Penn basketball puts best foot forward on and off court

Everyone knows it’s important to make a good first impression, to put your best foot forward.

Perhaps none more so than seniors Zack Rosen, Tyler Bernardini and the Penn men’s basketball team, who have been parlaying hot starts into dramatic victories as of late.

Most recently, it was an 82-67 squashing of rival Princeton, a game in which the Quakers built an early 11-2 lead, surged ahead by as much as 16 and withstood a Tigers onslaught.

Before that came decisive wins over Cornell and St. Joseph’s — the Red and Blue never trailed in either game.

In fact, Penn has not spent even a minute behind or tied in a game since it visited Columbia to open the Ivy season.

Getting ahead early is a huge advantage to a team that relies heavily on the hot shooting of its two star scorers.

Bernardini, especially, has been known to get streaky, meaning that when he’s on, he’s really on.

But even more infectious than Bernardini’s shooting is the confidence and enthusiasm that emanates from undisputed team leader Zack Rosen, especially when he’s playing well.

“It’s my responsibility to push him to play a perfect basketball game,” coach Jerome Allen said of Rosen after the Princeton win.

Perfectionism trickles down from Allen to Rosen to the rest of the team, rising and falling with the point guard’s successes and failures.

Indeed, the New Jersey native averages 20.6 points per Penn win, compared to 15.4 points per loss.

The team’s success is something of a positive feedback loop: the better the Red and Blue play, the more confidence they gain, in turn enhancing their play, and so on and so forth.

Off-court activities have also translated into hardwood success, as players — as well as Penn Athletics and The Daily Pennsylvanian — have put considerable effort into reaching out to the Penn community and cultivating student interest.

The team’s two most recognizable stars — Rosen and Bernardini — have posted up on Locust Walk in days preceding games, conducting contests and selling merchandise.

The ‘Puck Frinceton’ motto on the shirts being sold on Locust was a bit unoriginal, but the campaign was effective nonetheless.

Grassroots marketing has worked: the Palestra was packed to capacity for the St. Joe’s game, and 6,385 were on hand as the Quakers handled Princeton.

The way in which such promotional efforts help Penn on the court can be seen and felt in the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd.

That energy flows in a downward trajectory from the fans to the players.

“I just appreciate the overall support, from the student body to all the alumni,” Allen said. “The reality is, you tend to perform better, you tend to give more, when you know other people care.”

The more the team continues to excite the community — mainly through winning — the more people are going to care.

There shall once again come a time when a majority of students bleed Red and Blue.

The Quakers just need to put their best foot forward.

ELI COHEN is a senior philosophy major from Washington, D.C. He can be reached at dpsports@theDP.com.

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