Penn State University
By Chris Peak

Second-year head coach Ed DeChellis has no misconceptions about the state of Penn State basketball. 'Sometimes you have to take a step back to make things work.' Following two seven- win seasons under Jerry Dunn, it didn't seem that there was much room to move back. But DeChellis battled through his first season and finished 9-19 overall, 3-13 in the Big Ten. While those numbers don't seem striking, they are both improvements over the season before.

This season finds DeChellis in a slightly better position. Last year, freshmen guards Ben Luber and Marlon Smith had to average 38 minutes each because, well, there wasn't anyone else to play the backcourt. DeChellis' first recruiting class has added three guards to the roster, most notably freshman Geary Claxton, a player Athlon Sports calls 'the most athletic player in school history.' While DeChellis wouldn't dabble in hyperbole, he did agree that Claxton was 'athletic.' More significant to the team is depth, which extends beyond Claxton to newcomers Mike Walker and Danny Morrissey, each a high school standout. DeChellis says that both Walker and Morrissey could push for starting roles and, even if the newcomers function primarily off the bench, the coach feels that 'competition (for the starting jobs) is good.'

Another addition to this season's team that's not quite so new is senior guard/forward Jamaal Tate. Tate last played for the Lions during the 2002-03 season, appearing in five games before leaving the team. In 2001-02, his last full season, he averaged 6.5 points a game in 25.8 minutes.

From DeChellis' perspective, things look to be slightly on the bright side. He came to a program on a downhill slide and has begun rebuilding it. A coach can no doubt see room for improvement when, in his first season, six players accounted for 94% of game minutes. The new additions will add immediate depth. The Nittany Lions may only add one or two wins to last season's record, but the process is in place for the future.