Men's hoops' inexperience pays at Penn

Freshman forward Konrad Wysocki was nothing but smiles after men's basketball's convincing 67-53 victory over Penn last night at the Palestra. During the press conference, head coach John Thompson III '88 said that he preferred not to talk about the freshman's outstanding performance because Wysocki happened to be sitting right next to him. A huge grin swept across the 6 foot, 8 inch forward's face as he jokingly covered his ears.

In a rare night for freshmen at the Palestra, there was much to smile about after the game. Two freshmen — Wysocki and forward Andre Logan — led the Tigers at halftime in scoring and Wysocki finished the game with his first career double-double as Princeton's youngest players had an outstanding first-game experience on the Quakers' court.

"I'm very pleased with all of them," Thompson said. "I'm not really looking at any of them like who's a freshmen and who's a sophomore — these guys have played a lot of minutes in a lot of big games, and a lot of close games, so they've had the opportunity to come through, they've had the opportunity to produce, so I'm pleased with their play."

Wysocki demonstrated experience beyond his years in the first half when he proved that he would not be affected by the deafening noise of the Palestra. Less than a minute after tipping in a missed shot from senior center Nate Walton for the first of his 12 points, the freshman dove on the ground for a loose ball, grappling over the prize with Quaker center Geoff Owens, directly in front of the Penn student sections. The jump ball gave possession to the Tigers, and the Quaker faithful were not pleased with the ref's call.

The rowdy student section immediately let Wysocki know that he was the new fan favorite. With the full force of the Palestra experience raining down on him, Wysocki did not let the crude chant get to him. With no hesitation, Wysocki received a pass from Walton, planted his feet behind the arc, and drained a three to give the Tigers a 16-6 lead. After getting fouled by Owens on the next possession, the red-faced freshman pumped his arm in excitement, pointing in the general direction of his former "fans."

"I think the adjustment from high school to college is tough," Thompson said. "I've put a lot of demands on these guys. I think our guys have done a great job of judging and understanding what we want."

Displays of intensity from the young Tiger freshmen fired up the visiting team and helped lead to the Tigers' much-needed league win. Princeton's scoring started and ended with freshmen. On Princeton's first possession of the game, Logan received a pass with his back to the basket, turned into the lane, split the double team and laid the ball in off the glass. And in the closing seconds — after the Tigers had sealed the victory behind junior guard Ahmed El Nokali's game-high 17 points and perfect 11-for-11 foul shooting — Wysocki finished the Tiger scoring with a free throw.

The freshmen worked in tandem all evening long. Seven minutes into the second half, Penn applied a heavy press as Princeton attempted to inbound the ball, and Logan was tossed a long ball that crossed high over midcourt. With numbers on his side, Logan drove to the basket and made a quick pass to the waiting Wysocki who laid it in to give the Tigers a nine-point lead. A minute later, Logan worked to get around Quaker forward Koko Archibong in the paint and got a floater to fall.

"On any given night, anyone can step up," Thompson said. "I have confidence in everyone and they have confidence in each other."

Freshman guard Ed Persia also made major contributions in limited minutes, hitting a three-pointer and registering a steal. Sophomore forward Kyle Wente — playing for his first time at the Palestra — grabbed two offensive rebounds and added three assists for the Tigers. Killing a late Penn run with just over three minutes to play, Wente pulled up at the three-point line and drained a wide open three to seal the Quaker defeat.

At least for one night, the rookies at the Palestra were all smiles.