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TABLE OF Things are looking up CONTENTS
THE FIGHT FOR PHILLY Matt Fine
6
MAKING IT HIS OWN
7
Tom Nowlan
8
FAMILIAR FACES
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016
Matt Fine
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
10
NEW KIDS IN TOWN
12
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
13
TOURNEY TIME
14
STAR POWER
16
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
18
Nicholas Buchta
Yosef Weitzman & Julia Schorr
Will Snow
Cole Jacobson
Julia Schorr
Andrew Zheng & Julia Schorr
LOOKING BACK BASKETBALL SUPPLEMENT
Ananya Chandra
2
5
SOPHOMORE SQUAD Jonathan Pollack
NICK BUCHTA
19
T
he times, they are a’changing. An Ivy Tournament is on the way, Bob Dylan is getting the Nobel Prize, Penn women’s basketball is the runaway favorite to win the league and the men’s side is decisively middle-of-the-pack. This is a weird landscape for Ivy League basketball, but it has been comprised of a series of positive developments for the Quakers. For now, the conference tournament is a good thing. In 2017, it will be held at the Palestra. There has been no announcement on future host sites, but anywhere other than University City would do a disservice to the tournament itself. No other Ancient Eight venue can realistically hold the event, and attempting to rent out an arena would be untenable. So, hopefully we’ll see the tournament in the Palestra for years to come. For now, we’ll settle for it being right here. And no team stands to benefit more from the tournament than Penn men’s basketball. Steve Donahue is entering year two, and things are looking up. Darien Nelson-Henry is a large, bearded loss, and it’s unclear who has the size to replace him in the paint, but freshman AJ Brodeur figures to be a force for the Quakers right from the get-go. They also return Matt Howard to go along with the sophomore squad of Jake Silpe, Jackson Donahue and Max Rothschild. Add transfers Caleb Wood and Matt MacDonald to the equation, and this team is better positioned to compete than they have at any point in recent years. That said, the regular season title seems like a stretch, which is where the tournament comes in. The Ivy preseason poll has the Red and Blue
Nick Buchta | Senior Sports Editor
set to finish fourth, which seems about right. They could well overperform, but fourth or fifth is about the floor for this team. The nice thing is, this year, fourth might just be good enough. An NCAA bid may be improbable, but a tournament run might just make it possible. And speaking of tournament runs, Penn women’s basketball is the unanimous pick to repeat as Ivy champs. That also sounds about right. The Quakers return all five starters from a year ago and have added some potentially key pieces in center Emily Anderson and guard Phoebe Sterba. Sydney Stipanovich is the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, and she’s back for one more run. She’s already checked off a lot of boxes in her time here with one exception: get an NCAA Tournament win. Last year, the Quakers came up just short in a dogfight against Washington, who eventually made its way to the Final Four. If Mike McLaughlin and Co. are ever going to nab the program’s first-ever tournament win, this year offers a better chance to do it than any other. Historically, this supplement has been devoted to the men’s program. That’ll happen when Penn and Princeton took 41 Ivy titles between 1963 and 2007. Last year, the decision was made to make this a two-team supplement. We don’t plan to reverse that. These are two programs in
different spots, but they are both headed in the same direction: upward. That doesn’t mean there aren’t question marks. McLaughlin is going to have some tough personnel decisions to make. Sterba has seen a lot of early action in practice and scrimmages, but how quickly can she be trusted to stick around the primary rotation? Can anyone come off the bench to finally find ways to give Stipanovich a rest mid-game? That’s not to say the Quakers are in a bad spot — but the decision that needs to be made will make or break this team in what will be a tough Ivy slog. Donahue is still largely operating with Jerome Allen’s recruits. He finally has some of his own, but none seem ready to really fill the big man role DNH left behind. Donahue himself cast doubt on the readiness of just about all of his freshmen to get playing time early — but when he really has only Matt Howard as a senior who sees the court much, Penn will need to rely on those young guys at some point. All of this will be broken down throughout the rest of the supplement. If nothing else, there is one main takeaway from it all: Things are looking up. NICK BUCHTA is a College senior from Olmsted Falls, Ohio, and is senior sports editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. He can be reached at buchta@thedp.com.
EDITORS
REPORTERS
DESIGN
PHOTO
Nick Buchta Tom Nowlan Tommy Rothman Will Snow
Matt Fine Cole Jacobson Jonathan Pollack Yosef Weitzman Andrew Zheng
Lucy Ferry Alex Graves Julia Schorr Ilana Wurman
Ananya Chandra
Nov. 11
Robert Morris Moon, Pa.
Nov. 19
Miami Coral Gables, Fla.
