Monday, July 17, 2006
Altoona Mirror - Making It Happen For You:
"Mirror: How would you characterize the overall health of the university?
"Spanier: Penn State is in exceptionally good health. Financial people would know this by hearing that we have had two upgrades in our bond grading during the time I’ve been president. Our enrollments are at record highs, our endowment is up, and our fundraising activities are going well. We’re the most popular university in the United States. We almost always get our first choice of faculty and staff members we’re hiring. We have tremendous alumni support — more alumni donors than any university in the country and the largest dues-paying alumni association. And this year, thank goodness, the Legislature gave us a pretty decent increase in our appropriation, which is going to allow us keep tuition down to a reasonable level. It will be the lowest tuition increase that we’ve had in a very long time at Penn State. ..."
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Sunday, July 16, 2006
Offers rolling in for Moon's Walsh - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
"Brian Walsh used an impressive performance at the Pittsburgh NextFactors camp to earn a coveted invitation to the Reebok ABCD camp July 4-9 in Teaneck, N.J.
"Walsh then shot for the moon the way he shoots for Moon.
"The 6-foot-4 shooting guard is hot property after making ABCD's underclassman all-star game and being ranked its No. 16 shooting guard by HoopScoop.
" 'I told him, if he did well, it would change his life,' Moon coach Jeff Ackermann said, 'and it did.'
"Walsh has since received scholarship offers from Akron, Duquesne, St. Joseph's and Memphis, where coach John Calipari, a Moon alum, recently saw Walsh while visiting his alma mater for a youth basketball camp.
" 'It definitely changed my life,' Walsh said. 'When I got back, I was getting blown up from all these coaches. It's crazy how one good camp can change your future.'
"Pitt, Clemson, Maryland, Ohio,
Penn State and Xavier also are showing strong interest in Walsh, who led three-time defending WPIAL Class AAA champion Moon in scoring (15 points) and rebounding (eight) last season. ..."
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Centre Daily Times | 07/16/2006 | Jones motivated to 'get things done' on hardwood:
"The first stage of rebuilding, which Penn State hopes it has already passed, is adding players.
"The second step? Adding players who complement the ones in place.
"Take the Penn State frontcourt. With athletic slasher Geary Claxton already on the wing, the Nittany Lions added muscle and attitude to the low block last season with Jamelle Cornley.
"The best complement to both players, both of whom go about 6-foot-5? Someone long, athletic, willing to do the dirty work in the paint but just as able to get out on the break. Someone about 6-9, 220 pounds. Someone willing to help improve a program where wins aren't guaranteed.
"Someone like Andrew Jones.
"Imperative in Penn State's ongoing rebuilding project is a certified big man, and Jones, one of two incoming Nittany Lion freshmen, is spending the summer working to fit that bill.
" 'I felt like Penn State has the potential to be one of the best basketball clubs in the Big Ten; we just gotta get more players,' Jones said. 'The only way you're gonna do that is if somebody takes the initiative to try to get things done.' ..."
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Saturday, July 15, 2006
Centre Daily Times | 07/15/2006 | Jackson blending with PSU:
"He let the flow of the game dictate the selection and frequency of his shots, playing as though he blended in among his teammates at Kennedy Catholic High School when, really, blending in was impossible.
"Then, about midway through last season, Kennedy's point guard blew out his knee, and coach Tim Loomis needed a little more from David Jackson.
"'He's a very unselfish player,' Loomis said. 'I had to tell him, 'David, get a little selfish now.''
"So Jackson, like always, did what his coach asked. The 6-foot-7 forward started taking over games, scoring from inside and outside, piling up more than 24 points per game down the stretch and almost singlehandedly leading his team to the Class A state final.
"Four months later, Jackson is in University Park, working out with his new Penn State teammates and trying to add some weight for this fall, when he'll learn where exactly he'll blend in with the Nittany Lions.
"No one expects Jackson to take over the floor against Big Ten opponents this season. But he is the type of player -- long, athletic and versatile -- who fits nicely into the 90-foot style Penn State coach Ed DeChellis won with at East Tennessee State and hopes to establish in University Park.
"'He's a young freshman,' said DeChellis, a reminder that Jackson won't turn 18 for another two months. "But he's very athletic, very skilled ... we think he has a great future.'"
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Friday, July 14, 2006
The Daily News, Jacksonville NC:
"It’s easy to see why New Hanover High School’s Ty Walker has the interest of so many college scouts out at the sixth annual East Coast Invitational Team Camp.
"Oh, it’s not his scoring, or his rebounding, or his defense, or his passing ability. It’s not even all about what he does out on the floor.
"Just look at the huddle before the Wildcats out of Wilmington played North Mecklenburg at Northside High School Thursday on the first day of the bonanza for bona fide basketball junkies that has brought 18 high school teams and more than 300 athletes and coaches to Jacksonville in the middle of the summer.
"You see it right away. The thin figure that stands a full head above everyone else. That’s what everybody sees first.
"“I can teach you how to dribble and how to play defense,” said one college scout, “but I can’t teach you how to be 7-foot tall. That’s God’s business. ...”
" ... “You are going to be a lot more eager to see a kid 7-foot tall than other players because they are so rare,” said Dan Earl, a former point guard at Penn State who joined the Nittany Lions’ staff this year as an assistant and recruiter. “Quite obviously they get a lot of attention because they can be a difference maker.
" “I mean, I played point guard for Penn State at 6-4. So you want to see a big kid, see how he moves, see how coordinated he is, see how he thinks. They are still so important and so rare. We are always looking for them.” "
This is just how Walker, who stands just a half-inch under 7-feet at 16 years of age, looks at it."
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Monday, July 10, 2006
Dick Vitale: Roundball Chatter"While experts talk about Ohio State and Wisconsin among the favorites in the Big Ten, a team that could make some noise is Penn State. Watch out as Ed DeChellis' squad could roar. Fans at the Bryce Jordan Center have a lot to be excited about with Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley back leading the way. Point guard Ben Luber, a three-year starter, provides stability as well. "
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