Monday, November 29, 2004
Centre Daily Times | 11/29/2004 | Young Lions need consistency:
"Have patience, you long-suffering Penn State basketball fans. Your day is coming.
"It just might not be this week. Or this month. Or this year.
"Home wins over Lehigh and Sacred Heart have revealed a lot about the Nittany Lions, and most of it they would have rather kept on the practice floor. One of the youngest teams in Penn State history is playing like it, and coach Ed DeChellis and his players know improvement must be made -- and quickly -- if the Nittany Lions are to get where they say they're going."
Full
Story
PSU battles back after sluggish first half, defeats Sacred Heart:
"The Penn State men's basketball team was its own toughest opponent in the first half of Saturday's game against Div. I Northeast Conference (NEC) Sacred Heart University.
"The Nittany Lions shot a scrappy 25 percent from the field and missed 12 lay-ups before trailing Sacred Heart (1-3) by a point at the half. But Penn State (3-2) responded to a 29-point first-half performance by scoring 40 points and shooting 41 percent from the field in the second half to capture a 69-61 win against the Pioneers.
" 'We shot 33 percent [from the field for the game],' Sacred Heart coach Dave Bike said. 'We were fortunate they shot 31 percent because they kept us in the game.' "
Full
Story
Sunday, November 28, 2004
It appears the CDT staffed the game - Ed.
Centre Daily Times | 11/28/2004 | Reserves play key role in PSU victory over Sacred Heart:
"It is not a deep bench, nor one that is being asked to deliver much. But there will be a few times this season when Penn State will need some sort of a spark from its reserves.
"The Nittany Lions certainly did on Saturday. And they got it.
"Sixth man Danny Morrissey scored eight of his 11 points in the first eight minutes of the second half, helping Penn State to a 69-61 defeat of Sacred Heart at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Kevin Fellows and Jason McDougald also were solid in reserve for the Nittany Lions (3-2), who didn't make it easy on themselves but gutted out their third win in four games.
"'Everyone has a role on the team, and everyone's filling it,' said Aaron Johnson, who led Penn State with 18 points and 20 rebounds. 'It's something you've got to learn how to do -- bring energy and bring emotion. Even if you don't score or get a rebound, if you bring energy, positive plays will happen.'"
Full
Story
Saturday, November 27, 2004
BlueWhiteIllustrated.com: Raw Post-Game Audio Files
ED, HoJo, Mike ...
Full
Story
Sacred Heart vs Penn State (11/27/04 at State College, Pa.):
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 Johnson, Aaron...... f 5-14 0-1 8-14 8 12 20 1 18 2 4 0 2 38
Full
Story
The Webmaster's brother works for CSTV -- ed.
Press Release - 0:
"STATE COLLEGE, Pa., November 26, 2004 - A 30-minute program dedicated to Penn State's student-athletes and nationally-recognized athletic program will debut on College Sports Television (CSTV) on Sunday, November 28.
"'Penn State Primetime' will debut Sunday at 9:30 p.m. ET on CSTV, the nation's fastest-growing independent cable network, which is dedicated solely to college sports. 'Penn State Primetime' will consist of interviews with and features on Penn State student-athletes, highlights from Nittany and Lady Lion athletic events, and other features that encompass the Penn State athletic experience.
"Penn State is one of only three schools with 'Primetime' shows, joining Stanford and Ohio State. "
Full
Story
Centre Daily Times | 11/27/2004 | Johnson providing energy, results for Penn State:
"It's better to be caught next to Aaron Johnson at the poker table than under the boards.
"Penn State's demonstrative junior forward, who leads the Nittany Lions against Sacred Heart at 4 p.m. today in the Bryce Jordan Center, wears his heart on his ever-untucked jersey whether his team is up by 20 or down by 20, in games or in practices. Ed DeChellis and the other Penn State coaches have tried to get Johnson to 'hold his cards to his chest' this season.
"They would have better luck blocking him out.
"'Sometimes he just gets frustrated, and we've talked about channeling that emotion in a positive way,' DeChellis said. 'Some guys aren't rah-rah. That doesn't mean they're not playing hard. I think he's channeled that in the right way.'
"Johnson has channeled his emotion to the tune of a team-best 15.8 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in his first season as a starter. The 6-foot-9, 258-pounder from Exton had 25 and 12 his last time out in a 73-64 win over Lehigh and is on pace to dwarf his career averages of 9.0 points and 7.0 rebounds a game."
Full
Story
Friday, November 26, 2004
Game Notes (PDF)
Full
Story
Fight! Fight Fight!
Why we need more NBA brawls
By Ben Mathis-Lilley
If I had to reconstruct what happened during Friday night's Pacers-Pistons game based solely on the reactions of sports columnists, I'd probably come up with something like this: Ron Artest beats his own coach with a club, Stephen Jackson shows a homemade sex tape on the Palace's Jumbotron, and Jermaine O'Neal grabs a mike and makes disparaging remarks about John Wooden, Mother Teresa, and "the troops."
Luckily, I saw everything happen with my own eyes. I was in a bar on Friday night when the fight began streaming in an infinite loop. Many of us had been primed for the highlights by enthusiastic cell-phone calls. When it finally came on, most every patron in the establishment enjoyed, thoroughly and loudly, all of the hot-and-heavy action. That's right, we loved it. Sure, it was wrong for Artest to run into the stands, and wrong for Jackson to run in after him throwing haymakers, and wrong for the fans to douse the Indiana players with beer. But when a crazy basketball player charges into the stands and tries to pounce on some drunk jerks, I don't fly into a rage on behalf of the nation's children. Nope, I just kick back and enjoy the spectacle.
Full
Story
Thursday, November 25, 2004
D'Elia bringing fun to Penn St.:
"...Excepting the Nebraska debacle of two years ago, foreign fans generally give their counterparts here high marks. Central Pennsylvanians are nice, they say. The land is gorgeous.
"As for volume, though, you'd never confuse the Beav with Camp Randall in Madison or the Shoe in Columbus. And there simply is nothing here to remotely compare to the electric, stadium-shaking 'Jump Around' at the third/fourth-quarter break at Wisconsin or Script Ohio and Hang On Sloopy at Ohio State.
"But you may have noticed the pregame music this year that gave Beaver Stadium a little juice it didn't have before. It's not over the top like the infamous deafening rap that blared over the loudspeakers before the '92 Miami game -- once and only once before the plug was pulled. This is more subtle. D'Elia is responsible. "
Full
Story
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Lions to count on youth:
The Penn State men's basketball team is heading into Saturday's game against Sacred Heart riding the high from its victory against Lehigh last Friday.
The Nittany Lions are looking for their first two-game winning streak since victories against Minnesota and Ohio State to open last year's Big Ten schedule.
Penn State has a very good chance of doing that against the Pioneers. Sacred Heart can usually be found near the bottom of the Northeast conference and does not return any full-time starters from last year's 12-15 team. Pioneer coach Dave Bike will have to rely heavily on a young quartet of players: three true freshmen and a redshirt freshman.
Full
Story
Monday, November 22, 2004
Let's all hope for the best possible outcome to whatever causes this ailment - Ed.
Press Release - 3: "UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. November 22, 2004 - Penn State women's basketball head coach Rene Portland announced today that she is taking a leave of absence from the team, effective immediately. Citing medical concerns related to her fainting episode last Sunday, Portland will not be involved in the Lady Lions' practices or games for an indefinite period of time. Associate Head Coach Annie Troyan will serve as acting head coach in Portland's absence. "
Full
Story
Penn State beats Lehigh 73-64:
Aaron Johnson finally revealed the secret to his intensified performances.
In fact, he was still rather hyper and extremely pleasant during Friday night's post-game press conference after Penn State beat Lehigh 73-64.
'I feed off energy,' Johnson said. 'I have my energy drink before the game and that really makes me hyper and that's not a good thing with my coaches but on the same token I get so hyper [on the court].'
Penn State coach Ed DeChellis certainly didn't mind Friday night's showing when the junior led the Nittany Lions in points (25) and rebounds (12), posting his third double-double in four games.
'He wants to win and makes great hustle plays, great plays,' DeChellis said. 'He is a post player and he gets in and gets fouled. We can build things around him.'
Full
Story
Penn State guard inactive due to 'personal matters':
It's an all too familiar scene for the Penn State men's basketball team.
Last season, four players left the Penn State program for different reasons. Brandon Cameron and DeForrest Riley-Smith transferred in the middle of the season. During the offseason, Jan Jagla opted to play professionally in Europe and Robert Summers transferred.
Now, sophomore guard Ben Luber has asked to become an inactive member of the Nittany Lions basketball team. A release from Penn State sports information stated that Luber 'has decided to concentrate on some personal matters that are more important than basketball at this time.'
