Penn finding its way with inexperienced new core

With 10 players in their first season of Division I college basketball, Penn has been forced to rely on its young players during a 6-12 start.

Three sophomores were not able to play last year due to the Ivy League season being canceled because of COVID-19. Junior forward Michael Moshkovitz last played at Kankakee Community College (Ill.) in 2020, and senior captain Jelani Williams didn’t play until this season after three ACL injuries and the canceled 2020-21 season.

“We’re literally the most inexperienced team in the country,” coach Steve Donahue said after Saturday’s 78-68 win over Dartmouth.

“They’re all freshmen essentially, except for Lucas [Monroe], Jordan [Dingle], and Max Martz. Even then, they only played a handful of games as freshmen.”

The lack of experience was apparent during a six-game losing streak from Nov. 23 to Dec. 11, featuring matchups against then-No. 13 Arkansas and then-No. 6 Villanova. But lately the Quakers have gotten production from freshman George Smith and sophomore Clark Slajchert. The duo earned consecutive Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors at the start of the year.

Smith, who is averaging 12 points per game, scored a season-high 23 points in a 77-73 victory over Brown on Jan. 2. Slajchert, who is averaging 9.7 points per game, scored a season-high 25 in a 76-60 loss to Arkansas on Nov. 28.

» READ MORE: ‘We’re doing the right thing’: Jelani Williams’ long-awaited season at Penn goes beyond basketball

Moshkovitz, a 6-foot-7 junior from Jerusalem, who is in his first season at Penn, has averaged 31 minutes over the past six games while averaging 11.2 points.

“We knew at the beginning of the season we had a lot of talent, and it was just figuring out where guys fit, how we were going to play, what our team’s identity was going to be,” Williams said. “Then once we got that squared away, guys stepped into their roles and really started to produce and play with total confidence.”

Williams’ play is improving in his debut season. He’s started each of the Quakers’ 18 games and is averaging 6.9 points per game.

Donahue has some experienced constants in Dingle, who leads Penn in scoring at 18 points per game, along with Martz and Monroe. But he knows the Quakers will have to ride out highs and lows with this young roster.

“At this point in our growth, I can’t tell you who it’s going to be every night because we just haven’t had the pedigree of years of success to think that,” Donahue said. “We almost have to accept it, messy at times. Can we fight through that to be successful?”

The Quakers, who are 3-2 in Ivy League play, continue their conference schedule at 4 p.m. Saturday against Yale (8-8, 2-0) at the Palestra.