Perspectives on Penn hoops

Four years and two coaches since Fran Dunphy’s stunning departure, the Penn basketball program is back to square one.

Yet according to La Salle coach Dr. John Giannini, the Penn head coaching job has not lost any of its luster.

“It’s hard to beat being the coach at Penn,” he said.

The Explorers’ head man was one of three rival coaches who agreed to discuss the Penn opening this week, shedding light on the issues involved in the search for the next face of Red and Blue basketball.

It appears that the Penn Athletic Department could go in a number of different directions when it makes its decision.

“There’s a lot of coaches in a lot of places that, if Penn called, their hearts would speed up,” Giannini said.

Despite the Quakers’ recent dip in the standings, the Penn position still has a lot to offer to a potential suitor.

Yale coach James Jones and his younger brother, Columbia coach Joe Jones, agreed with Giannini that Penn’s main attractions continue to be the program’s history, the Palestra and the city of Philadelphia. Giannini added the national presence that results from its academic reputation to that list.

But the older Jones was quick to mention that while the Quakers’ history “makes it easier” to build a successful program, the Penn legacy is nothing more than a “selling point” at the moment.

“Whoever gets that job … [will] have nothing to do with the history of Penn basketball,” he said. “They will sell it like they have, but they will not have done it.”

All three rivals also concurred that Fran Dunphy and his talent for developing players will serve as the benchmark for judging success with the Quakers.

But based on the Yale coach’s assessment, any comparison between Dunphy, who could not be reached for comment, and the next head coach may be unfair.

“If your expectation is to be better than what Fran Dunphy did, I think whoever gets the job is gonna struggle,” James Jones said.

The team reached a low point with its 0-7 start under Glen Miller this past season, but Joe Jones said that interim coach Jerome Allen “did a commendable job under the circumstance.”

However, now that Penn has time to find what the younger Jones called “the right fit, the right person” to lead the program, more will be expected of the person who gets hired.

James Jones believes that the Quakers’ next coach not only needs better luck with injuries and recruits than Miller had, but also “must be embraced by the community there to have success.

“[In 2006] I think the community would have rather had somebody from that community [receive] the job, like a Steve Donahue for instance — somebody that’s had some kind of connection with the University,” Jones said.

Based on the candidates speculated to currently be in the running — Siena’s Fran McCaffery, Lafayette’s Fran O’Hanlon and, of course, Allen — it appears the Athletic Department has taken Jones’ point into account.

And that’s not the only thing different from the last coaching search.

“The landscape of the Ivy League has changed,” Joe Jones said.

“The way schools are looking at financial aid [and] the way schools have looked at their admissions process, that’s changed,” he explained, though he would not go into specifics.

These transformations may have played a role in the recent struggles of many Ancient Eight coaches. Some have chosen to leave for jobs in other conferences.

“There’s as many challenges in the Ivy League as there’s ever been,” Giannini said.

Perhaps the number one challenge will be turning the storied Penn program around.

Sports Editor Calder Silcox contributed to the reporting of this article.

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