After a ‘taste’ of March Madness, Penn men’s basketball is ready for more

The men’s basketball season is just around the corner, and with an NCAA Tournament appearance under its belt, Penn is hungry for more.

The Quakers were picked to win the Ivy League with 11 first-place votes in a preseason poll of 21 media members. And they have been practicing with “an expectation that we’re going to be good, not hoping we’re going to be good,” said head coach Fran McCaffery.

“I think our guys got a taste of what it’s like to go to March Madness,” senior forward TJ Power said, “and we don’t really want to settle for anything less than that anymore.”

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Penn upset first-seeded Yale in overtime to win last season’s Ivy Madness tournament and punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. Power exploded with 44 points, the most by a men’s player in the tournament’s eight-year history.

Now, he’s is entering his senior season, and his second at Penn.

“I can’t believe it’s here,” said Power, who previously played at Duke and Virginia. “We had media day the other day, and I had to put on a cap and gown and it just felt so weird. But I’m really grateful that I’m here for it, for my senior year and with these guys.”

With star guard Ethan Roberts now at Notre Dame as a graduate transfer, Power said he “can step into that scoring role more aggressively” and fill Roberts’ role as a vocal leader.

Other returning starters include seniors Augustus Gerhart and Michael Zanoni and junior AJ Levine. McCaffery said all the seniors likely will be team captains.

“It’s not just me who’s going to fill that role,” Power said, “It’s going to be whoever’s on the floor.”

McCaffery added transfers in junior guard Sir Mohammed from Notre Dame and sophomore guard Dorian Glogovac from Caltech alongside several freshmen, notably three-star recruits Isaiah Carroll and Ethan Lin.

Power thinks Penn has “some added athleticism and length” now.

“The thing about transferring is you kind of get to recreate the narrative around yourself,” Power said. “And I told Sir to come [to Penn] with a blank slate and not bring with him any of the weight that he had at Notre Dame, or any the assumptions that people make about him and his game.”

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For Lin, adjusting to college in general also was a challenge.

“It started off a little shaky,” he said. “I feel like I was playing a little timid, and I was really, honestly, uncomfortable. … I think it was everything. Like moving, moving into school, making new friends, new teammates, new coaches, living differently.”

But Lin said he now feels mainly excitement as he looks to begin the season and his collegiate career.

“I wouldn’t say that he has struggled,” McCaffery said. “I would say he’s learning. Like he should. … But I think he’s been terrific.”

This season, McCaffery feels his biggest challenge could be finding minutes for everyone.

“I have a lot of guys who are good enough and have earned playing time,” he said. “So I want to try to be as fair as possible in giving them [opportunities].”

That includes the freshmen, who McCaffery said “were recruited with the expectation to play.”

“I feel that playing time is always up for grabs,” Lin said. “They’ll definitely say that if you can prove your minutes, you’ll be on the floor.”

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Ivy Madness will be held at the Palestra this season to honor the arena’s 100th birthday. That significance is not lost on the team.

“We’re really excited to play this year in the Palestra and have the 100 patch on our jersey and play Princeton on the anniversary,” Power said with a small smile, “All that stuff is bucket list for us.”

For McCaffery, who was part of the 1978-79 Penn team that advanced to the Final Four, it’s added motivation.

“The Palestra was such a part of my life growing up,” he said.

“When I was in elementary school, we came every Saturday night with my mother and father, my brother. And then I played here, Big 5 doubleheaders. My brother was a sportswriter, he covered the games. My dad worked at the Palestra … so to be back here especially in this particular year, the 100th anniversary, it’s really special for me and my family.”