Penn Recruiting Former Gonzaga Freshman

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On Thursday afternoon, coach Jerome Allen and the rest of the men's basketball coaching staff were seen giving a campus tour to freshman Keegan Hyland, a 2010 Maine Mr. Basketball finalist and former Gonzaga Bulldog. Yes, those Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Hyland was a scholarship athlete at the Gonzaga University during his one and only semester in Spokane, Washington but was sidelined for most of the year — first with a knee problem and then later with a concussion he suffered in the team's first game of the season. The 6-4 guard was forced to sit out the entire season and found himself falling behind and out of the team's future as Gonzaga offered scholarships to three new guards for the coming season.

This fact combined with his apparent unhappiness at Gonzaga led to his decision to leave the school in pursuit of another D-1 school, preferably one closer to his home in South Portland, Maine. He took visits took visits to Maine and Vermont in early January, and even told the Portland (Maine) Press Herald that he would choose between the two within a week of his visits. But that window has long passed, Hyland has not committed, and appears to be looking further south with his visit to Penn.

The sharp shooter would be a great addition to a Quakers team that will lose its second leading scorer, Jack Eggleston, to graduation and his outside shooting touch would also open up driving lanes for guards Zack Rosen and Miles Cartwright to penetrate and create shot opportunities. However, there has been no indication as to where he is planning to sign, although if he does choose to sign with a D-1 school, he may have to sit out the entire 2011-2012 per NCAA regulations.

Again, while there is no way to tell whether he is really considering coming to Philadelphia or simply visiting as a formality, this would be a strong get for Jerome Allen in his second year on the recruiting trail.

Here's a youtube video of Hyland's highlights from AAU in 2009: