Penn women's Twin Towers outperforming Sixers'

THE QUESTION is answered before it's fully asked.

"Grande iced coffee, with two pumps of white mocha."

Michelle Nwokedi can order Sydney Stipanovich's favorite Starbucks drink as easily as she can hit her for a layup from the high post.

"Nailed it!" Stipanovich said.

Sometimes, you wonder whether Nerlens Noel could order Jahlil Okafor iced tea.

The story is enticingly parallel: Local team acquires two elite, teenaged post players. There, the plot diverges.

One pair quickly expand their skills and develop a selfless chemistry that their experienced coach exploits into an attack unprecedented in league history. The other pair, with limited skills, confound their inexperienced coach as part of the worst team in NBA history.

Stipanovich and Nwokedi, Penn's 6-3 twin towers, on Tuesday night lead the Quakers to Princeton, winner-take-all, for the Ivy League title and its automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

The Sixers' 7-footers should make the trip. They might learn something about synergy.

"I see they're trying to find that balance; how to play them both together," said Penn coach Mike McLaughlin, a Father Judge graduate and a lifelong Sixers fan. "There are some similarities. We have two posts we can interchange; they both can shoot a jump shot. Right now, Noel can't step out and shoot a jump shot. He's limited. So he'll have limited minutes until he can make a jump shot in the NBA."

Noel will have further limitations until he or Okafor can cover a forward on the perimeter. In fact, their defensive limitations curtail their minutes together more than anything else. Both Stipanovich and Nwokedi can guard perimeter players, especially when Nwokedi plays the low wing in the Quakers' 2-3 zone.

"It was an adjustment, but I'm used to it now that I've got the footwork down," Nwokedi said. "I would tell those guys: Just believe you can do it. It's all mental."

Well, not all.

"Michelle's got a 6-11 wingspan at 6-3. She covers a lot of ground," McLaughlin said. "A big post on the wing, who can guard a guard? It's a pretty good luxury to have."

In Sixers speak: asset maximization.

"We had to find a way. They have to play together," McLaughlin said. "We had to tweak everything we've done to find whatever is best for them."

It worked. At 23-4 (12-1 Ivy), the Quakers already set a school record for wins. They began the season with a seven-point loss to Duke, then ranked 14th, but finished November with a win over Colorado State, the Rams' only loss this season.

They are for real. They average about 30 minutes a game playing together. Stipanovich, a junior, leads the Ivy League with 10.2 rebounds a game; Nwokedi, a sophomore, is second, at 9.8. Nwokedi leads the league with 2.8 blocks per game; Stipanovich is second, at 2.6. Stipanovich already holds the Penn record for blocked shots and was the league's defensive player of the year as a freshman and sophomore, but she might have to share the title this season. Nwokedi (14.1) and Stipanovich (13.0) are eighth and 10th in scoring.

The Ancient Eight has never seen the like.

"Everybody's had one 'big' like them, but never two," said Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith, the Crimson coach for 34 years and the winningest coach in league history, men's or women's.

It was her squad that won the first NCAA Tournament game for an Ivy team, in 1998.

"He's smart. He packs in a zone. You have to hit your shots," Delaney-Smith said of McLaughlin after the Quakers beat her third-place team Saturday. "It's a great advantage for them. They're going to be strong until one of them graduates."

"Strong" might be an understatement. Nwokedi added a three-point shot to her repertoire in the offseason; Stipanovich, niece of former Pacers center Steve Stipanovich, is nearly there, too. She passes so well that teams don't bother to double-team her anymore. Nwokedi, who developed her left hand so completely teams now force her to the right, still gets doubled, and her passing skills are not as well-developed.

Both have astoundingly good hands; both run the floor; both are selfless on offense (Stipanovich asked to not be recognized for her 1,000th point) and aggressive on defense. Neither has maxed out.

"Sydney is more of a face-up, pick-and-pop player. Michelle attacks you off the dribble, with multiple moves at the rim," McLaughlin said. "Michelle has not reached her limits yet. There's a lot more upside."

They have that in common with Okafor and Noel.

They also enjoy several advantages over their NBA opposites, not the least of which is that they are playing their second season together. Okafor is a rookie.

They also have a better supporting cast. Point guard Kasey Chambers runs the show, while Anna Ross and Lauren Whitlatch are long-range threats. Reserves Beth Brzozowski and Ashley Russell provide productive minutes, and Jackie Falconer gives Stipanovich and Nwokedi important rests.

Noel and Okafor are the only viable NBA starters on a laughable Sixers roster whose assemblage cost Sam Hinkie his power as general manager in December.

As for coaching: McLaughlin resurrected Penn seven seasons ago after becoming a Division II legend in 14 seasons at Holy Family. He is 517-152 overall and shooting for a 12th conference title.

Brett Brown is 45-182 in his first three NBA seasons. Brown should tag along with Okafor and Noel on Tuesday night. It's a 5:30 start. Good seats remain.

"I'd love to talk to him about it, pick his brain about what he's doing about it," McLaughlin said with a hearty laugh. "There are a lot of similarities. Obviously, they're at the professional level, with men, not women. But my program's going to succeed with these two; their program will succeed, or whatever, with those two."

Or whatever?

"For three years we've watched this," McLaughlin said of the Sixers, his Northeast Philly accent now thick. "I think they need to make a step going forward. I don't know how much more patient people are going to be."

If Okafor and Noel were developing a connection like Penn's towers, there would be more hope.

"We're best friends! Hello!" Stipanovich said, with a toothy Missouri smile. "Jackie and I are roommates, but we call Michelle our third roommate."

"I'm there all the time," Nwokedi said, with a slight Houston twang.

Noel and Okafor can't share the paint, much less a living room.

Nwokedi's favorite ice cream?

"Chocolate?" Stipanovich guessed. Correct.

Okafor might be lactose intolerant. Don't ask Nerlens.

Kansas City or Texas barbecue?

"Oh, Texas!" Nwokedi said. "She doesn't do barbecue anyway. You name all the salads, she'll eat those."

"Burgers and fries for her," Stipanovich said.

For all Okafor knows, Noel might be vegan.

"You know, we just click," Nwokedi said. "Whenever I find something out, Sydney is the first person I text."

Sometimes, you wonder whether Okafor even has Noel's number.

@inkstainedretch