Penn faces critical adjustment with Ethan Roberts out indefinitely

Fran McCaffery and Penn sit 5-4 through nine games, but Quakers must now navigate playing without Ethan Roberts after senior suffered injury against Villanova. (Photo by Penn Athletics)

PHILADELPHIA — Nine games into Fran McCaffery’s first season at the helm of his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania has gone through almost every range of the emotional spectrum.

Penn has had dominating wins (Drexel, Merrimack), and gritty comebacks (Saint Joseph’s, La Salle). It has had solid first halves in losses against high-majors (Providence, Villanova), and deflating losses in games it could have won (American, Hofstra). And as the Quakers just recently recovered from a stretch of three games in as many days with their Cathedral Classic tournament, a short turnaround awaits once again as Penn attempts to erase a 27-point loss to Villanova when it welcomes Lafayette into The Palestra on Monday.

However, the Quakers will be without their leading scorer after Ethan Roberts suffered an undisclosed injury in Saturday’s Big 5 championship game. The senior hit the floor hard midway through the first half and was slow to get into a seated position, but eventually retreated to the bench under his own power. Roberts did return for a five-minute stretch at the end of the first half and beginning of the second, but was “visibly not in a good place” according to McCaffery, and was taken to a local hospital for observation.

Roberts’ absence leaves a hole in the Penn lineup, along with his 18-point per game average, but the circumstances in which he departed strangely fit with the way the season has gone for the Quakers to this point.

“It’s still a work in progress,” McCaffery admitted. “We’ve had some high moments, some really good wins, some times where we didn’t play as well. We’re still working on lineups, substitution patterns, and now we’ll have to play without Ethan.”

“That’ll be an opportunity for somebody else to be a game changer. He’s not only one of our best players, but one of the best players around. We saw that in particular against St. Joe’s and Drexel, so we’ll see where it ends up.”

At first blush, the loss of Roberts opens the door for another of Penn’s guards, such as AJ Levine, Cam Thrower or Michael Zanoni, to establish themselves as the Robin to the Batman role that will likely now be occupied by TJ Power. Zanoni, a transfer from Mercer in the offseason, has shown flashes of brilliance offensively, but is still adjusting to grasping the other side of the basketball as well as reading opposing defenses.

Ethan Roberts’ injury potentially opens door for Michael Zanoni to be more of an impactful scorer. (Photo by Penn Athletics)

“In a lot of ways, it impacts the game because when he’s cooking, it’s really important,” McCaffery explained when discussing Zanoni’s impact after Penn’s loss to Hofstra on November 30. “But they guard him the same way all the time…they’ll face-guard him, they’ll chase him, so that gives the other guys a little more space. Defensively, he’s got some work to do and he’s working on that.”

Power has shown the ability to be the Quakers’ alpha in his first season in the program. The former five-star recruit dominated the first half against Saint Joseph’s last month before Roberts took charge after halftime, but in the eyes and mind of his coach, that performance during the opening stanza against the Hawks needs to be a requisite no matter the opponent.

“It’s going to be really critical with Ethan out,” McCaffery said, highlighting the need for Power to up his production. “We need him to be that guy no matter what, whether Ethan’s playing or not. The thing about him is he’s got a complete skill set at 6-foot-9: He can dribble, pass and shoot, he can post, he can switch and guard smaller guys.”

TJ Power has shown flashes of dominance, but is being counted on to play complete game at all times as Penn moves closer to Ivy League play. (Photo by Penn Athletics)

“I just need him pretty much showing his complete game at all times. I want to run stuff for him, and I believe in building confidence in my guys. You do that by going to them and trusting them, and letting them play through their mistakes.”

McCaffery has done a patient job of the latter, particularly against Villanova Saturday, when he attempted to let his players figure things out even in the midst of a 17-2 Wildcat run at the end of the first half that ultimately decided the game. Four more contests await Penn in the non-conference portion of the schedule, and without Roberts, progress — no matter how gradual — becomes all the more crucial in this final segment before Ivy League play commences in January. 

“They’re open-minded every day,” McCaffery said, lauding his team. “Every situation is a teaching moment, and if you get too high or too low, that’ll be what is the end of it. But we don’t get too high or too low. This was a learning opportunity, we played a really good team. We did some good things, we didn’t do enough of them. We’ll get better.”