City of Basketball Love

By Mike Livingston (@liv_twts22)
—

The Penn Men’s Basketball team opened the 2023-24 season Monday evening at the Palestra against Division III foe John Jay with a 102-57 win. 

Here are some observations from University City:

~~~

Quakers clicking from the jump

Penn jumped out to an expected, commanding, early lead in the game, stretching the margin to nearly 40 points at the end of the first half. The strong Quaker run came much to the credit of the Penn starters and the new second unit. 

Eighth-year head coach, Steve Donahue marched out a new-look starting lineup following a few key losses to the Quakers squad in the offseason, the most notable of which being guard Jordan Dingle. The top five was headlined by freshman guard Tyler Perkins, and senior guard Clark Slajchert. Sophomore guard Cam Thrower, along with juniors Eddie Holland III and Nick Spinoso rounded out the Quakers starting five. 

The Penn starting lineup held strong for the first few minutes, building an early double-digit lead before the bench was opened up. Noticeably first off the bench was freshman forward Augustus Gerhart, soon followed by junior guard George Smith, and freshman forward Niklas Polonowski. 

The eight combined for nearly three-quarters of the squad’s minutes and well over half of the team’s points as Holland (16) and Perkins (15) led the Quakers' scoring. 

“I think there’s eleven guys,” Donahue said. “There is a lot to be had. We had the three big guys out there, which I liked. I don’t know if this is the exact lineup you’re going to be seeing, but I think guys are still fighting for who deserves to play.”

Noticeably missing from Penn’s top eleven was freshman guard Sam Brown who was ruled out with an ankle sprain before the game. The Lower Merion product is another promising name in an encouraging freshman class for the Quakers. 

~~~

Perkins gets the start in debut

Perkins, a freshman from the Landon School in Va., got the start in his collegiate debut for Penn, putting up some impressive numbers with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals in the win. 

Perkins, who became the first Penn freshman to start his first game for the Quakers since Dingle back in 2019, headlines one of the most promising freshman classes in the Ivy League. The 6-foot-4 guard, from Lorton, Va., scored more than 1,000 points in fewer than 50 games for the Landon School along with being named the Interstate Athletic Conference’s player of the year in 2022-23. 

After scoring four points in his first 10 minutes, Perkins followed it up with a great run in his second stint. The freshman went on a streak midway through the first half, scoring seven straight points for the Quakers, six of which came on 3s while also drawing a foul in the process.

“When we’re all moving around, we can all score,” Perkins said. “At that point, it’s just a matter of making shots, Cam (Thrower) started off hot, and then Clark and me, Nick and them got going. It shows when we’re distributing the ball, everyone can score.”

~~~

Freshman Gerhart leads Quakers off the bench

The youth movement continued for Penn in its opener as the freshman forward Gerhart was the first off the bench for the Quakers. The Hill School grad opened his college career with a strong night down low, scoring 10 points while also pulling in six rebounds with three blocks. 

Gerhart, a CoBL Non-PIAA All-Area and All-Mid-Atlantic Prep League first-team selection last season, averaged 15 ppg, 8 RPG, and 1 bpg as a senior at the Hill School. 

The 6-9 forward from Denver, Pa. showed little fear in his NCAA debut, unleashing a couple of ferocious slams along with two and-one lay-ins down the lane.

“Already for a young kid, you know what to expect,” Donahue said. “He plays really hard, he rebounds, defends, and makes good decisions. For this level, he’s a big strong finisher. For his first game, I was impressed, and I think he’s going to be a really good Ivy League player, and I think pretty quickly. You see that he can make an impact for us.”

~~~

Holland makes a case 

Holland, a Philadelphia native, led the Quakers in scoring Monday night with 16 points in only 16 minutes, going 7-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. 

The 6-6 wing saw a limited role for Penn in 2022-23, appearing in just 15 games and totaling only 53 points on the year. However, following the departures of Dingle and forward Max Martz, the Friends’ Central alum looks to have a larger role coming his way this season for UPenn. 

That was put on display tonight when Donahue opted to place Holland in the starting lineup. It paid off for the Quakers who saw their third-year wing become Penn’s sole offensive presence for the majority of the second half while also making a few big plays on the other end of the court. 

“You see, I think Ed is the way it used to be,” Donahue said. “Some guys, when they’re freshmen, they’re not ready. But when their upperclassmen earned that, I think Ed has gotten bigger, stronger, tougher, and he’s gotten more experienced. The one thing he could always do was score, now he’s real efficient as you saw tonight.”