Joffe | Penn men's basketball all-time starting five

Since the program's first season in 1897, the Quakers have fielded some talented players over the years on the basketball court. As the 20th winningest men's basketball program of all-time, Penn's greatest success was from 1966 to 2007, and most of the players on this list played in this era. 

Point Guard — Tony Price (1979)

In three seasons with the Red and Blue, Price cemented himself as one of the best players in the Ivy League, averaging 13.2 points per game on a 47.2% shooting clip for one of the best teams in the country. 

Penn was ranked No. 20 in 1978-79 and No. 14 in 1979-80, losing in the Final Four in 1979 to Michigan State. Price finished as the leading scorer in the tournament with 142 points, and his impact on a successful run for Penn earns him a place on our list.

Shooting Guard — Ibrahim Jaaber (2007)

Though he was never drafted to the NBA, Jaaber was one of the most impactful players in recent Penn history, twice winning Ivy League Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007. Jaaber averaged 13.3 points per game on 49.7% shooting, with 18.2 points per game in 2005-06.

Glen Miller's 2007 squad was the last to make a trip to the NCAA tournament before 2018, losing to Texas A&M. Jaaber's statistics alone are enough to land him in the starting lineup for the all-time Red and Blue. 

Small Forward — Jerome Allen (1995)

Like the first player on this list, Allen played a key role for some very successful Penn basketball teams, only he did so nearly 20 years later. Allen played in 109 games for the Red and Blue, with 48 starts, averaging 13.7 points per game and 4.6 assists per game, becoming the second Penn player on this list to win Ivy League Player of the Year two times. 

Allen never lost in the Ivy League, going 14-0 in each of his three seasons with Penn under head coach Fran Dunphy. The Quakers were ranked No. 24 in 1994 and No. 21 in 1995, but they lost in the NCAA Tournament in the first round to Alabama in 1995. You won't see Allen on this list for coaching, but the former Boston Celtics assistant coach earns a nod based on his playing career alone. Allen technically slots as a guard, but we put him at small forward for the purposes of this lineup.

Power Forward — AJ Brodeur (2020)

There's not much else to say about the 2020 Ivy League Co-Player of the Year. In his four years at Penn, he became the program's all-time leading scorer in points (1,832), blocked shots (196), field goals (752), and games played and started (119). 

Brodeur was a four-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week, 11-time Big 5 Player of the Week, and seven-time Ivy League Player of the Week. He earned second team All-Ivy honors in 2016-17 and first team All-Ivy honors in 2018-19 and 2019-20 — both unanimous selections. 

Brodeur left Penn as one of the program's most decorated players of all time, and this list would not be complete without an appearance from No. 25. 

Center — Ugonna Onyekwe (2003)

Onyekwe is the third player on this list to be named Ivy League Player of the Year twice, earning the honors in 2002 and 2003. Only Justin Sears (Yale), Kit Mueller (Princeton), and Craig Robinson (Princeton) have earned multiple Ivy League Player of the Year honors outside of Allen, Jaaber, and Onyekwe. 

He averaged 14.9 points per game — 17.5 in 2002 — along with 6.4 rebounds per game, and though he went undrafted in the NBA Draft, he signed to play professionally in Israel, and he also played in Spain. 

Coach — Chuck Daly (1977)

The Quakers' holder for all-time winning percentage for a coach earns a spot in the all-time Penn starting five over the likes of Lon Jourdet (1943), Howard Dallmar (1954), Jack McCloskey (1966), Fran Dunphy (2006), and Bob Weinhauer (1982). Daly had a 125-38 record in his time at Penn. 

Honorable Mentions — Ernie Beck (1953), Ira Bowman (1996), Corky Calhoun (1972), Matt Maloney (1995), Dave Wohl (1971)