'Luber will continue to be involved in all the team's activities and will attend practices and games,' the release said. 'His active playing status will be re-evaluated on a daily basis.'
Full
Story
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Press Release - 2: "Junior forward Aaron Johnson (Exton, Pa.) posted his third double-double in four games to lead Penn State to a 73-64 win over visiting Lehigh in the home opener for the Nittany Lions.
Johnson led all scorers with 25 points and had a game-high 12 rebounds for the double-double. It is the 11th of his career. Johnson was six of 12 from the field (including on three-pointer) and 12 of 16 from the free throw line (which are both career highs). "
Full
Story
Saturday, November 20, 2004
BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - DeChellis & Hojo post-game audio
Full
Story
Post Michigan State press conference: "Someone asked me the other day about my wife and how she takes all the criticism of me. I don't know. We never talk about it. She's in the middle of reading Dante's Club. And we're talking about the fact that Dante was gay. And she wanted to know if I knew he was gay. I said, 'Yeah I knew he was gay.' She said, 'Did you know Beatrice in his poem was not a woman, but a man.' I said, 'Yeah I knew that. I read Dante when I was 14-years-old.' Now I didn't read it in Italian, but I read it. That's what we talk about."
I've read two separate translations of the Inferno and I didn't know that Dante was gay and I certainly did not know that Beatrice was a man. It will be a long time before big-time football sees a coach like this again. - Ed.
Full
Story
Sophomore asks off PSU team for personal reasons:
STATE COLLEGE - Seven years ago, a true freshman point guard was forced into starting action for Penn State. He shot 1-for-6 at VMI in a painful Nittany Lion loss.
He took the last shot of the game and missed it. But he wanted that shot. And it was obvious he wanted to be the leader.
He ended up OK. His name was Joe Crispin.
Last night, another true freshman was forced into the starting lineup for Penn State. He went 1-for-6.
But that one was a three and it was drained. It also turned out to be perhaps the biggest shot of the game in a Nittany Lion home win, 73-64 over Lehigh.
Full
Story
Press Release - 2: "Penn State vs. Lehigh - Coach Quotes "
Full
Story
Press Release - 2: "Penn State vs. Lehigh - Player Quotes"
Full
Story
Lehigh vs Penn State (11/19/04 at State College, Pa.):
Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 Johnson, Aaron...... f 6-12 1-2 12-16 5 7 12 1 25 0 0 1 1 38
Full
Story
It appears the CDT staffed this game - Ed.
Centre Daily Times 11/20/2004 PSU men win BJC opener with Luber on sidelines: UNIVERSITY PARK - Marlon Smith shrugged off playing for 40 minutes. He's been there before, probably more times than any sophomore that has ever played for Penn State.
Thirty-seven minutes didn't tire Mike Walker, either. The freshman guard said his preseason conditioning is paying off.
It's a good thing, because all of a sudden, it's looking like marathon games could once again become the norm for the Nittany Lions' backcourt.
As Penn State struggled before eventually putting away a flat Lehigh team Friday 73-64, Ben Luber, wearing street clothes, watched from the bench. The 6-foot sophomore guard from Richboro, who had started the previous 29 games for the Nittany Lions, asked Friday to become an inactive member of the team to concentrate on personal matters.
Full
Story
Lehigh pleased in defeat: "UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Billy Taylor liked a lot of what he saw Friday night in his Lehigh men's basketball opener at Penn State.
One thing he didn't like was the 28 personal fouls called against his Mountain Hawks.
'I wasn't happy with it, but it's part of the game,' Taylor said after Penn State's 73-64 victory at Bryce Jordan Center.
'We've got to be able to play through that,' Lehigh's third-year coach added.
Lehigh (0-1) sent Penn State to the free-throw line for 42 attempts, which indirectly benefited the weary Nittany Lions (2-2), who were playing their fourth game in less than a week.
The numerous play stoppages, along with TV timeouts, enabled Penn State coach Ed DeChellis to go with his six best players for long stretches without substitution.
'The guys weren't all that gassed,' DeChellis said. 'The game was so slow, we didn't need to go any deeper.' "
Full
Story
Friday, November 19, 2004
Tough Lehigh team waits for Penn State:
"Most Big Ten men's basketball programs usually wouldn't have reason to fear a home opener against an opponent from the Patriot league.
