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By
Jon Teitel
jonteitel@hotmail.com
October 13th, 2004
Q&A
with Penn Head Coach Fran Dunphy
1) What are your
team’s goals for this season?
Our goals this season
are the same as always: to win the Ivy League title and get to the NCAA
Tournament.
2) What are your
team’s expectations for this season?
Our expectations are
to meet our goals and play to the best of our ability.
3) How big of an
impact will the loss of Jeff Schiffner be, and how do you hope to
replace the contribution he made?
Jeff did a great job
last year, and he will be tough to replace, but hopefully our new guys
will be able to help.
4) How big of an
impact will the loss of Adam Chubb be, and how do you hope to replace
the contribution he made?
Adam really came into
his own last year, and luckily this year’s team has a lot of experience
in the frontcourt.
5) Which of your
incoming freshmen have you been most impressed with so far, and which of
them do you expect to make the biggest impact this season?
Michael Kach: he is
our oldest freshman, and had an extra year of experience at prep school.
6) In light of the
performance of foreign-born players during the Olympics this summer, how
important will foreign-born players be to your team this season?
Jan Fikiel is from
Germany, and has paid his dues, so he could see a lot of playing time
this season.
7) Who do you think
will be your team’s most improved player this season?
Eric Osmundson and
Ibby Jaaber will get the opportunity to play a lot of minutes this
season.
8) Who do you think
will be your team’s leader this season?
Tim Begley is our
team’s leading returning scorer, and his senior leadership will be
crucial.
9) What facet of the
game is most important to your success this season?
It always starts with
recruiting: the key is to find some good players/people and put all the
pieces together.
10) How important to
your success are your seven seniors?
Since we lost three
senior starters from last season, our current crop of seniors must step
up.
11) How important to
your team’s success are your two returning starters?
Begley is important,
but Mark Zoller’s competitiveness will be tested after he sprained his
ankle over the summer.
12) What coaches have
had the biggest influence on your own coaching philosophy?
I take something from
every person I coached under and coached against, and even some of my
assistant coaches have taught me a thing or two.
13) After seeing two
of last year’s eight Ivy League coaches replaced during the off-season,
do you have any concerns over your own job security?
It is not a concern,
although you are only as good as your last victory.
14) Do you consider
this season to be the usual two-team race between Penn and Princeton, or
do you think another team will win the conference title this season?
There are many teams
capable of winning the Ivy League title this season.
15) Which conference
opponent do you think will pose the biggest challenge to your team?
Princeton has to be
the odds-on favorite since they have the most experience.
16) Which
non-conference opponent do you think will pose the biggest challenge to
your team?
The Big 5 is always
tough, the Preseason NIT has a lot of great teams, and Wisconsin should
be a big challenge as well.
17) What was the key factor in your decision to stay at Penn rather than
go coach La Salle (your alma mater)?
There was not one
specific reason that led to the result of this very hard decision.
I have been at Penn a long time, and I have great relationships with a
lot of people here.
18) Who do you think
are the favorites for Ivy Player of the Year?
Hopefully some of our
guys have a chance, but Jason Forte of Brown is the defending Ivy Player
of the Year.
19) Who do you think
are the favorites for Ivy Coach of the Year?
I respect all of the
other Ivy coaches whom my team plays against.
20) Who do you think
are the favorites for Ivy Rookie of the Year?
It’s too early for me
to tell.
Learn
more about the author Jon Teitel and how to contact him here
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