Kotloff | Don't rush 'the process'

The words were spoken by the opposing coach but may as well have been uttered by any of the current Penn men’s basketball program leaders:

“This level of college basketball takes extreme effort,” La Salle coach Dr. John Giannini said in true ‘Ph.D.’ form after his team’s 89-83 overtime win Wednesday. “It takes extreme commitment.”

Minutes earlier, Penn coach Jerome Allen and point guard Zack Rosen slumped behind the same podium, wearing the effects of that extreme commitment on their faces.

In this case, however, they may have gone overboard.

Even after pulling off an epic 11-point, three-minute comeback to extend the game, the coach and player focused solely on the negative during their postgame press conference.

“Our sense of urgency on both sides of the floor was terrible,” Rosen said. “I don’t think we deserved to even be in the game.”

With that attitude, it’s no wonder they lost in overtime.

While the duo’s intense drive to return the program to a championship level is admirable, sometimes they would be better suited to take their foot off the gas a bit. Wednesday night provided a perfect example.

The Quakers could have ended their 14-game Big 5 losing streak with a win for the ages. They could have built momentum, inspired hope and tasted city success.

Instead, that possibility went the way of Penn’s ill-advised overtime jumpers that clanged off the rim — it shot 1-for-6 from deep in the extra session.

In Rosen’s case, much of what makes him great can potentially hinder the team in certain situations.

He understands from working exhaustively with Allen that a championship-caliber point guard needs to facilitate for the rest of his teammates. But Penn isn’t a championship-caliber team yet, and is reliant on him as the go-to guy. Wednesday, he waited too long to assert himself as a scorer, making just one basket in the first half.

Rosen also understands that his mission this year is to ensure that the senior class isn’t one of the few in school history to leave without a ring.

And maybe Rosen’s urgency comes from envisioning the end for himself, as well, with just two Ivy League seasons remaining to accomplish his goal. A college basketball player’s career is remarkably and cruelly short.

Allen, on the other hand, needs to preach patience.

He reiterated throughout his first year at Penn that the players need to buy into ‘the process’ and that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

That plan shouldn’t go out the window based on a few bad showings. It takes time to transform a losing environment into a winning one, and grueling defeats like Wednesday’s offer prime learning opportunities.

But Rosen and Allen have a much different mentality — seemingly striving to go from last year’s 6-22 record to 22-6.

Their sense of urgency can serve to motivate the rest of the team and expedite the process, but perhaps a sense of reality could serve to keep them sane.

BRIAN KOTLOFF is a junior communications major from Elkins Park, Pa. He is Sports Editor-elect, and can be contacted at Kotloff@theDP.com.

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