Nov. 29
Villanova The Palestra
Quakers projected to qualify for first-ever Ivy League postseason conference tournament Women's Ivy Preseason Media Poll
Men's Ivy Preseason Media Poll
1. Penn (17), 136
1. Princeton (12), 130
2. Princeton, 110
2. Harvard (5), 123
3. Harvard, 104
3. Yale, 101
Temple Philadelphia, Pa.
Dec. 12
Central Florida Orlando, Fla.
4. Cornell, 76
4. Penn, 72
Jan. 7
Princeton Princeton, N.J.
5. Dartmouth, 66
5. Columbia, 61
Feb. 7
Princeton The Palestra
6. Yale, 56
6. Dartmouth, 48
Feb. 18
Yale New Haven, Conn.
7. Brown, 40
7. Cornell, 42
Harvard The Palestra
8. Columbia, 24
8. Brown, 35
March 4
W. Hoops Key Games Duke Durham, N.C.
Nov. 22
Saint Joseph’s The Palestra
Dec. 31
CSU-Northridge Los Angeles, Calif.
Jan. 2
UC Riverside Riverside, Calif.
Jan. 7
Princeton Princeton, N.J.
Jan. 18
Villanova The Palestra
Jan. 25
Temple The Palestra
Feb. 3
Harvard The Palestra
Feb. 11
Cornell Ithaca, N.Y.
March 7
Princeton The Palestra
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have five programs so close that get to play in [the Palestra] and have been that good of programs. I think that is highly unusual in college basketball to have this much good basketball in one city,” Graham said. “It makes Philadelphia very unique to have college sports, particularly basketball mean this much, even in a place with all those pro teams The Big 5 will be even more special this year as Villanova, last year’s defending NCAA champion, looks to maintain its dominance over the other Philadelphia schools. “Villanova has been beating up on the rest of us for the last few years, but hey, someone has got to beat them eventually. It’s a little more competitive,” Graham said. When that finally happens, I think it will bring some more focus to the whole Big 5 instead of just them. I’m sure all of our guys will be a little more amped.” Without doubt, players from each Big 5 school will have the Villanova game circled on their calendars. But with the recent success of other Big 5 programs, the 2016-17 could be one of the best yet .
DP FILE PHOTO
The Big 5 being a part of Penn's non-conference slate means that the Quakers will host national champion Villanova for their home opener.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016
In November 1954, Penn president Gaylord Harnwell stood in Houston Hall and announced the formation of an informal association of universities designed to showcase the best of college basketball concentrated in and around Philadelphia. Over the next six decades, this association consisting of Temple, La Salle, Villanova, Saint Joseph’s, and Penn, known as the Big 5, would go on to become one of the most storied and unique traditions in all of college sports. With Penn basketball’s season set to begin, the Big 5 continues to be a platform to demonstrate the tremendous basketball prowess found throughout the City of Brotherly Love. The collective level of success of the Big 5 schools may also be at an all-time high, and the 2016 season could shape up to be one of the most exciting years yet. While Penn and La Salle look to rebound from underwhelming seasons, three of the five schools made the NCAA Tournament last season. Saint Joe’s finished the year 28-8, winning the Atlantic 10 tournament to qualify for the Big Dance where they went on to beat No. 25 Cincinnati in the first round before falling by just five points to
a top-seeded Oregon team. Temple also qualified for March Madness after an impressive 21-12 season, bested by a very strong Iowa squad in the first round. Oh also, there’s that Villanova team. They won the National Championship. The excitement of these rivalries goes far beyond the play on the court. Oftentimes Big 5 games are broadcasted nationally, with raucous crowds packed to the rafters. Being so close to home, away teams often bring with them a large coalition of travelling fans. The atmosphere is tense and exhilarating for fans, players and coaches alike. For decades after its inauguration, all Big 5 games were played in The Palestra. Assistant coach Nat Graham believes moving all games back to Penn’s historic arena could revitalize the energy of Big 5 games. “A lot of people would love to see the days where all the Big 5 games are back in the Palestra, but it probably wont happen,” he said. “The history of the building and all the great games played there, though is just so unique. I wish they would move it back.” Graham is very familiar with the Big 5 rivalries, and not just from his two years on the Penn bench. He also played for the Quakers from 1993-95. “Historically, it’s special to
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THE FIGHT FOR PHILLY |
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After winning the program's first-ever Big 5 title in 2014-15, Penn women's basketball had to settle for a 2-2 record in Philly in 2015-16.
