Seifter | Give that man a contract

In a men’s basketball season that has brought countless injuries, the worst start in program history and a head coaching change, it is only natural for a mid-season realignment of expectations.

In November, a 3-3 start to Ivy League play would have at the very least been considered mildly disappointing.

Now, after all that has transpired, such a performance seems like a glimmer of hope at the end of the miserable tunnel that was the Glen Miller era.

While that optimism may at the surface seem to be the product of a bait-and-switch — from a bad team to a merely mediocre one — it isn’t wholly illusory.

Something about this team really has changed.

Listless play has been replaced by passion, energy, and relentless hustle, and the team’s body language has shifted from despondent acceptance to obstinate resoluteness.

“Penn has played with so much pride and heart,” Columbia coach Joe Jones said. “That’s what I saw on film. I saw a team that plays as hard as any team in this league.”

While the student section didn’t expect Friday’s upset over No. 22 Cornell and rushed the court after the game, those diminished expectations apparently hadn’t spread to the team.

“All the guys in the locker room expected to win the game,” sophomore captain Zack Rosen said. “Whether the fans expected us to win, or not, that’s up to them.”

The change hasn’t been limited to just effort and attitude, as the Quakers are playing smarter, too. Disorganized, sloppy play has transitioned into a cohesive, well-executed plan to dictate the pace of the game.

“What Penn did [Friday] is what teams have done to us: they try to play every possession, and what I mean by that is every second of every possession,” Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. “They were going to play 35 seconds on the clock, which is smart.”

Many people deserve some share of the credit for the team’s recent improvement, not the least of which are the players themselves.

Rosen has proven himself to be both a great team leader and a dominating Ivy League point guard. Junior Jack Eggleston has stepped up as a strong presence on the interior. Sophomore center Mike Howlett showed in his return from injury that he is a force to be reckoned with on the offensive end. Sophomore guard Rob Belcore has bolstered his reputation as a stellar on-ball defender.

Considering that all of those guys — and, of course, Tyler Bernardini — will be back next year, Penn’s situation suddenly doesn’t seem as dire as it did three months ago.

Maybe all of those things would have happened under Miller regardless, but they unquestionably did happen under Jerome Allen.

“Coach Allen has done a great job,” Jones said. “In a tough situation, I think he’s done a commendable job of getting his team to play hard and play together.”

The Quakers have leapfrogged 47 teams in the Ratings Percentage Index since Allen and his staff took over, an on-court result that speaks for itself.

The players clearly aren’t treating Allen as if he is an ephemeral figurehead twisting in the wind. Since that is now evident, it’s time for the Athletic administration to follow suit by removing Allen’s interim label.

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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