Drake men's basketball's Roman Penn missed Arch Madness in 2021. Now he's ready to play.

Drake men’s basketball senior guard Roman Penn knows what it feels like to watch his team lose the biggest game of the year.

That’s what happened last season, when Penn sat in street clothes as the Bulldogs lost to Loyola Chicago in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship game.

He also knows a thing or two about dealing with injuries. Penn’s freshman season at Siena was cut short because of a heel injury. Last year at Drake, he was sidelined for the stretch run – including the Bulldogs’ games in the MVC and NCAA tournaments – with a foot injury.

Penn missed a month early this season after reinjuring his left foot. He’s been back in the game for two months. Now he has the chance to make up for missing last year’s tournament.

“It was pretty rough, just watching my team go out there. I was happy to see my team perform on the biggest days,” Penn said. “Playing in the (NCAA) tournament is something I dreamed of doing. Not being able, to now getting a chance to, it’s just a great blessing. I’m looking forward to the challenge. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Penn continued: “It sucks when you put in a lot of work into something that you love (and then get injured). But I’m very blessed to even be able to still play this year. I’m going to take advantage of it as I can … and continue to look forward and look at the positives.”

With 415 assists, Penn is Drake’s all-time career leader and the first Bulldogs player to break the 400 assists mark. He scored his 1,000th career point against Illinois State in mid-January.

The senior point guard scored in double digits in all but seven games this season. Penn has recorded at least one steal in Drake’s past nine matchups, and added no fewer than three assists in eight of those contests. He also averaged nearly three rebounds per game.

If his injury is still affecting him, Penn hasn’t shown it. He’s a core piece of Drake’s starting five and the Bulldogs will need his experience heading into Arch Madness.

Drake lost senior guard D.J. Wilkins for the remainder of the season after he tore his ACL in Saturday’s regular-season finale against Southern Illinois. Penn will need to take on a bigger role.

Head coach Darian DeVries trusts Penn to do that when it matters most.

“He made some huge pull-ups there for us where we didn’t have a lot going,” said DeVries, referring to Penn’s performance against Southern Illinois on Saturday. “Sometimes you (have) to have that. You have to have guys go make a play and we certainly trust the ball in his hands.”

Penn and his teammates will be put to the test, starting on Friday when the Bulldogs play a familiar face – Southern Illinois – in the first round of the MVC tournament. Penn said he’s just grateful to be playing in the tournament after last season's frustration.

Alyssa Hertel is a college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake basketball's Roman Penn ready to compete in Arch Madness