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GREENVILLE, S.C. — Penn guard AJ Levine called teammate TJ Power’s performance in the Ivy League championship game over the weekend “one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Teammate Ethan Roberts said it was “like he was having an out-of-body experience on the court.”
Power had 44 points and 14 rebounds to help Penn knock off top-seeded Yale in overtime to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018. But as the No. 14 seed Quakers prepared for their first-round tournament game against No. 3 seed Illinois on Wednesday, Power’s availability was in question.
Penn coach Fran McCaffery said Power wasn’t up for practicing Wednesday as he deals with an illness and his status for Thursday night’s game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena is unknown. McCaffery added later that he thinks Power, who previously was a reserve at Duke and Virginia, could be available.
“I would think they’re doing everything they can to get him onto the court,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “I had my best game in high school with a 102 degree fever, so I hope he doesn’t have his best game.”
Power’s absence at practice was on top of Penn being without Roberts, a 6-5 senior guard/forward from Hersey High School in Arlington Heights who led the Quakers with 16.9 points per game. Roberts, who missed the Ivy League Tournament with a concussion, said he tried to practice but didn’t get cleared by a doctor.
“If I had a broken ankle or something, I’d be out there playing tomorrow,” he said. “But it’s my brain, and per the doctor, I have a high risk of making it way worse and doing worse stuff to my brain.”
Roberts said he was “devastated” to hear the news but wanted to be with the team this week as Penn gets the attention he wanted to help it achieve. McCaffery said the Quakers are “so disappointed,” and Underwood said his “heart aches” for Roberts, who plans to be on the bench Thursday.
“I’m so happy to be here and see these guys getting interviewed, getting what they deserve,” Roberts said. “This is what I wanted. But now I’m here at this point and not able to cross the finish line with them, it breaks my heart.”
The texts that Levine and freshman center Dalton Scantlebury received from their friends on Selection Sunday were maybe not all as supportive as they would have liked.
“There was a lot of saying how much we were going to lose by and how disappointing it would be for everyone,” Scantlebury said.
Scantlebury is from Chicago and went to Lane Tech, and Levine went to York in Elmhurst, and they have a lot of friends who go to Illinois. Penn has five players from Illinois on the team, and that has added an element of fun to the matchup.
“The fact that we drew them and all of my friends that go there are texting me, some of them are trash talking, some of them are hyping me up, it still doesn’t feel real,” Levine said. “I’m going to go out there, I’m going to compete, I’m going to try to prove all my friends wrong.”
Multiple Penn players said Illinois’ size — the Illini boast 7-foot-plus twins Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivišić — and rebounding prowess were among the biggest focuses as they prepped this week.
But the Quakers also think they have the tools to compete.
“It’s our pace and 3-point shooting,” Levine said. “You see Cinderella teams, they shoot the piss out of it. They shoot it, and they run, they play fast. And also, they be themselves, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go out there, we’re going to play our basketball, push the pace and shoot 3s, and play some electric basketball.”
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Teammate Ethan Roberts said it was “like he was having an out-of-body experience on the court.”
Power had 44 points and 14 rebounds to help Penn knock off top-seeded Yale in overtime to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018. But as the No. 14 seed Quakers prepared for their first-round tournament game against No. 3 seed Illinois on Wednesday, Power’s availability was in question.
Penn coach Fran McCaffery said Power wasn’t up for practicing Wednesday as he deals with an illness and his status for Thursday night’s game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena is unknown. McCaffery added later that he thinks Power, who previously was a reserve at Duke and Virginia, could be available.
“I would think they’re doing everything they can to get him onto the court,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “I had my best game in high school with a 102 degree fever, so I hope he doesn’t have his best game.”
Power’s absence at practice was on top of Penn being without Roberts, a 6-5 senior guard/forward from Hersey High School in Arlington Heights who led the Quakers with 16.9 points per game. Roberts, who missed the Ivy League Tournament with a concussion, said he tried to practice but didn’t get cleared by a doctor.
“If I had a broken ankle or something, I’d be out there playing tomorrow,” he said. “But it’s my brain, and per the doctor, I have a high risk of making it way worse and doing worse stuff to my brain.”
Roberts said he was “devastated” to hear the news but wanted to be with the team this week as Penn gets the attention he wanted to help it achieve. McCaffery said the Quakers are “so disappointed,” and Underwood said his “heart aches” for Roberts, who plans to be on the bench Thursday.
“I’m so happy to be here and see these guys getting interviewed, getting what they deserve,” Roberts said. “This is what I wanted. But now I’m here at this point and not able to cross the finish line with them, it breaks my heart.”
Illinois flavor
The texts that Levine and freshman center Dalton Scantlebury received from their friends on Selection Sunday were maybe not all as supportive as they would have liked.
“There was a lot of saying how much we were going to lose by and how disappointing it would be for everyone,” Scantlebury said.
Scantlebury is from Chicago and went to Lane Tech, and Levine went to York in Elmhurst, and they have a lot of friends who go to Illinois. Penn has five players from Illinois on the team, and that has added an element of fun to the matchup.
“The fact that we drew them and all of my friends that go there are texting me, some of them are trash talking, some of them are hyping me up, it still doesn’t feel real,” Levine said. “I’m going to go out there, I’m going to compete, I’m going to try to prove all my friends wrong.”
Cinderella story?
Multiple Penn players said Illinois’ size — the Illini boast 7-foot-plus twins Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivišić — and rebounding prowess were among the biggest focuses as they prepped this week.
But the Quakers also think they have the tools to compete.
“It’s our pace and 3-point shooting,” Levine said. “You see Cinderella teams, they shoot the piss out of it. They shoot it, and they run, they play fast. And also, they be themselves, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go out there, we’re going to play our basketball, push the pace and shoot 3s, and play some electric basketball.”
Continue reading...
