The scenes around the Palestra don’t change much over time, but the scene on the court has changed a lot lately.
New Penn men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery gave fans a first glimpse of the Quakers’ overhauled squad during a public scrimmage on Saturday morning. It was only a glimpse, not least because a few players sat out injured, but McCaffery said he’s pleased with the preseason so far.
“I will tell you, and I mean it sincerely: I haven’t had a team play as hard as they do every day,” he said, “and it’s really been impressive to me. We obviously encourage that, but they still have to do it. And they’ve been terrific every day with energy and commitment to each other, and that’s what the real good teams do.”
Penn’s squad includes five freshmen and two transfers, with the latter group including much-heralded forward TJ Power. A marquee recruit at Duke two years ago, he transferred to Virginia after one season, then left the Cavaliers to come to Penn.
The freshmen include point guard Jay Jones — son of former Villanova assistant Joe Jones, later head coach at Columbia and Boston University’s head coach since 2011 — and swingman Ryan Altman, who were teammates at the Rivers School in suburban Boston.
The top frontcourt recruit is 6-foot-11 Norwegian forward William Kruse. He comes with some hype, between his size and his experience playing for Norway’s national team.
“He’s picking things up,” McCaffery said. “It’s taking him a little bit of time. He loves to shoot the three-ball. … It’s good to see him mix it up a little bit inside. He’s a legitimate 6-11, and the more physical he can be, I think the better off he’ll be and we’ll be.
Power did not play Saturday because of an elbow injury, the severity of which isn’t clear yet. McCaffery said “it just happened, so he’s being evaluated,” and for now Power is “day to day.” Altman also did not play, with an undisclosed left foot injury — though the boot on that foot and the scooter he moved around on said plenty.
“It’s going to take a little bit of time, especially because we’ve got three guys out that I think would all play,” McCaffery said. “So, we’re trying to figure out — we change the lineups every day in practice to try to see which combinations and who can kind of move into the top eight, nine, or 10 guys.”
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A Philadelphia native and former Penn star guard, McCaffery came home in March after Steve Donahue was fired and McCaffery was fired from Iowa. He has emphasized a fast tempo, and the effects of that were clear from the fitness of his players.
“If we’re going to run, we’re going to run on every possession, makes and misses — you’ve got to be in shape,” he said. “And if you’re not, you can’t keep up, then you can’t play. It’s pretty simple. … Our frontcourt guys sprinting and changing ends every time, and the guards pushing it every time and then getting the ball inbounds quickly, doing all those things.”
Senior swingman Ethan Roberts, who had a team-best 20 points in the scrimmage, vouched for that from a player’s view.
“Much different,” he said. “We’re playing at a way faster pace — I think everybody can say that — which is really fun, and our guys enjoy it. And I think it’s great for our personnel too. We’re going to be a really good team — when, I don’t know, but we’re getting there.”
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On the women’s side…
Penn women’s coach Mike McLaughlin has the last two Ivy League rookies of the year in guard Mataya Gayle and forward Kaitlyn Collins. But the bar to clear to contend the conference remains extremely high, with Princeton and Columbia among the nation’s top mid-majors.
“If we go back based on where some of the teams were last year and where this group is, we have work to do to reach that level, there’s no question,” McLaughlin said, regarding last season’s fourth-place finish. “If we can get a couple of these kids to take bigger steps by the time we get to league play, anything could happen from there … We have a ways to go, I think, to get to where we were last year, but our ceiling, I think, could be higher.”
This season’s Quakers squad is guard-heavy, including two more promising freshmen in Sarah Gordon and Ruke Ogbevire — whose sister Ese Ogbevire is a junior in the backcourt. So there might be a lot of opportunities to spread the ball around.
But all eyes will start on Gayle, and for good reason.
“This kid is ready,” McLaughlin said. “She’s going to have a huge year. She’s going to score it, she’s going to assist it, you’re going to see her rebound the ball better, you’re going to see her in big spots being significantly further along. I think for someone with her stature after the first two years, she’s taken massive growth, [and] I just love where the kid is mentally – I just think she’s doing it the right way.”
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