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By
Jon Teitel
jonteitel@hotmail.com
March 16th, 2005
NCAA Tournament
Memories
Penn is heading back to the NCAA Tournament for the 21st time this
year, but many of the current Quakers do not have any Tournament
memories of their own because Princeton has won the recent Ivy League
automatic bids. So here are memories of three former Quaker stars who
have seen a little March Madness in their past.
Bruce Lefkowitz:
“My
number one NCAA Tournament memory would have to be playing North
Carolina in a first-round game in Charlotte during my senior year. They
were the 1-seed with Kenny Smith (future 10-year NBA veteran), J.R. Reid
(future 11-year NBA veteran), Joe Wolf (future 11-year NBA veteran), and
Scott Williams (future 15-year NBA veteran): talk about being thrown to
the lions. At the pre-game press conference, the local writers kept
asking us how a little old Ivy League school could compete with big, bad
North Carolina. I responded, "Everyone keeps talking about this as a
David-and-Goliath match up. Last I checked, they had no one named
Goliath and we had no one named David.” The quote made all the
newspapers: everyone got a good chuckle until we were only down
two points at the half...we had their attention then! To this day, I
still meet people who remember that game and my performance: pretty
amazing.”
Lefkowitz led the
Quakers with 20 points and 8 rebounds, and set a Penn postseason record
that still stands with 12 free throw attempts, in a 113-82 loss to North
Carolina on March 12, 1987 (the most points ever allowed by Penn in an
NCAA Tournament game). 2 years earlier on March 15, 1985, Lefkowitz had
7 points and a team-high 8 rebounds in a 67-55 first-round
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loss to Memphis
State in Houston, TX.
Geoff Owens:
“I
would say both my best and worst memory was spending a few days in
Seattle in 1999, where we were lucky enough to eat at some great
restaurants. Unfortunately with a broken jaw that was wired shut, I
could not enjoy the same food that my teammates could, and of course
they were oh so polite about letting me know what I was missing. Still,
the thrill of being there for the first time and the treatment we
received was the most memorable, as the game itself did not go our
way.”
Owens had 3 points
and 5 rebounds as the Quakers lost a first-round game to Florida by the
score of 75-61 on March 11, 1999. The following year on March 17, 2000,
Owens had 8 points and 4 rebounds for the Quakers in a 68-58 first-round
loss to Illinois in Winston-Salem, NC.
Michael Jordan:
“I
enjoyed going to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years, and
experiencing everything the tourney had to offer was great. Although I
never really had a great tournament game, I do remember one of the
greatest first-half performances I have ever seen. It was my junior
year and Jed Ryan had 22 points in the first half against Florida (tying
former Quaker Jerome Allen’s Ivy League postseason record with 6
three-point field goals made in an NCAA Tournament game), and I believe
he only missed one shot. The tournament was a great experience, because
I was also able to make a few new friends from other teams. When I run
into those guys in Europe and in the summer, it brings back memories of
playing in the tournament and partying afterwards. Just because we did
not advance does not mean that we did not party. I miss the Florida
dance team: they were fun to watch and have a few rounds with as well!”
Jordan had 15 points
and a game-high 6 assists in the Quakers’ 75-61 loss to Florida. Penn
led 43-32 at halftime, but could not hold off the Gators. The following
year, Jordan had 8 points and 3 assists for the Quakers in a 68-58 loss
to Illinois.
Learn
more about the author Jon Teitel and how to contact him here. |