"But in Penn State's (1-2) case, tonight's contest against Lehigh is a different story. The Nittany Lions will be looking across the court at a squad that is coming off an NCAA tournament birth and is looking to win its conference for the second straight year.
"'They're kids that can really play, they're different than they've been in the past,' Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said.
"The Mountain Hawks return four of their starters from last year, along with High Point transfer Joe Knight, whom DeChellis recruited when he was at East Tennessee State. Tonight will be Lehigh's first game of the season."
Full
Story
Thursday, November 18, 2004
AllSports (tm) BIG TEN BASKETBALL: "PROGRAM DIRECTION: The Nittany Lions have been at the bottom of the Big Ten for the last three seasons so they can't go lower. If the arrow is pointing up, it's at a very low trajectory. "
Full
Story
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
The breakout performances from a few freshmen and Aaron Johnson's record-setting rebound display in the Nittany Lions' game against Western Carolina were nowhere to be found in yesterday's 63-43 loss to South Carolina State.
The wear and tear of three games in three days proved to be a factor as the Lions struggled to pull it together against the MEAC preseason favorite. The tired legs produced short shots and 13 turnovers in the fifth-place game of the Black Coaches Association Classic.
'We had no legs,' Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said afterward on the Penn State Radio Network.
'We were just effortless. It wasn't just one guy. It was the whole group collectively.'
Full
Story
MILWAUKEE - South Carolina State Coach Ben Betts Jr. said his club learned an important lesson in losing to Mississippi in the first round of the Black Coaches Association Classic.
'Against Ole Miss, we stopped executing. It showed us we can't play just thirty minutes. We need to go out and play hard for forty minutes,' Betts said Tuesday after his club beat South Carolina State 63-43. It was the team's second straight victory after their opening 64-52 loss to Mississippi Sunday.
Betts said by playing hard throughout its last two games, his Bulldogs were able to emerge with a 2-1 record and fifth place in the tournament, which saw eight teams play games three days in a row.
Penn State Coach Ed DeChellis said the Bulldogs won because they played harder.
'In this kind of game you can kind of forget about offense and defense, it's all about effort,' he said. 'My hat is off to South Carolina State. They obviously wanted to win the game more than we did.'
DeChellis said the team was out of synch and 'played as bad as we could possibly play.'
Full
Story
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Line of the day from the
South Carolina State vs Penn State box:
"Totals..............
16-44 4-20 7-10 7 16 23 16 43 13 13 1 3 200"
Full
Story
Webmaster's note: The CDT covered this game from its office phone.
MILWAUKEE - Ed DeChellis saw the Black Coaches Association Classic as an opportunity for his freshmen to gain experience. His freshmen have been opportunistic.
Danny Morrissey led five Nittany Lions in double figures with 16 points off the bench as Penn State coasted past Western Carolina 78-63 in the BCA Classic on Monday at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. The Nittany Lions (1-1), who led by as many as 19 and held the lead for the final 33 minutes, will meet South Carolina State, an 80-72 winner over Jacksonville State on Monday, at 3 p.m. today in the tournament's fifth-place game.
With Morrissey knocking down threes, Mike Walker seeing extensive time at point guard and Geary Claxton slashing to the hoop and grabbing rebounds, the future is quickly becoming the present for the Nittany Lions.
'All three of the freshmen played well tonight,' said Penn State men's basketball coach Ed DeChellis, whose team bounced back from an 82-73 loss to Illinois State the night before. 'We played better for longer periods of time tonight. We'll have a tough test (today) against South Carolina State.'"
Full
Story
In his heart he always knew he wanted to play college basketball.Tri-Country's Charles Jackson made it official on Monday when he signed his national letter of intent to play for Illinois.
'He told me last summer that he wanted to play college basketball,' said Seth Berl, Jackson's AAU basketball coach. 'I told him coming form South Georgia it's tough. We have talked about 20 times, and he's never changed his mind. His decision might have surprised some people.'
Those people are the ones that thought the 6-foot-8, 245-pound Jackson would play football next season at an Atlantic Coast Conference or Southeastern Conference school, but not basketball at a Big Ten university.
'Basketball was always in the picture,' Tri-County basketball coach John McFather said. 'For a while he was considering playing both. He came to realization that it's tough to excel in both.'
Jackson's final three schools were Illinois, Penn State and Nevada-Las Vegas. McFather said it came down to the two Big Ten schools.
