When Penn lost three seniors who key played roles for three straight Ivy League championship teams, second-year Quakers coach Glen Miller knew it would be difficult to live up to the program's history as one of the Ivy League's two perennial powers.

Should a 13-18 overall record and an 8-6 mark in the Ivy League be considered a disappointing season? By some Ivy League standards, no. By Penn's standards, yes.

That's not the most important question facing this team, though. Instead, the Quakers will spend the next few months confronting one big question: Was 2007-08 an anomaly or a sign of things to come for the program?

"To me, this was important, to come away with a winning season (in the league)," Miller said after his team closed its season with a 69-67 home win over Columbia and a 60-47 win at rival Princeton.

"At Penn, there's first place and there's last place. We know that, and accept that. It's been a difficult season. But I have every reason to be optimistic about the future. We did some good things down the stretch."

Because of those positives and the loss of only one senior starter, guard Brian Grandieri, Miller is convinced the Quakers will be much better next season.

Earlier in the season in a moment of frustration following weekend losses at Columbia and Cornell, Miller warned the rest of the Ivy League to get the Quakers while they could because their season of vulnerability wouldn't last long.

The Quakers will return three freshmen -- forward Tyler Bernardini, guard Harrison Gaines and forward Jack Eggleston -- who combined to win the Ivy League Rookie of the Week award nine times.

They'll also welcome back two key players -- sophomore guard Darren Smith and junior forward Tommy McMahon -- who combined to play one game because of injuries. Smith opened the season as a starter and McMahon started 11 games in 2006-07.

"We have to work extra hard, but I'm optimistic about the future," Miller said. "We have a lot to improve on, but we got a lot of experience this year."

Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.