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SOPHOMORE SQUAD | FILM FILM FILM
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12.9 35.5 41
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34TH STREET Magazine December 1, 2011 BASKETBALL SUPPLEMENT 34TH STREET Magazine December 1, 2011 34TH STREET Magazine December 1, 2011
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016
18 .534 5.2
STATS
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8 88
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JULIA SCHORR | DESIGN ASSOCIATE
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In his second year, the Steve Donahue era is in full swing
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For Penn basketball coach Steve Donahue, this will be his second year at Penn. But not really. Rather, the leader of the men’s squad has an extensive history with the Quakers and Philadelphia basketball writ large. A native of Philly suburb Springfield Township, the coach played his college ball at Ursinus before eventually finding his way in 1990 to an assistant position with the Quakers, a job he held for ten years. Donahue then went on to head coaching gigs at Cornell (with success) and Boston College (with less success). After the Eagles fired him following the 2013-14 season, he took a season off before being named Jerome Allen’s successor in the spring of 2015. “We’re going to recruit highcharacter kids that play an extremely fast, skilled, gritty and smart style of basketball,” Donahue said at his introductory press conference. “I hope that you can look out and, even if we didn’t have uniforms on, you would know that it is a Penn basketball team.” That concept of system-dominated, selfless basketball defined the Quakers’ style a year ago. After Allen’s system had relied heavily on isolation, star-led, jumpshooting offense — a style focused largely on guard Tony Hicks — Donahue implemented a pass-heavy attack geared towards dribble-drives and three-point shooting. The team increased its assists per game 16 percent over Allen’s final season while upping their total three-point makes 29 percent. Those results are largely due to a cast of players that fit into that mold. This year’s sophomores — Donahue’s “classmates” so to speak — have emerged as the heart and soul of the team’s offense. Guard Jake Silpe and sharpshooter Jackson Donahue (of no relation to the coach), both saw extensive minutes as freshmen. Donahue led the team in three-point field goals and percentage while Silpe, starting at point
guard for the majority of the season, led the team in assists. “Ever since he’s been in the program, I’ve been here too,” Silpe said of his coach. “So I understand the way he coaches and everything. There’s lots of similarities there.” “Practices are intense — nothing is for granted … It’s businesslike,” the guard added. This year will be the first in which Donahue will get to lead players he has personally recruited — in addition to freshman standouts such as forward AJ Brodeur, the team will add junior transfers Matt MacDonald and Caleb Wood, both of whom are likely to get significant minutes. “When I came on my recruiting visit, Coach said I would be a big part of the offense; probably the starting one or two guard and playing 30-35 minutes per game,” Wood, a transfer from tiny Lassen Community College in Susanville, Ca., said. “And all the freshmen are really good – they’re bringing lots of competition in practice. They’re gonna be big pieces.” But, while Donahue’s scheme is largely tailored towards the team’s younger and newer faces, veteran stars such as senior Matt Howard – the team’s leading returning scorer – will still play a major role, and have noticed their coach settling in to the new position well. “There are plenty of differences when you get a new head coach,” Howard acknowledged, pointing to increased outside shooting as a major Allen/Donahue difference. “But he does definitely seem way more comfortable this year. He knows exactly what the game plan will be every day.” So, as the coach goes into his second year looking to improve on the team’s 5-9 record of a season ago, Penn fans have reason for longterm optimism — after all, Cornell won just three conference games in Donahue’s first season. But perhaps most importantly, Donahue has a bit more experience than just one season would seem to indicate. Because, keep in mind, he is hardly a stranger to Penn basketball.
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FAMILIAR FACES | Trio of Penn players hail from same prep school While Penn basketball recruits some of the best athletes from around the country, it’s hard not to notice that the Red and Blue’s 2016-17 roster includes three underclassmen all hailing from the same
small institution – the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts. With an enrollment of only 660 students, NMH has become an impressive feeder school for Penn coach Steve Donahue’s program since he took the helm just a year ago.
ZACH SHELDON | ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR
AJ Brodeur enters Penn as the most touted recruit of the Class of 2020 — but he should be right at home with a pair of old teammates on the squad.
Sophomores Jackson Donahue and Collin McManus, as well as freshman AJ Brodeur, all played together at NMH before arriving at Penn. Despite its size, NMH basketball has turned itself into a high school powerhouse in recent years, sending dozens of players to Division I programs, especially in the Ivy League. All three credit Northfield’s head coach, John Carroll, as the central contributing factor to the team’s dominance and the success of its many players transitioning to college basketball. “John Carroll recruits kids that would be interested in Ivy League schools, and by that I mean high character, high class individuals who have talent in basketball,” Brodeur said. “For the last few years, [NMH] has been producing Ivy League basketball players better than anyone else in the country.” Donahue agreed, and credited both Carroll’s basketball program and NMH’s rigorous academics as reasons why so many of the school’s players end up in the Ancient Eight. “I came into NMH right as it was beginning to get that name as a top
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When Jackson Donahue started his freshman season last year, roster turnover led to him getting early playing time as he slid into a starting role.