'Illinois is a championship program,' Jackson said. 'The players practice with the intensity and have a hunger to win. The coaches don't need to motivate them. I want to be a part of that.'
Making his decision was easy an one as Penn State is rebuilding under second-year coach Ed
DeChellis, while the Fighting Illini are perennially a NCAA tournament team.
Full
Story
Monday, November 15, 2004
MILWAUKEE - It was the first 24-rebound game Penn State Coach Ed DeChellis had ever seen. Luckily for him, it was his own player who did it.
Aaron Johnson was one of five Nittany Lions who scored in double figures but the only one with two dozen boards Monday as Penn State defeated Western Carolina 78-63 in the second round of the Black Coaches Association Classic.
'Twenty-four rebounds was tremendous. I don't think I've ever seen one before. He's a workhorse on the boards,' DeChellis said after Penn State evened its record at 1-1.
Catamount Coach Steve Shurina was equally impressed with Johnson's bullish performance. 'He's a bear inside,' he said.
Johnson also had 13 points in a game in which Penn State (1-1) got offensive help from plenty of players. Danny Morrissey led with 16 points, and Marlon Smith had 14, Ben Luber 11 and Geary Claxton 10.
Full
Story
Lines of the day
00 Johnson, Aaron...... * 6-15 0-1 1-1 11 13
24 1 13 2 2 1 4 34
25 Morrissey, Danny.... 6-10
4-6 0-0 2 3 5 0 16 2 1 0 0 26
Full
Story
Webmaster's note: The CDT did not send anyone to the game.
It is hard to tell how much progress a team has truly made from one season to the next when its opponent shoots 62 percent in the second half.
A very new Penn State men's basketball team traded leads with an experienced Illinois State squad for about 30 minutes Sunday only to watch the Redbirds pull away for a 82-73 win in the Black Coaches Association Classic at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
Full
Story
Penn State Nittany Lion basketball player Geary Claxton (West Haven, Conn.) was named the season’s first Big Ten Basketball Player of the Week for games played Nov. 8-14. Claxton earned the honor after a solid collegiate debut in Penn State’s season-opening game vs. Illinois State on Sunday.
Claxton led Penn State in scoring with 16 points, hitting five of nine field goals and six of eight free throws. The 6-5 wing from Connecticut was also second on the squad with nine rebounds.
Full
Story
Line of the night from Geary:
FG: 5-9 3PG: 0-0 FT: 6-8 Off Reb:7 Def Reb: 2 Tot Reb: 9 PF: 3 Pts: 16 A: 1 TO: 4 Blk: 0 Stl: 0 Min: 29
Full
Story
Lorenzo Gordon scored 26 points and Nedu Onyeuku 16 as the junior-college transfers led Illinois State to a stunning 82-73 upset win over Penn State last night in the Black Coaches Association Classic in Milwaukee.
It was only the Redbirds' fourth win in 22 tries against a Big Ten foe, with the last victory of 77-62 over Wisconsin in 1996.
Geary Claxton scored 16 points, and Marlon Smith and Travis Parker 14 each for Penn State in the season opener for both teams, which met for the first time.
The game was one of four in the first round of the Marquette-hosted tournament, which has eight teams playing three consecutive days.
Full
Story
For the first 32 minutes, the game was very seesaw in nature; it was as if no team wanted to take control.
Then Illinois State (1-0) decided to turn its game up a notch and took control of the game late with an 18-5 run that turned a two-point Penn State lead into a 74-63 margin in favor of the Redbirds. They never looked back, defeating Penn State 82-73 last night at the Black Coaches Association Classic in Milwaukee.
'They played with a lot more energy than we did [in the second half],' Penn State sophomore guard Marlon Smith said in an interview on the Penn State Radio Network.
Men's Basketball
'I think they kinda wanted it more because I think the first five minutes is very crucial and we didn't come out and play.'"
Full
Story
MILWAUKEE -- Penn State basketball coach Ed DeChellis certainly made the biggest understatement of the night Sunday at the Bradley Center during the Black Coaches Association Classic.
'Those two kids are really going to help them,' said DeChellis, referring to Illinois State junior college transfers Lorenzo Gordon and Nedu Onyeuku.
The ISU newcomers tore up Penn State's defense in the second half, combining for 30 of their team's 50 points, to lead the Redbirds to a season-opening 82-73 victory.
ISU rode a wave of scoring from Gordon, Onyeuku and Trey Guidry to defeat a team from the Big Ten Conference for only the fifth time in school history.
