Penn men's basketball performs dress rehearsal in Red-Blue game

On Saturday morning, the ‘Cathedral of College Basketball’ was home to Penn men's basketball's annual scrimmage between the Red and Blue. After one 20-minute period, it was the Red team, coached by associate head coach Nat Graham, that got the win by a score of 58-54 over assistant head coach Joe Mihalich Jr.’s Blue squad.

Both sides played a relatively clean game until the final six minutes of play. In the late going, the team committed a number of careless fouls, missed switches, and botched offensive plays, with many players expressing displeasure with that portion of the performance.

“There is a standard that we need to hold ourselves to in order to get to where we want,” sophomore guard Sam Brown said. “There are flashes in a game where you find that you're unacceptable … and I would say in the last six minutes [you] could say that that was an example.”

Brown, who averaged just shy of 11 points per game in 25 appearances last season, was the first Quaker to reach double figures 13 minutes into the scrimmage. He went 4-4 from the field and ended the game with 13 points.

One of the most important players to watch, however, was junior guard Ethan Roberts who transferred from Drake after not playing due to injury in his lone season with the Bulldogs. He played his freshman season at West Point, where his last in-game action came during a Patriot League tournament contest 551 days prior to Penn’s opener against New Jersey Institute of Technology.

“I'm just completely different player, and, frankly, [a] completely different person,” Roberts said. “Physically and even mentally, just I feel like I've gotten better in all aspects of the game.” Roberts finished with 12 points and one assist.

Another recent addition is junior guard Dylan Williams, who transferred to Penn this summer from Triton College, a junior college in River Grove, IL. In his 18 minutes on the court — tied for most among any Quaker — he clearly emerged as a leader on the court.

“JuCo [is] way more athletic than the Ivy League … but [the] Ivy League is way smarter than JuCo,” Williams said. “I think I'm going to be fitting well here, because being a floor general, you got to have leadership, you got to be smart, you got to know the right read.”

Coach Steve Donahue echoed Williams’ remarks after the game, emphasizing the luxury of having a true floor general.

“In practice, he's calling out the plays. He's telling people where to go. He's executing. It takes a load off of everybody, and honestly, takes a lot off of my plate,” Donahue said. “He was a quarterback in football. He's used to telling people where to go, what they should be doing … I forgot that [there’s] such an advantage to have a guy like that, and he's been pretty impactful.”

Two other small nuggets from Saturday include information on both Quaker captains: senior forward Nick Spinoso and senior guard George Smith. Spinoso seemed to move around the court much smoother than in past seasons even though his senior weight is listed at 245 pounds, his highest preseason weight during his four years at Penn. When asked about his improved mobility, Spinoso attributed this to different summer workouts from past years, many of which focused more on his movement. 

Smith played his 18 minutes in a face mask, scoring 11 points. “I think the goal is not to play with [it in] any games,” Donahue said. “The greatest thing about George is whatever role he [has], he gets really good at [it]. I think his role this year will be really valuable.”

In the final two minutes, senior guard Reese McMullen captivated the small crowd at the Palestra with back-to-back three-point jumpers. He followed the two baskets up with a third — this time crossover-step back three from the right shoulder. This would increase McMullen’s point total to 14, a game-high also reached by first-year center Michelangelo Oberti.

Penn men's basketball season officially begins on Nov. 4, when the Quakers will travel to Newark, NJ to take on NJIT.