program. Really it’s about the culture up there. Coach Carroll does a phenomenal job of distinguishing which kids he wants playing for him, and that quality of basketball and academics is important for college basketball as well,” Donahue said. “Being exposed to that academic system — one where you take a day of courses that resembles what you take in college — gets you situated into the way a rigorous college day goes. And it’s also one of the top high school basketball programs, so all that together just screams ‘Ivy League.’” Despite being teammates in high school, each player’s decision to come to Penn seems to have been made independently of the other two. “I wouldn’t say they played no role in my decision to come here, but at the end of the day I wanted to do what was best for me in my basketball career. It was the first time I felt it was okay to be selfish, to do what was best for me and go where I felt most comfortable,” Brodeur said. “But with all that said, having Jackson and Colin here, along with Coach Donahue, made it seem more comfortable for me to come. All that, along with my visits here, I fell in love with the campus and the city of Philadelphia and by the end of my recruiting process the decision was really clear to me.” Upon their arrival at Penn, teaming up with each other once again could make the college game feel more comfortable, easing the inevitable adjustment period all young D-I basketball players must endure
coming out of high school. “We already have great chemistry coming in. Our roles here are very similar to what we had at NMH together,” Brodeur said. “Colin was the big five, big man down low, I’m an inside-out four guy, and Jackson is the shooter on the outside to clean up our mess. It’s been great being able to transfer our skills here, and having our third year now playing organized basketball together will be a huge advantage to us.” For Donahue, the chance to play against former teammates is another unique opportunity that playing at NMH has provided him after coming to Penn. According to NMH’s website, the school had a staggering 11 alumni on Ivy League men’s basketball rosters during the 2015-16 season. “Knowing that a lot of guys that came ahead of me went to an Ivy League school was really special,” he said. “When you get into conference play, almost every game you play against has guys that you played with in high school. I think it’s so special and something not a lot of teams or conferences can say.” Although it may be surprising that such a small prep school could produce enough talent to fill roster spots across the Ancient Eight, it appears as though this Penn-NMH connection is no fluke. And if you ask any of the three members of the Red and Blue who have been a part of it, they would tell you to not be surprised if this rapidly growing link between the two programs is here to stay.
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starters from a year ago, and at least two freshmen — center Emily Anderson and guard Phoebe Sterba — figure to be factors almost from the get-go. Thinking back to Mike McLaughlin’s first season in University City — just eight years ago — it’s hard to imagine a team like this. Save for a five-year stretch of Diana Caramanico and Jewel Clark-led greatness, Penn women’s basketball had struggled for most of its existence. In 23 of the program’s first 35
worst Ivy record in program history. The 6-20 overall record remains the worst of McLaughlin’s 25-year career. His previous worst season? 25-8 in his rookie campaign at Holy Family. “I like to hope I’m consistent, I like to hope my message has been the same from the first day I took over in 2009 when, frankly, we had a lot of work to do to even win a game to where we are now,” McLaughlin said. “But, of course, as the players have improved and the expectation level has risen, hopefully I’m consistently the same.” Fortunately for McLaughlin, he
I like to hope I'm consistent, I like to hope my message has been the same from the first day I took over in 2009. - MIKE McLAUGHLIN they were the unanimous selection to do so in the conference’s preseason media poll. For the first time in the Mike McLaughlin era, they come into the year receiving votes in the NCAA Coaches Poll. Expectations are high, and they should be. The team returns all five
Ivy League finish 1
seasons, it finished fourth or worse in the conference. Prior to McLaughlin’s arrival, the team had hoisted the Ivy trophy just twice since the inaugural 1974 season. In 2009-10, McLaughlin’s first at the helm, things got worse. The team went 1-13 in conference play, the
was working in the one part of Philadelphia that trusted the process. “It’s definitely more of a winning atmosphere, the girls have more of a business-like attitude and that’s just something that he’s created,” Penn assistant coach Kate Slover said in March before the team’s NCAA
Tournament appearance. Slover, who was a senior at Penn for McLaughlin’s 6-20 season, came back to work with him in 2014 after several years coaching high school ball. “I mean, even our senior year, even with practices, it was always, ‘Let’s get in, let’s get our work done,’ but it’s definitely the same now.” Things got better every year. Eighth place turned into sixth place turned into fifth place turned into third. And in 2013-14, the breakthrough occurred. Headlined by senior Alyssa Baron, McLaughlin’s first recruiting class led Penn to its third-ever Ivy title — and a halftime lead at the NCAA Tournament against fifth-seeded Texas. The Longhorns would pull away in the second half, but a message had been delivered. Penn women’s basketball had arrived. It was 2014-15 that was the turning point. On the heels of an Ivy title, the Quakers were simply outmatched by Courtney Banghart’s Princeton squad. The Tigers breezed to a 30-0 record and a No. 9 seed in the NCAA
