Penn’s basketball success is hinged on the lessons learned from last season

Perhaps no one needed a clean slate more than Penn men’s basketball coach Steve Donahue.

After an 11-18 season, one that saw the Quakers on the outside looking in at the Ivy League tournament after a blowout loss to Princeton in the regular-season finale, the reset that accompanies an early offseason couldn’t have come soon enough.

During his remarks Tuesday at Ivy League media day, Donahue mentioned all of that, but also that he still was reeling from the loss of star forward Jordan Dingle, the 2022-23 Ivy League player of the year, who transferred to St. John’s before the start of last season.

“I think we were honestly blindsided late in the spring with Jordan Dingle doing the NIL thing, which was unheard of at that point in our league,” Donahue said. “[He was] the player of the year and a three-year starter. And then retirement of Max Martz. I thought we were still on good ground, and we just couldn’t afford injuries. And, unfortunately, we did with Clark Slajchert going down.”

Slajchert, who averaged 18 points last season, was the definitive No. 1 in the one-two punch that included current senior Nick Spinoso. Spinoso, a forward who was good for 10.8 points per game in 2023-24, also had team highs in assists (107) and blocked shots (30), and returns for his final season.

In addition to four freshmen, Donahue bolstered the roster with a trio of transfers: Ethan Roberts (Army), Michael Zanoni (Mercer), and Dylan Williams, who led Illinois’ Triton College to the National Junior College Athletic Association championship game last season.

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As for Spinoso, the loss of Slajchert provides more of an opportunity to take on a leadership role with the team, one with a completely new look and with players who don’t know what to expect from Ivy League hoops. He’s looking forward to taking them under his wing.

“I learned a lot from having Clark go down,” Spinoso said. “I have more of a leadership role, and I get to help to grow guys like ... [sophomore guard] Sam Brown. We [also have] three new guys ... who are a big part of this team. [It’s about] just learning mentally how to prepare other guys and help teach them, like how different the Ivy League is in comparison to nonconference or every other game that we play.”

Spinoso will have experienced help in Brown, who heads into his second season after an explosive freshman campaign. After missing the first four games with injury, the Lower Merion alumnus was a three-time Ivy rookie of the week and averaged 10.9 points. Brown figures to be a key piece of the equation.

“Sam hit the ground running; he’s a very mature competitor,” Donahue said. “He’s very disciplined in his approach to school, training, [and] on-the-court practice. And he grew and grew with confidence as his role got bigger. What I’m going to see with him right now, though, he’s taking another big step. He’s someone that we can really rely on, on the court, for sure.”

Even with that, the Quakers have a lot to prove. Penn was picked to finish seventh in this year’s Ivy League preseason poll and opens the season with games against Big 5 powerhouses St. Joseph’s (Nov. 15) and Villanova (Nov. 19) among its first five games of the year.

“We didn’t handle our league as well as we all would like,” Donahue said. “I think we’re ready for it now with the experience of the guys who went through it and the addition of three really good transfers, as well as a couple freshmen I think could help.”

The Quakers announced a reciprocal ticket partnership with the Philadelphia Catholic League this week, which gives priority access to season-ticket holders or fans with all-day passes to the third annual Cathedral Classic on Nov. 29.

Fans holding those tickets will receive priority access to February’s Catholic League tournament held annually at the Palestra. Last year’s Catholic League boys’ final sold out the arena, and the girls’ final also brings in a large crowd.

Hosted over Thanksgiving weekend, this year’s Cathedral Classic features Penn taking on Navy (4:30 p.m., Nov. 29), Maine (4:30 p.m., Nov. 30), and a Sunday finale against Elon on Dec. 1 (2:30 p.m.). Penn’s men also have 13 home games this season, including a Big 5 matchup against St. Joseph’s on Nov. 15 (8 p.m., ESPN+).

More information and the portal to get tickets to Penn basketball games can be found here.

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