KenPom has this as a pickem game. American picked to finish middle of the pack in the Patriot League. We should have a significant size advantage in this one.
Let’s go Quakers.
Looking forward to seeing how the team looks against a D1. Should be fun.
down double digits in 1H defense led the comeback. Cut it to 2 and down 5 at half. Lueth might be our first actual rim protector in a number of years. Zanoni w 4 3’s. Lot’s of interesting pieces on this team
12 turnovers for Penn in 1H leading to 20 American pts. Penn also shot 19 FT’s.
AJ Levine has a long way to go to become the answer at PG. Starts the second half with a foul, gives up a layup and then turns it over 2x.
And gets yanked by Fran.
On the plus side, TJ Power is going to be very good. He knows how to move his feet and use his length on defense without fouling. I can see him and Lueth forming a formidable duo this year.
Thrower not exactly putting his stamp on the PG position. Hopefully Williams gets healthy and can help…..
Tough loss. Scantlebury came back to earth a bit. Power made strides. Biggest problem is PG. Hopefully Dylan Williams or someone can step up. Levine has a long way to go.
Deservedly so.
Defense still needs work. Second half was better but they still had difficulty getting over screens or switching when appropriate. Gave up too many open three pointers when rotations were slow.
Zanoni was very good. Roberts turned it up in the second half, and it was good to see Power finally get the shots to drop.
We should have won this game, had the latter part of the first half not been so putrid.
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Williams isn’t really a PG so not sure how much he’ll help. May have to get creative and use Roberts, get him in some pick and rolls with the bigs, and other sets where he can distribute and get a return pass.
Scantlebury hurt by foul trouble and never got any traction today.
I was at the game. My thoughts:
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I met Kamin’s dad! He was very excited (although his son did not play).
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Miscommunication/lack of communication seems like the biggest problem on defense. AU hurt Penn with a lot of perimeter screens and Penn did not switch. Hopefully that improves as the season progresses.
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They have plenty of scoring and depth in the front court. In the back court? Not so much.
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Love the intensity of the team. AU was better and deserved to win (IMO) but Penn deserves great credit for clawing back from double digits to take the lead in the second half.
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I look forward to seeing their progress in December when they visit George Mason. Should be a good barometer of their progress.
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Excellent turnout by the Penn faithful. The visitors section was almost full.
Go Quakers!
Gerhart also looked like he belonged out there, really nice to see his improvement.
I had family stuff this morning so didn’t watch yet, will do tonight after the kids are in bed. We knew it would be a work in progress so not surprising and think it will take the team time to come together. Let’s see how they get on and progress, that’s really what this year is about. Probably going to be a tough week with Providence away and St. Joes at home but it will be about getting better each time out.
I hope it doesn’t come to Williams as our hope for PG improvement. Think he can give backup minutes but results last year didn’t signal much more. I liked what I saw from Massung against Rowan, wonder if he gets a longer look as the season continues.
Agreed on Massung. I predict he will be the primary PG. No idea why he hasn’t got PT? He has some dog in him and Jersey guards are different. He needs minutes now so he’ll be ready for Ivy conf play. Happy to see Cam Thrower make plays today.
Zack Levine last year was often a glimmer of hope in a crappy season. Even without much offense. Maybe him being the weak link shows the team has much more talent overall?
I agree. Hopefully AJ bounces back. A lot of talent on the bench. Oberti, another Jersey guy I’ve watched for years, needs minutes to develop.