Tournament. Neither of the two contests between the two rivals was all that close. A 29-point loss opened up Ivy play and a 13-point loss closed it out. At the snap of a finger, it felt as though Penn had gone from the cream of the conference to a mile behind Princeton. The Quakers had to settle for a WNIT bid and a second-round exit after a loss to Temple. “I’ve been on both sides of it,” McLaughlin said. “I’ve won before and [the] next year, the expectations are different. I think you manage the expectations head on.” Instead of settling behind Princeton for second, the Red and Blue responded ferociously in 2015-16. After a single voter predicted they would take the Ancient Eight crown, Penn beat Princeton not once, but twice, going 13-1 in Ivy play and capping off the best three-year run in program history with another title. “When we start looking at other teams, you see familiar faces and it gets a little bit more personal,” senior forward Jackie Falconer said. “And just to be able to come back and do it for a second time, we realize that it’s a rare opportunity, so we felt really
lucky to be there and it was a really good moment for us.” With last year’s title, the onus was not on Penn — it had been on Princeton. The Tigers were the ones com-
It's definitely more of a winning atmosphere, the girls have more of a business-like attitude.
- KATE SLOVER
ing off of the perfect season, but the Quakers were hungry for more. They got it. And with it, they saw a changed program. Gone were the days where a topthree finish every few years was good enough. The dynamic of the team has shifted entirely. The conversation is no longer if the Red and Blue can compete — it’s who can compete with them. That brings it to present day. Back in the Weightman Hall gym. Back to battling against themselves. The Quakers have a few more days
The Making of Penn Women’s Basketball 2013-2014
Mike McLaughlin wins his first Ivy title
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going to remember it, we’re going to acknowledge it, but it’s a new season, new team and we’re just ready to take it each game at a time like we did last year.” But this year’s success is not just about the program anymore. It’s about what the players still have left to do. Senior center Sydney Stipanovich seems like she’s already done it all. She’s the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, three-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, the program’s career blocks leader and is just 44 away from setting the all-time conference mark. She’s played in two NCAA Tournaments, a WNIT and won a Big 5 title. She’s been a part of half of all Ivy titles in program history. So what’s left? An NCAA run. If any Penn women’s basketball team is set to do it, it’s this one. “There are a lot of things that are going to happen between now and March,” McLaughlin said. “This part of their careers right now for Sydney, Jackie and [senior guard] Kasey [Chambers] are pretty special and I don’t want to put any stress on them. I want them to play as hard as they can, enjoy this, be the best team they possibly could be.” Especially for the three seniors — Stipanovich, Falconer and Chambers — the season has a dual purpose. It is no longer simply about playing in the moment — though their coach emphasizes the importance of doing so. There’s no way to avoid the reality that the players are operating on borrowed time. No matter what happens, by this time next season, Stipanovich will be gone. Falconer will be gone. Cham-
NICK BUCHTA | SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
In March 2016, Penn women's basketball hoisted the Ivy trophy for just the fourth time in program history — the second time in three years as the Red and Blue concluded the most successful three-year span in the team's history.
bers will be gone. But Penn women’s basketball will remain. “We have such a good group of people that are all really passionate about Penn basketball, so it makes our lives really easy,” Falconer said. “Everyone comes ready to play every day so it’s just being there when some of the younger kids may have a bad practice — and we’ve all been there
or no impact,” Falconer said. “And our goal as a senior class is just to have as big of a positive impact as we can.” The expectations have changed for the program in the last eight years. The upperclassmen have contributed largely to that shift, but it’s something that has to be sustained — it is not self-perpetuating. After Kelly Green-
“[Anderson] learning from Sydney, who’s probably the most professional kid that is probably going to come through this program, so these are all going to add up to her,” McLaughlin noted. “She may not get it all right now, but she’s going to reflect back on it, that ‘I got a chance to play with Sydney and how humbled and professional her work ethic is, asking ques-
We're going to remember it, we're going to ackowledge it, but it's a new season, new team. - MICHELLE NWOKEDI before.” The legacy that is going to be established extends beyond the final record this year. Come May, the Quakers will lose their center and their point guard — both in many ways the heart and soul of the team. “One of the first things that coach ever said to me was that when you come to Penn, you can either have a positive impact or a negative impact
berg accepted a job at Boston University in 2004 following her second Ivy title in four years, the Quakers didn’t finish better than fourth over the next nine years. While the right players can come together with the right coach at the right time, the Quakers are conscious that they must actively work to continue the cycle, particularly with their newest additions/youngest players.
tions after practice.’ “I think it’s going to help Emily now, I think it’s going to help Phoebe now, they just won’t get it as easily now as they’ll get it down the road.” That’s at the heart of this season for Penn women’s basketball. The expectations game has changed. But the veterans know they can succeed. It’s up to them just as much as McLaughlin.
