Dare To Care
DeChellis Out To Make Penn State Basketball Matter
By Evan Lapiska

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words Happy Valley? Is it basketball? Tell the truth: It may have been a number of things, but basketball it was not.

The men's basketball program at Penn State has had its fair share of ups and downs, but has struggled to find the consistency that defines legitimate top-notch teams. Their struggles, coupled with the success of other Nittany Lions' programs and the storied history of the football team, has always left them to play second fiddle or even worse. And that's before you even leave State College. In the big picture, Penn State basketball is not even a spec on the national radar. Even to basketball diehards, Penn State barely exists…but that all may be about to change.

Now in his fourth year as head coach, Ed DeChellis is at the helm of Penn State's latest rebuilding effort. As an assistant under Bruce Parkhill and Jerry Dunn, DeChellis knew what he was getting into when he took the job.

"I saw the difficulties," said DeChellis of raising the program's profile.

The team DeChellis inherited was in shambles. The team stumbled through two seven-win seasons prior to DeChellis taking over, recruiting was down, and what talented players were on the roster were leaving at an alarming rate.

"We weren't very healthy when I got here," acknowledged DeChellis. "But now we've turned it around to where we are healthy."

Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News thinks Penn State is finally starting to build something worthy of more attention.

"It's still incomplete, but they're making progress," said DeCourcy of the rebuilding, or, as some would put it, the building of the basketball program.

Penn State has long been pegged as a school where basketball could not and would not thrive for several reasons. Two big ones are the rural location and the line of thinking that no one cares about basketball at Penn State because it is a football school.

DeChellis is not having any of it.

"It doesn't matter what university you are at; it doesn't matter where you are," said DeChellis. "There is nothing more important than recruiting."

Without the urban environment to lure recruits, DeChellis instead sells the opportunity to build a program.

"Iowa is not an urban environment," said DeCourcy, who also does not buy the location excuse for Penn State's past struggles. DeCourcy thinks the root of the problem lies with the lack of local talent in Pennsylvania.

"The problem with Pennsylvania is the state hasn't been productive," said DeCourcy of past local recruiting classes. "If you're the state university of an unproductive state, you have to go elsewhere to get talent."

To combat the lack of local players, then-Pitt coach Ben Howland built a recruiting pipeline to New York City. Penn State, however, was unable to establish any similar recruiting connection.

John Giammarco of the Pittsburgh Basketball Club acknowledged the lack of big time talent in Pennsylvania's past.

"It's taken a long time for basketball to come back to Pennsylvania," said Giammarco. "There wasn't a reason for Penn State to look here. There was no Big Ten level talent."

Giammarco agrees with DeCourcy that a rising local talent level will play a big role in the success of basketball at Penn State, and feels the problem is being addressed through the types of events his organization is putting on.

"There will be a lot more focus on skill level and not so much 'showcase' events," said Giammarco. He added that the U.S. national team's struggles in the recent World Championships was a wake up call for basketball all across the country to stress fundamentals.

"Our guys are watching the 'And 1' mix-tapes, and (international players) are learning the crossover dribble and how to box out," said Giammarco.

DeCourcy and Giammarco also agree that Penn State can use Pitt as a model. During their resurgence, Pitt has become known not for bringing in McDonald's All-American players but rather players who fit their system of defense-first and ball-sharing on offense.

According to DeCourcy, the difference in recruiting at a school like Penn State and a national power like Syracuse or Connecticut is precision. Penn State is not at a point where they can afford to have many of their recruits "miss."

So far DeChellis has been successful. Last year Jamelle Cornley became Penn State's first Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and the Lions have had players on the All-Freshman Big Ten team the last few years.

Jerry Dunn, now an assistant at West Virginia, took the Nittany Lions' program to new heights, including arguably the biggest win in school history, a victory over North Carolina to advance to the Sweet 16. Dunn, however, could not sustain any level of success.

So how can DeChellis avoid the same freefall Dunn found his program in?

"You have to win, it's as simple as that," said DeCourcy. "Pitt was in the same situation…they changed it by winning."

"Winning breeds winning," said Giammarco, who feels it's not a question of "if" but "when" Penn State starts showing up on the radar of talented recruits. As for the notion that basketball cannot thrive due to the success of football, DeCourcy vehemently disagreed.

"Florida is a national champ, Texas is a national power, and Ohio State just signed the best recruiting class," said DeCourcy.

DeChellis says the next step is the NCAA Tournament, and the others do not think he is getting ahead of himself.

"Maybe a few months from now," said DeCourcy when asked how far away Penn State was from playing in the field of 65.

DeChellis proudly boasted that student season ticket requests are considerably higher than in recent years. Student fans at the Bryce Jordan Center have a student group called the "Nit Wits" and fan interest in general seems higher than in recent years. He agrees the key to continued success and growing support is simple.

"The bottom line is you have to win," said DeChellis.

Otherwise, and recent history has proven this to be true, fans simply don't care - at Penn State or anywhere.