Jordan Dingle has to be a strong favorite for Big 5 player of the year

Under the Palestra north stands, Saturday’s press conference began after Penn controlled the final minutes to take out Temple, denying the Owls a City Series sweep. A couple of Quakers players joined their coach.

“We have junior guard Jordan Dingle and junior guard Andrew Laczkowski,” said Penn sports information director Mike Mahoney after the players sat down. “A quick note with Jordan — Jordan set a Big 5 record today; he scored 120 points in Big 5 play this season. The previous record was 116 held by Cliff Anderson [of St. Joseph’s] in 1966-67.”

Dingle’s eyes widened. Quakers coach Steve Donahue, hearing the name Cliff Anderson, immediately blurted out, “Wow!”

» READ MORE: Penn runs away from Temple to deny Owls perfect Big 5 record

Dingle’s 30 points against Temple came after 25 at Villanova, 37 against La Salle, 28 against St. Joseph’s. Saturday’s points were just bigger, since Penn won the game. Overtime losses to the Explorers and Hawks were followed by a 70-59 loss at Villanova.

In the history of City Series play, going back to 1955, almost 350 players have led their Big 5 teams in scoring … and none did what Dingle just did.

“The thing I liked about today, I thought he controlled the game,” Donahue said. “He knew when to put a foot on the throat. He had six assists. He was fouled eight times, went to the foul line, made 9 out of 10. … We ask him to do so much. I thought he was so good today in all aspects of the game.”

Donahue immediately started campaigning for Dingle for Big 5 player of the year, noting that when Penn went 4-0 in the Big 5 in 2018-19, Quakers MVP A.J. Brodeur didn’t get player of the year. Point being, don’t use Penn’s City Series win-loss record to decide that honor. (Villanova’s Phil Booth took the award that season, part of a run of six straight Villanova players winning it.)

This season, Dingle is the way-out-in-front favorite. The best evidence, the Villanova game, even though Penn lost and that game might be remembered most as a coming-out party for ‘Nova freshman Cam Whitmore.

With backcourt mate Clark Slajchert out, Dingle had a huge load, and while Penn got out to a lead, Dingle wasn’t forcing anything, trying to get teammates going, finishing the first half with two points. Not an embarrassment, but not a player-of-the-year kind of half. If Dingle is the best in the city, he had to prove it against ‘Nova.

Mission accomplished.

After the break, Dingle got going on a tear and Villanova couldn’t do much about it. The Quakers cut a double-digit lead down to six points before ‘Nova took control back.

“He almost stole the game,” Donahue said later, after Dingle finished with 23 second-half points. Just like those La Salle and St. Joe’s points. Penn needed them to have a chance. Not empty points.

Against Temple, Slajchert still out, Dingle reprised the ‘Nova game, scoring 21 after the break. Eight minutes left, the score had been tied when Dingle broke it with a driving layup, getting fouled, adding a free throw. Penn scored 24 of the last 28 points for a 77-57 victory.

» READ MORE: The evolution of Jordan Dingle is in progress

Asked about his second half, Dingle talked about how across “all the sports … people get tired. Not only do they get physically fatigued but also mentally fatigued.”

If that happens, Dingle added, “Their defensive scheme starts to fall apart a little bit towards the end. So I’ve got to make sure that I’m in better condition physically and mentally. So that way, once their energy starts to decline, I’m able to take advantage.”

So that’s it, he’s player of the year? Not quite. Penn was picked to win the Ivy League. If that happens, or the Quakers contend strongly, that’s more strong ammunition. But say that doesn’t happen … the door stays ajar, the majority of the season still ahead, although nobody else has walked through the door yet to be an obvious alternative.

Third in the nation in scoring with 24.1 points a game, Dingle also leads Division I in percentage of possessions used, which is defined by KenPom.com as “when [a player’s] actions end a possession, either by making a shot, missing a shot that isn’t rebounded by the offense, or committing a turnover.”

So nobody is depending on a player more than Penn is depending on Dingle.

“He’s crafty,” Temple coach Aaron McKie said of Dingle, after fully dissecting what had gone wrong for his own Owls. “He can score at the rim. He can play in the screen-and-roll, he can create for others, he can shoot the three. We knew coming into the game, we were going to face that with him. … He really thinks the game and he plays at his own pace. He can change gears, slow to fast, fast to slow. That’s tough to guard a lot of times, especially when you’ve got a guy who’s going to get 20 shots a game.”

McKie played with one of those guys for the Sixers. Not to compare Dingle to Allen Iverson, just noting that in gauging importance to his team’s success, Dingle is that guy.

“Just when we were trying to make a run, he made all the key shots for those guys,” McKie said.

One last thing about that scoring record. It could stand forever. Playing four City Series games could become a thing of the past. Donahue was asked afterward about his thoughts on the City Series, noting that with leagues growing in size, that factors into hurting the Big 5 in a specific way.

» READ MORE: Is a Big 5 tournament closer to happening?

“We used to play a lot of these games in January and February,” Donahue said. “That’s when the Eagles are done and the city can concentrate really on college basketball. That’s hurt the Big 5. … I think we’ve just got to figure out the right format.”

Donahue said he loves the idea of a tournament, including Drexel in it. “My vision is, one home game, one away game, [then] a tripleheader at the Wells Fargo. That’s me personally. You focus that over a 10-day window.”

This season, such a window would focus on the historic ability of a guard who calls the Palestra home to fully influence a college basketball game.