Full
Story
MILWAUKEE -- Lorenzo Gordon believes Illinois State basketball fans should expect a lot of points from him every game.
'All the time,' said the 6-foot-7 Gordon when asked how often he can score in flurries like he did Sunday night.
Gordon scored 14 straight points for ISU to begin the second half and help the Redbirds to an 82-73 opening-round victory over Penn State in the Black Coaches Association Classic at the Bradley Center.
'Our scouting report said they weren't really good on post defense,' said Gordon, who also handled six rebounds. 'I tried to expose that. Coach told me to keep battling and that's what I did.'
Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said Gordon did a great job of posting on the inside to get the ball.
'Obviously, we didn't do a very good job of guarding him,' added DeChellis. 'When we finally got him under control, they started taking us off the dribble. They drove the ball and kicked it and got what they wanted.
'We emphasised guarding the perimeter because they have three good players out there. They did a good job of getting the ball inside and taking it right at us to get the lead.'
Full
Story
Sunday, November 14, 2004
College basketball season seems to start earlier every year. For Penn State this year, it doesn't seem to. It does.
The Nittany Lions tip off at 6:30 p.m. today against Illinois State in the eight-team Black Coaches Association tournament at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. It is the earliest start in PSU history.
Should they beat the Redbirds, 10-19 and last place in the Missouri Valley Conference a year ago, the Nits probably will meet the host Marquette Golden Eagles in the second round tomorrow night. The final-round games are Tuesday.
That's three games in three nights, regardless of the results, for a team that finished last in the Big Ten (9-19, 3-13) for the third straight year in '03-04, with five new faces and two new starting forwards this season.
What is coach Ed DeChellis thinking? He's thinking as much PT as possible as quickly as possible.
'We wanted to do something where our young kids would have to play and we could get our young kids as much experience as we could,' he said.
Full
Story
Right now, you could split the Penn State men's basketball team into three categories -- known commodities, new faces that could soon be known commodities, and everyone else.
The Nittany Lions open their season against Illinois State in the Black Coaches Association Classic at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee with a number of unknowns, a prospect at once unnerving and encouraging for a team that has won 23 games in the past three seasons.
Full
Story
MILWAUKEE -- Gregg Alexander has been impressed with the play of Illinois State basketball teammates Greg Dilligard, Lorenzo Gordon, Ronnie Carlwell and Neil Plank.
'The improvement of our post players has been tremendous,' said Alexander, a senior tri-captain. 'We know we can throw the ball in there and they will snatch it up.
'They post hard and work to get the ball. That gives the guards confidence to throw the ball in the post. And they're good at making the pass out of the post. That gets us moving the ball and opens up our offense.'
Post play very well could be the deciding factor in today's 5:30 p.m. season opener for both ISU and Penn State in the Black Coaches Association Classic, hosted by Marquette, at the Bradley Center.
'They are kind of like us up front,' said Penn State coach Ed DeChellis, who begins his second season at the helm. 'We are both young with some question marks.'
Full
Story
Saturday, November 13, 2004
How bad were things last year for Ed DeChellis and the Penn State Nittany Lions? Very bad. The Nittany Lions finished the 2003-2004 campaign with a 9-19 record overall, 3-13 in the conference. Not all of this can be put at the feet of DeChellis because he was left a program in disarray by Jerry Dunn. DeChellis only has three players on this year's roster left over the Dunn era at Penn State, but he would give anything for another Crispin brother to miraculously appear in Happy Valley.
DeChellis will have to replace three starters from last year's team, including seven footer Jan Jagla, who left the Penn State to pursue a career in professional basketball in Germany. The key returnees for DeChellis are both of his starting guards and forward Aaron Johnson. The Nittany Lion attack will surround these three players, but especially guards Marlon Smith and Ben Luber.
Full
Story
Leadership, Chemistry
Go ahead, ask Ed DeChellis about his team captains for this season. You'll get a puzzle, not an answer.
"Whew," the Penn State basketball coach said. "I don't know."
Though DeChellis sounded uncertain, he also sounded unconcerned. Leaders? Sure, those will come, so long as the team environment promotes it. Last year, that didn't happen. But now, DeChellis, in his second year, believes the Lions have drastically improved their team chemistry.
"It is a completely different atmosphere than it was a year ago," DeChellis said. "The locker room is such a better place to be."