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before they head to Cameron Indoor Stadium to open the year at Duke. “It’s a new season. What happened last year, happened last year,” Nwokedi, the junior forward, said. “We’re
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2016
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The ball goes off the backboard. Michelle Nwokedi grabs the board for the Blue squad and dishes it out as her teammates go up court. A few passes later, Nwokedi finds the net on a turnaround layup. The Red squad knew it was coming, but it didn’t matter. A minute later, the whistle blows and the team regroups. Practice ends, and the team mills about after another day squaring off against its toughest opponent: itself. It’s no secret that Penn women’s basketball is the runaway favorite to repeat as Ivy League champions —
NICK BUCHTA | Senior Sports Editor
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GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Penn finds itself in uncharted waters as the unquestioned top program in the Ivy League after the 2015-16 title
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LIZ SATTER
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Coming from the Chicago suburb of Glencoe, Ill., freshman Liz Satter is eager to make an impact at Penn. With a loaded frontcourt already, it might take some time for Satter to break into the Quaker’s rotation, but don’t count the 6-foot-2 forward out yet. “I’m willing to do anything it takes,” Satter said. And even if Satter can’t carve out a lot of playing time this season, she will definitely be a key piece for Penn moving forward.
PHOEBE STERBA
ALEXIS GLASGOW
#24
Glasgow, a 5-foot-10 junior guard, transferred to Penn from Northwestern last year. While the Quakers have no shortage of shooters, Glasgow is another player who can help them spread the floor with her ability from deep. She hopes to contribute in other ways as well. “Just after sitting out a year, anything I can do to be on the court I’ll be happy with,” Glasgow said.
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Phoebe Sterba, a three-point specialist from Cleveland, is probably the freshman most likely to see significant court time early on. The 6-foot-1 guard showed off her range and scoring ability with a game-high 13 points in the Red and Blue scrimmage. Penn coach Mike McLaughlin was confident she’d become a key contributor. “She will help us with the ability to spread the floor,” he said. “For a guard to be 6-foot-1, that is very effective too.”
EMILY ANDERSON
#20
MacDonald, a 6-foot-5 guard, transferred to Penn last year from Farleigh Dickinson, but was forced to sit out of games for a season due to NCAA transfer rules. Even though he wasn’t able to compete, MacDonald made a strong enough impression on coach Donahue to be named a co-captain for this season. “He may not be our leading scorer, may not be your leading rebounder, may not be your leading assist guy, may not be your best defender, but he may be one, two, or three in all of them,” Donahue said.
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AJ BRODEUR
#25
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CALEB WOOD
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6-foot-4 center Emily Anderson is another freshman who could break her way into the rotation. Hailing from Bridgeville, Pa., Anderson battled injury and illness throughout much of her high school career, but was able to dominate when healthy. At Penn, Anderson has responded well to being challenged in practices. “I think where she came in, and where she’s at now, I think she’s grown the most,” McLaughlin said. “The physicality of the game is something she’s learning to play around.”
BY YOSEF WEITZMAN | SPORTS REPORTER GRAPHIC BY JULIA SCHORR | DESIGN ASSOCIATE
MATT MACDONALD
Of the six new freshmen, it is 6-foot-8 AJ Brodeur from Northborough, Ma., who looks most poised to contribute right away. Penn’s highest rated recruit in the last several years, the skilled forward chose Penn over many other schools including high-major programs like Boston College and Notre Dame. “He’s played against every top 50 player in the country at some point,” Steve Donahue said. “He’s just not fazed by it. This is a level that he can compete with right away and be successful.”
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Wood, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, makes his For the defending Ivy League champion way to University City from Lassen Comwomen’s team, a host of new talent will help munity College in California. At Lassen, the Quakers shore up depth in their quest to Wood led his team in scoring with 23.2 repeat. In addition to five freshmen, junior transpoints per game and will look to be a fer Alexis Glasgow is set to join the Red and Blue.
