2010 Penn State Basketball Preview:

Talor Battle

What a difference a year makes for the Penn State Men’s Basketball Program.  Entering last season, the program was riding a wave of momentum surrounding its run to 2009 Post Season NIT Championship.  The run which resulted in over 30 busloads of students who traveled to Madison Square Garden for the title clinching victory seemed to awaken the Nittany Lions’ dormant fan base.  Unfortunately, this momentum was short lived as Lions were arguably one of the country’s biggest disappointments in 2009-10 with an 11-20 record which put them in last place in the Big Ten Conference. 

The main problems with last year’s roster resulted were a lack of leadership and a lack of a complementary option to help All-Big Ten Point Guard Talor Battle.  During Penn State’s magical 2008-2009 season, the Lions were led by Battle, gritty Power Forward Jamelle Cornley, and sharpshooters Danny Morrissey and Stanley Pringle.  Last year only Battle remained from that quartet and his teammates failed to step out and fill the void left by the three seniors.  Statistically Battle was spectacular, leading the squad in points (18.5), rebounds (5.3) and assists (4.2).  Many critics felt that Battle did not make much of an effort to get his teammates involved and often settled for contested three pointers, but who could blame him since he was given the freedom by Head Coach Ed DeChellis and due to a lack of support from his teammates.  The fact that a 5”11 Point Guard led the team in rebounds is a bigger indictment on the Lions frontline (namely Jeff Brooks and Andrew Jones).

Swingmen David Jackson and Chris Babb seemed to improve as the season went on but neither is considered to be capable to play “Robin” to Battle’s “Batman.  Jackson was often responsible for guarding the opposing team’s best player and had solid stats across the board.  Jackson would be perfect as a 5^th starter or a 6^th man on a NCAA Tournament caliber team (which the Lions are not).  Unfortunately for the Lions, Babb (who averaged 9.3 points per game and shot well from 3-point range) decided to transfer to Iowa State after the disastrous season.

For Penn State to sniff any post-season (NCAA, NIT or CBI) they will need their two front court enigmas (Brooks and Jones) to step up.  Many observers hoped Jones would build on his solid NIT Tournament run in which he outplayed ex-Notre Dame Star Luke Harangody in the semifinal win (Jones recorded 16 points and 15 rebounds).  Last season Jones often was in early foul trouble which led him to be sitting on the bench for long stretches of games.  Brooks is the ultimate “enigma” who is Penn State’s best athlete and was a four star recruit entering the program in 2007.  Brooks has failed to earn consistent playing time due to a low Basketball IQ even after having ample opportunities.  This season is the last chance for both Jones and Brooks to finally put everything together and give the team a formidable frontcourt presence.

The Lions will be have a couple of options to help Battle in the backcourt.  Tim Frazier is a fantastic athlete who is one of the quicker guards in the Big Ten.  Frazier’s quickness often led him to be out of control with the ball resulting into turnovers. He would also be much harder to defend if he develops a consistent jump shot.  Shooting Guard Taran Buie (Talor Battle’s brother) is arguably Penn State’s biggest recruit in years. He chose Penn State over Maryland, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech. 

The biggest question surrounding the program is the job security of DeChellis.  DeChellis signed a contract extension prior to last season after the stirring NIT run.  At the end of last season though, many fans wanted DeChellis out after the team massively flopped and the team was plagued by the same problems all year (stagnant offense, failure to protect the three point line).  DeChellis better right this sinking ship quick if he wants to avoid losing the fan base altogether.  The Athletic Department announced this fall that they are adding NCAA Ice Hockey in a brand new 85 million dollar on-campus arena.  This will certainly be a huge hit for students and local residents alike and could possibly make Men’s Basketball a distant second in terms of winter sports popularity.