Rosen Begins Play at Portsmouth Invitational

PHILADELPHIA - Penn senior guard Zack Rosen will join 63 other top senior men's basketball players at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, one of the first events in the run-up to the NBA Draft in late June. Portsmouth starts today and runs through Saturday, with all games taking place at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Va.

Rosen is one of just three Ivy Leaguers at Portsmouth this year, joined by Yale's Greg Mangano and Harvard's Keith Wright. From Philadelphia, two Temple seniors (Juan Fernandez and Ramone Moore) are in the field. Rosen is playing for K&D Rounds Landscaping, which plays its first game Wednesday at 9 p.m. against Cherry, Bekaert & Holland.

About Portsmouth
Celebrating its 60th year this week, the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (P.I.T.) has invited 64 of the best college basketball players (seniors) from across the nation to participate in a four-day, 12-game tournament in front of representatives from every NBA team.

The tournament drew the attention of NBA scouts and general managers in the mid-1970s when players like Dave Cowens, John Lucas, Walt Szczerbiak and Bobby Cremins came to Portsmouth to play. Soon the word spread and approximately 200 scouts, general managers and representatives of all 30 NBA teams began to come to see players like John Stockton, Dennis Rodman, Tim Hardaway, Scottie Pippen and others.

Today, scouts from numerous international leagues have joined in on the annual April pilgrimage to Portsmouth. Over the years the P.I.T. has been a showcase for five of the 50 greatest players in NBA History (Rick Barry, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Dave Cowens, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen) and for many others who have gone on to NBA stardom.