With top scorer Ethan Roberts out, Penn looks to use a ‘next-guy-up mentality’
Roberts has been around the facility, but isn’t practicing. While Penn did not state his timeline to return or injury details, the team hopes to step up in his absence as Ivy League play looms.
Ethan Roberts is back at Penn’s facilities, but still not practicing after colliding with a Villanova player in the Quakers’ loss to the Wildcats in the Big 5 Classic championship on Dec. 6. He was taken to the hospital after the game.
Penn (6-4) did not share Roberts’ timeline to return or injury details. The star guard is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 18 points in nine games.
“He’s around the team,” shooting guard Michael Zanoni said. “Just not playing.”
Without Roberts, the Quakers will have a tough task against Rutgers on Saturday.
» READ MORE: Penn star Ethan Roberts taken to hospital after leaving Big 5 Classic with injury
Zanoni, who’s third on the team in scoring with 10.5 points per game, believes his teammates are capable of stepping up and having a scoring committee approach.
“Our team morale is really good,” Zanoni said. “Obviously had some injuries, some guys out, but it’s a next-guy-up mentality. We have guys ready to step up. We got a big one coming Saturday, so we’re excited.”
Backup center Dalton Scantlebury has earned a larger role. He was named Ivy League and Big Five Rookie of the Week in two of the last three weeks. Scantlebury’s emergence, alongside the rise of Zanoni and transfer forward TJ Power, has boosted the Quakers’ confidence heading into Jersey Mike’s Arena.
“Any chance to play a high-major team is a great opportunity,” Scantlebury said. “I feel lucky to have played two major teams in Providence and Villanova, so there’s not the same sense of intimidation. We’re not going in there to compete, we’re going in there to win.
Looking past the Scarlet Knights, the Quakers have their eyes on a larger prize: a win over Princeton on Jan. 5 to open Ivy League play.
The Quakers and Tigers have hosted one of the Ivy League’s most heated rivalries, which dates back to 1903. Penn held the series lead since 1905, but its 13-game losing streak since 2016 has let Princeton to catch up. The series is tied with 126 wins each.
“I think we treat nonconference play as getting our feet under us and figuring out rotations,” Zanoni said. “Now it’s real. So we’re all excited. The Princeton game, we’ve had marked as the first game, so obviously trying to win that one, big rivalry.”
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The Quakers fell to Princeton twice last year, including a 61-59 heartbreaker, but have a new coach in Fran McCaffery and reinforcements.
“The level of rivalry and the level of how much distaste there is for Princeton is still incredibly prevalent,” Scantlebury said. “We haven’t focused on them at all from an X’s and O’s standpoint, but I know once Jan. 5 comes, we’re going to be incredibly ready, very well scouted, and not going to let it be 14 in a row.”
Said starting point guard AJ Levine: “We have everything we need to win that game. We have the mindset to win that game and the Ivy League.”