‘W’s before the season ends.

With the way things have gone thus far, any additional wins would almost seem like a bonus.

The bottom half of the Ancient Eight ladder hasn’t made it clear what the exact order will be, and sure, a 1-13 record seems an obvious choice for bottom rung, but let’s not forget this conference has Dartmouth in it.

One thing is for certain: if the Red and Blue want to have any chance of picking up more precious victories, it’s time for a plan B.

What is plan A, you ask?

Zack Rosen.

Besides pacing the team in most statistical categories, the sophomore captain has become the emotional leader of the team by necessity.

He scores, he assists, he rebounds, he is the catalyst of the offense whenever he brings the ball up court or — more recently — comes off the ball to give himself better shooting opportunities.

We get it. The guy is damn good.

But who’s going to step in when Rosen is shut down, like he was last night?

“I’m not being critical; they don’t have 52 cards in their deck with the injuries they’ve had and the kids that have left [the program],” Martelli said.

Still, in 36 minutes, the reigning Big Five rookie of the year scored eight points on just two field goal attempts, while grabbing five boards.

Rosen simply didn’t have his way with the opponent like he did against La Salle.

St. Joe’s made a point to double-team and harass him until he finally came out of the game in the waning minutes.

Martelli explained that his strategy was a result of a quick turnaround after the Hawks’ narrow victory over Dayton.

“We had one day to get into what they were going to run, so we decided to focus everything on [him].” Martelli said.

I’m biased, but I imagine some of these opposing Ivy League coaches might be clever enough to figure out which player to pressure.

On top of that, here’s a guy averaging over 36 minutes a game, an issue that might surface once the set-in-stone Ivy schedule takes its toll.

“Guys can’t play 40 minutes Friday night and turn around and play 40 minutes again [Saturday],” said Penn coach Jerome Allen.

What Allen needs to figure out is a way to maximize what he’s got from the other four players on the court.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s talent up and down that roster. But will the novice coach be able to organize the pieces into a cohesive unit on the floor, capable of functioning without a dominating performance by Rosen?

JOE SANFILIPPO is a junior economics major from Atlanta. He can be contacted at dpsports@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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