Full
Story
The person most likely to have the greatest impact on Penn State's fortunes this season:
Ed DeChellis admits, with a hint of resignation, that Penn State still isn't the team he'd like it to be. Better than last year?
Certainly. But it still carries a little too much of its traditional image as a Big Ten pushover.
That's why DeChellis's job is so important. Within the next two or three years -- through recruiting and gradual improvement -- he'd like to turn the Lions' into a more prominent basketball force. But it will take patience -- from players, from the administration, even from fans.
Full
Story
Ed DeChellis felt more like a caretaker than a coach during his first season at Penn State.
"Last year, we weren't really coaching," DeChellis said. "We were just managing what we had."
From former coach Jerry Dunn, who was dismissed after a seven-win season in 2002-03, DeChellis inherited a group of inexperienced players and a few malcontents.
There were only two scholarship guards, both true freshmen. The big man was a gangly German who preferred shooting clunkers from beyond the arc to mixing it up under the basket.
By the end of the season, a couple of unhappy veterans had departed, the big man was openly courting scouts from European leagues, and a walk-on with a surgically repaired eye was the team's most exciting player.
"In the long term, all that (turmoil) probably was a good thing," DeChellis said. "Because we found out who wants to be here."
Full
Story
If Marlon Smith and Ben Luber looked a little tired at the end of last year, if their jump shots didn't have quite the arc, or their drop-step wasn't quite as quick, they had a good excuse. Smith spent less than 80 seconds of each game on the bench last year; Luber, less than a minute.
A rash of midseason departures and a shortage of available bodies left Penn State unable to run the up-tempo offense favored by coach Ed DeChellis. But a deep recruiting class has gone a long way toward fixing that problem
"We're way more athletic than we've ever been before. I'm more athletic than I've ever been before," forward Aaron Johnson said. "We're way faster. We're way stronger. I just think it's going to be a different team you're looking at this year."
Full
Story
Ed DeChellis has been through it. Aaron Johnson is stuck in the middle of it. And both are guiding the Nittany Lions through this transition period, fazing out the Jerry Dunn persona and embarking on the DeChellis era.
Reform is nothing new to the second-year Penn State men's basketball coach. DeChellis landed his first head-coaching job at East Tennessee State University, where he was greeted with a 7-20 Buccaneer squad. Seven years and three conference divisional winners, a conference tournament champ, and an NCAA tournament team later, DeChellis' resume garnered considerable attention.
DeChellis was offered two or three positions before patience again paid off for the 1982 Penn State graduate. He held out just long enough for the Lions' head-coaching job to open up with the resignation of Jerry Dunn in March 2003. DeChellis was welcomed back to the Lions squad, this time as a head coach, after a previously successful 10-year stint as an assistant. DeChellis would be treated to a struggling 7-21 squad. But why start from scratch again?
"I think number one is it's my alma mater and I love Penn State, and I always felt like we should be as good as anybody else in the country in basketball," he said. "You want to coach at the highest level and challenge yourself."
Full
Story
Thursday, November 11, 2004
State College, Pa. - November 10, 2004 - The Penn State Nittany Lion basketball team will have the services of one of the top high school players in the state of Ohio as Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio) has signed a national letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic careers at Penn State next year.
Cornley, a native of Columbus, Ohio, has been a three-year player at powerful Brookhaven High School. At 6-6, 235 pounds, Cornley will bring a physical, muscular frame with him from the basketball-rich Columbus area. A superb talent, Cornley was one of three players tabbed by Associated Press as Co-Ohio High School Players of the Year last season.
"We're very excited to have a player of Jamelle's quality join the Penn State basketball family," Nittany Lion head coach Ed DeChellis said. "He is a warrior on the basketball floor, strong and energetic. Two of the aspects of Jamelle's game that are so intriguing are his power and enthusiasm. He comes from an outstanding high school program and I believe he is a perfect fit for our system. We're elated he will be a Nittany Lion next season."
Full
Story
DeChellis trying to rebuild by staying in state - November 11, 2004
STATE COLLEGE — Mike Walker seemed at ease while answering what seemed like an endless amount of questions during his first media day at Bryce Jordan Center.
He also seemed comfortable not being the center of attention — at least not for now.
Second-year head coach Ed DeChellis knew one of the keys to returning Penn State University men’s basketball to prominence was signing some of the Keystone State’s top talent.
And Walker fits the picture to a tee.
Full
Story
