Even when both teams aren’t contending for Ivy League championships, there are always plenty of storylines when longstanding rivals Penn and Princeton meet on the basketball court.
But in terms of sentimentality, nostalgia and, well, weirdness, Tuesday’s game at the Palestra may have just topped them all.
After news leaked a few days ago that Penn head coach Jerome Allen would be let go at the remainder of the season -- and the Penn athletics department responded with a release that the former legendary player was resigning from his post -- the finale against Princeton took on the feeling of an emotional send-off game.
And the Penn players made sure to make their opinions known, wearing dark shirts with “53” on their backs during pregame warmups -- the number Allen wore during his playing days when he led the Quakers to three straight Ivy League titles in the mid-90s.
What they couldn’t do is give Allen a win in his final game, dropping an ugly -- and all-too-familiar -- 73-52 decision to Princeton, which put the Quakers (9-19 overall, 4-10 Ivy League) into an eighth-place tie in the Ivies with Brown, marking the first time in program history Penn ever finished in last place.
“I’ll definitely watch the film and break it down,” Allen said. “And I’ll pretend like I’m talking to the guys when I’m breaking it down.”
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Allen, who had grand ambitions to return Penn to Ivy League supremacy when he replaced Glen Miller in 2009, finishes his career with a 66-104 overall record in five-and-a-half seasons. He’s the first Penn coach since 1956 never to win an Ivy League title.
And yet despite all that, Allen was greeted with a standing ovation when he came onto the court wearing his old varsity red sweater with a giant “P” in the middle.
It’s not hard to see why. In his final press conference, Allen exuded the kind of class, humility and gratefulness that made him such a beloved member of the Penn community, despite his win-loss record as head coach.
“I truly believe I’m just being pushed into the next season of my life,” he said. “And wherever I’m coaching at, I know that Penn has helped prepare me for the next opportunity.”
Seemingly fired up by all the pregame emotion, the Quakers blitzed Princeton at the opening tip to jump out to an 8-0 lead as players on the bench -- still wearing their Allen-inspired shirts -- went wild.
Afterwards, Allen said he had no idea his players had something like that up their sleeve and jokingly said that he was “pissed” that they would give him such a parting gift.
“I love the guys,” he said. “I really appreciate them making the gesture. But if I would have known or if I had my choice, I definitely would not have let them wear those shirts.”
As the game settled down, Princeton (16-14, 9-5) quickly showed why it has won seven more games than the Quakers this season, leading by as many as nine in the first half before Penn freshman Antonio Woods beat the halftime buzzer to cut the Tigers’ lead to 37-31.
The Tigers really ran away with it after the break, going on a 20-2 run to start the second half and take a commanding 57-33 lead, before cruising home with the win.
No one on the Quakers hit double figures with Woods leading the group with eight points. Still, Allen is confident that Woods -- who he believes should be the Ivy League Rookie of the Year -- and fellow freshmen Sam Jones, Mike Auger and Darnell Foreman can be the class that helps turn the program around, even if he won’t be around to coach them any more.
“At the end of the day, we always challenge ourselves to leave ourselves better than we found it,” Allen said. “And not to throw anyone under the bus or name names, but I changed the culture. With that being said, I wish it reflected on the number of wins and losses I wanted to see. But I know they’re on their way.”
Before the game, Patrick Lucas-Perry, Camryn Crocker and Greg Louis were honored for Senior Night. All three players, who represent what’s left of Allen’s first recruiting class, have battled injuries throughout their Penn careers. Matt Hanessian, a senior walk-on who made one collegiate basket before a heart condition forced him to quit the team, was also recognized.
When the game ended, Allen gathered all of his players to thank them for, as he put it, “allowing me to be a part of their story.”
“I told the players whatever they need from me, I’m here,” Allen said. “I’m part of the same fraternity that they’re in. And it’s not going to change just because I no longer have the title as the coach of the University of Pennsylvania. They all know what I do is not who I am. And I will forever walk like that.”