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scorer for the Quakers as well. He wasted no time displaying his scoring ability with a After a challenging season in coach Steve Donahue’s first game-high 30 points in the Red and Blue year that saw the Quakers go 5-9 in the Ivy League, Penn will scrimmage and will likely get time at have to find a way to replace 2015-16 leading scorer Darien Nelboth guard spots during the season. son-Henry. With such a big hole to fill, Penn will look to six freshmen “I’m just going to try to do whatever I can and a pair of transfers to step up from the very beginning. to help my team win,” Wood said.
Penn's non-conference slate means time on the road
as the women will fly down to Durham, N.C., to play Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Needless to say, the players are excited. “We’re very excited, that’ll be a great first game for us,” Stipanovich said. “Playing those great teams like Duke, and in the past we’ve played Miami, Tennessee, it’s a great experience for us. Having a tough non-conference schedule helps us prepare for the Ivy season.” Ross echoed her much taller teammates’ sentiment. “We’re so excited. I think last year, we lost by seven [to Duke]. It was a great start to our season, and we had so much confidence going on from there. We’re excited to give them a run for their money.” The next huge trip for the women will be over winter break to California. McLaughlin and his director of operations, Christine McCollum, have been working to organize the best trip they can for the team, including a special treat — a day at Disneyland. “ It’s an u nb el ievable
DP FILE PHOTO
Over winter break in 2015-16, Penn women's basketball made the trip to Hawaii for a pair of games against BYU-Hawaii and Hawaii in Honolulu.
experience, to be able to combine basketball with experiencing a new place with people from all across the country,” McCollum said. “It’s something that these girls will remember for a lifetime.” The trip, which straddles both
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Against Hawaii last year, Beth Brzozowski put up a critical 15 points as Penn women's basketball took down the Rainbow Warriors, 64-54.
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Playing for Penn basketball has a few perks — and they might be bigger than you think. Every year, the men and women of Penn basketball travel across the country, and sometimes, across the world. Italy, Hawaii and Disneyland are just a few of the destinations that the Quakers have found themselves at over the years. The chance to travel for the men’s and women’s teams is something that players and coaches alike cherish and look forward to every year. Over the 2016-17 season, the men will find themselves in Florida on two separate occasions, while the reigning women’s Ivy League champions will travel to Duke for their season opener and later make their way to California for a winter break vacation. “I want them to have the best experience that Penn Athletics can provide,” women’s coach Mike McLaughlin said. “They spend a great deal of time here [in the Palestra]. They spent a great deal of time training. I want them to have a great experience.” Virtually every member of the basketball program spoke of how life-changing these trips can be. But much of why the teams’ trips
are so transformational comes not from the locations themselves, but the memories created there. In Hawaii, for example, senior forward Sydney Stipanovich was quick to recount some of her favorite moments from last year’s winter break vacation — including one slightly embarrassing moment, right in front of the embarrassed one involved. “We always have so much fun,” she said. “In Hawaii last year, this one, Anna, got stitches one of the first days we were there. She got cut by seaweed in the ocean.” “CORAL!” the now-red-faced point guard Anna Ross shouted in protest. “Right, coral,” Stipanovich joked. “But we always have a good time, wherever we are. We also play a lot of ‘heads up,’ the game, so we have a lot of fun with that. We always entertain ourselves somehow.” Beyond the entertainment of a vacation, though, the team must ultimately play some ball to justify its trips. The women’s Hawaii trip featured a series of New Year’s games against some high-level opposition. This year, though, the women might play one of their toughest games in years. The first game of the season on Sunday is a date with the Devils,
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Coaches, players prepare for inaugural Ivy tournament Ready or not, here it comes. After months of buildup and debate, all questions will finally be put to rest when the Ivy League will engage in its first-ever conference basketball tournament. “It gives us the chance to be in
a playoff atmosphere and let our players experience something different, so it’s really exciting,” women’s basketball coach Mike McLaughlin said. “If you make it to that Final Four, anyone can win it.” One unquestionable benefit of the tournament will be the rise in the conference’s national exposure, as no one can question
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After winning the regular season Ivy title in 2015-16, Penn women's basketball held a selection show watch party as they learned their seeding. This year, they'll need to win the Ivy Tournament for an automatic bid.
“Absolutely not,” women’s senior point guard Kasey Chambers said. “To have a rivalry like that ... you just don’t lose it. Every game feels like it’s a rivalry game — but especially us against Princeton — so it’ll be what it’s always been.” Additionally, while a drop in importance could theoretically exist at the top of the conference,
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tournament,” Donahue said. “We’re knocking on the door as a conference ... and the thought is that playing the conference tournament will help us achieve [two NCAA bids] at some point.” Of course, the downside of the new system lies in the potential weakening of the regular season’s importance. Up until this season, the Ivy League’s claim to fame over the rest of the nation was the raw emotion coming from the fact that a loss in any given conference matchup could eliminate a team from contention for the NCAA Tournament. But with that special caveat being taken away, one could easily argue that the vivid passion that has historically distinguished the Ivy League’s regular season from the 31 other Division I conferences will fade. For example, in each of the past three seasons, Penn and Princeton women’s basketball have been the league’s top two teams, with their regular season series determining the recipient of an automatic NCAA berth. This March, both teams entered a showdown at 12-1 in conference play, putting an automatic NCAA spot at stake — and after Penn prevailed 62-60 in one of the most frenetic games in program history, an emotional McLaughlin said, “It doesn’t get any better than this.” But if one takes a look inside the minds of the Red and Blue, it’s clear that there’s no such concern about any drop in emotion.
time you rest, that’s when it slips away.” Still, while winning every game is innately the goal for both teams, knowing what a topfour finish can bring is bound to make the Quakers’ eyes get bigger as crunch time nears. “Know when [a changed approach] will happen? It’ll happen at some point in February where I would never allow my team to do anything but think about the next game,” Donahue said. “Now I can be all, ‘Yo fellas, here’s what we got; let’s work our tails off these next four days, because these two games could change our season.’” U lt i m a t ely, c o n fe r e n c e tournament or not, there’s no question that regular season titles and March Madness appearances will continue to be highly sought-after — and both Donahue and McLaughlin’s programs are set on adding to the already pristine collection of both inside the Palestra. “I think the competitive nature of our athletes probably doesn’t shift that much. They want to play, and we won’t overlook anything,” McLaughlin said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I think that we’ll play each game like it’s our last — just like we always do.”
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016
the imminent boost in media and fan scrutiny. The men’s and women’s tournaments will take place on March 11 and 12 at the Palestra — with March 12 also being “Selection Sunday” for the men’s NCAA Tournament and the following day being the same for the women. “We’re hoping that the tournament will have another boost on that spotlight,” men’s basketball coach Steve Donahue said. “There’s only one other major [championship game] that Sunday, and that’s the Big Ten. We’re going to be on a major network, and I think we’ll show out well.” And with that rise in national attention, the conference tournament could bring a benefit which the Ivy League has never seen on the men’s side: two NCAA Tournament bids. While the Ancient Eight women finally broke this barrier in 2016 when both Penn and Princeton qualified, the conference has never seen two men’s teams in March Madness in the league’s 62-season history. But now that the top regular season team is no longer guaranteed a March Madness spot, it’s very possible for the league’s best overall team to be left out, potentially opening the door for the Ancient Eight to claim its first at-large bid on the men’s side. “It could happen. ... A team’s going to have to play a schedule that’s really good, and win a lot of those games — and then get upset in the [conference]
the tournament won’t have that impact across the board. Whereas the difference between fourth and fifth place was negligible until this season, that sliver in the standings will now be the difference between going home and experiencing win-or-go-home play — a gap that might be particularly relevant for a Penn men’s team that came up a single point shy of fourth place in 2015-16 and was predicted to finish fourth in the 2016-17 Ivy preseason media poll. “I was texting a few guys that played here and they said, ‘Man, that would’ve been so cool,’ ... These kids have a fouryear window to play postseason basketball, winner-take-all,” Donahue said. “Our guys are really excited about it, and the regular season still matters. This year we’re home that last regular season weekend, and it’s amazing to think, ‘If we win this weekend, we’re home again on Friday.’” And even for a Penn women’s team for which it’d be an understatement to call the league’s favorite, there will be no laying off the gas pedal. “When we get into the Ivy games, we’ll take it one game at a time,” junior forward Michelle Nwokedi said. “If there’s ever a
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Nick Buchta is a Democrat
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STAR POWER
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OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK BETH BRZOZOWSKI
7.7
6.9 PPG
PPG
64
46
FREE 53 THROWS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016
3-PT 9.9
IN CONFERENCE, TEAM HAD TURNOVERS PER GAME, FEWEST IN THE IVY LEAGUE
ANNA ROSS ANNA
.402
ROSS
3-PT %
9.4
3.5
PPG
APG
LED IVY LEAGUE IN ASSIST RATIO
_________ (2.35) TURNOVER
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WHITLATCH, ROSS, & CHAMBERS COMBINED FOR 40 POINTS IN 62-60 WIN @ PRINCETON
TO CLINCH TITLE JULIA SCHORR | DESIGN ASSOCIATE
LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD For 2016-17, both the men's and women's teams return many of the key pieces that contributed to the top-tier squads from the 2015-16 campaign.
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DP FILE PHOTO
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