Penn State Basketball Preview - Part I

by BSD on Oct 27, 2009 8:15 AM EDT in Penn State Basketball Comment 19 comments

Who knew they played college basketball in November? It's true. I looked it up.

You have to forgive me. I'm just not used to this whole "basketball success" thing. Normally we don't pick up the basketball team until after the bowl season. And usually by that time we're already out of contention for any kind of post season play, so who cares anyway? But this year is different. This year the team is coming off of a thrilling NIT championship. Season ticket sales are at an all time high. We're in uncharted waters here as a program. I don't want to completely ignore the basketball team until January like years past. So this week I'm going to try to roll out a few preview posts. Today we'll start with going over what we have to replace. Then we will go into what is returning. Then I'll try to do a lengthier post on the new faces on the team. Maybe if I get some time next week we'll go into the schedule and I'll make an attempt to make some kind of prediction. So with that...

What Penn State Has To Replace

Jamelle Cornley

No Penn State player played with more heart and guts over the past four years than Jamelle Cornley. Always fighting sore knees or separated shoulders, Cornley left it all out on the court and he was adored by his fans and teammates for it. The leadership will be difficult to replace. And then there is the production.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2008 - Jamelle Cornley	37	34.8	5.9	11.5	51.3	0.5	1.4	38.0	1.9	3.5	53.8	2.0	4.4	6.4	1.2	1.8	0.4	0.1	1.6	14.4

Cornley was the one player Penn State could count on when they needed a basket. When the momentum was getting away from them, and they needed somebody to stop the bleeding by pounding it in the paint and getting a hard earned bucket, Cornley was their man despite the fact he was only 6'5" tall. Replacing that big time inside presence will be the biggest challenge for Ed DeChellis.

Stanley Pringle

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2008 - Stanley Pringle	37	30.8	4.5	10.0	45.3	1.9	4.3	45.0	1.8	2.5	72.5	0.6	2.6	3.1	2.8	1.7	1.3	0.2	2.2	12.8

When paired with Talor Battle, Stanley Pringle was one half of the fastest backcourt in the Big Ten. He played good defense, pushed the fast breaks, and had a killer three point shot. But he had a tendency to disappear at times.

Danny Morrissey

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2008 - Danny Morrissey	36	20.3	1.7	4.6	37.6	1.3	3.6	35.7	0.6	0.9	68.8	0.3	1.4	1.7	1.5	0.9	0.4	0.1	1.5	5.3

I always had a special appreciation for Danny Morrissey. He played for some of the worst teams in Penn State history, but he was a starter on those teams. Then Battle and Pringle came along and Danny was asked to swallow his pride and take a seat on the bench. He attacked his new role like a loose ball going out of bounds. He gave it his all and never once complained. Give me a team of Danny Morrissey's any day. We may not be great, but we would win a few games, and I guarantee we would be fun to watch.

He wasn't the best defender in the world, but nobody could match Morrissey's toughness or hustle. A rebound here, a charge drawn there. Hitting a clutch three, or coming up with an improbable block against a guy six inches taller than him. He always had a knack for finding a way to contribute.

So if you're keeping score at home, that's two guards and a forward. It's 34.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 85 minutes per game. These three guys represented 47% of Penn State's scoring and 35% of their rebounds last year. Plus they all had years of experience. Replacing them will be no small task.

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Cornley

I’ll never forget when he dominated OMG BIG EAST STAR Luke Harangody in the NIT, playing basically with one arm. Just made him look soft.

And yes, I love the fact that when it comes to basketball, the Big East is no longer the Big Easy, and the SEC is far and away the worst major conference…

"We heard all that talk all week about the SEC and their speed, but we knew personally that they weren't nearly as tough as us."

-Tony Hunt

by Cpiritual27 on Oct 27, 2009 8:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I love the quote... But you should include the "I never really felt like they wanted to tackle me" part.

by psume06 on Oct 27, 2009 9:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

SEC Speed

Apparently doesn’t translate to the basketball court.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

by BSD on Oct 27, 2009 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just ask Florida

you’d figure Tebow would spread his Jesus-like blessings upon the entire athletic program at Florida.

by dawsonPSU10 on Oct 27, 2009 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Most of the "experts"

that I’ve read are predicting the Big Ten to be the best hoops conference in the country this year.

As good as I think we’ll be, we need to temper our expectations a bit, IMO. The league is loaded with returning and incoming talent and big time coaches…

by jtw126 on Oct 27, 2009 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What this guy said

In a down year for the Big Ten I think last years success would be repeatable, but it’s a tougher league this year and looking at the schedule Mike linked, I don’t see that happening. But if we do take a step back, it isn’t the end of the world. 2010-2011 looks to be the season with the best chance of building on our success. I’d be content if this years team goes above .500 and very happy with similar results to last year.

Also, can anyone explain this on that schedule?:

Tue., Mar. 2 at Michigan State TV East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Wed., Mar. 3 at Michigan State TV East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Thu., Mar. 4 at Michigan State TV East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sat., Mar. 6 vs. Purdue TV University Park, Pa. TBA
Sun., Mar. 7 vs. Purdue TV University Park, Pa. TBA

by PSUisMyHeart on Oct 27, 2009 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Those are flex games

CBS or ESPN can pick them up and they can be on any of those days.

NittanyWhiteOut.com. Arguably the second best Penn State blog I know of.

by PSUdevon on Oct 27, 2009 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

didn’t know they did that.

by PSUisMyHeart on Oct 27, 2009 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

lol, yeah, that woulda been one heckuva brutal stretch

by The JuggerNitt on Oct 27, 2009 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Flex games

Last year that flex game setup wasn’t very helpful to PSU last year. Although it was nice to be on ESPN for the Illinois game, that game was moved for TV to Thursday at 9PM and then they had to travel to Iowa for a game Saturday at 2PM…not the most favorable treatment I’ve ever seen. It sure didn’t help that the Iowa game went to two overtimes. This year’s end of season flex games Mich St and Purdue could be brutal.

by mundyscorner99 on Oct 27, 2009 8:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

LIES!

“Give me a team of Danny Morrissey’s any day. We may not be great, but we would win a few games, and I guarantee we would be fun to watch.”

You would not win a few games. You would lose every game by the approximate score of 142 to some much, much smaller multiple of 3.

Twitter: @scrappled

"When it’s third-and-10, you can take the milk drinkers and I’ll take the whiskey drinkers every time" - Max McGee

by Run Up The Score on Oct 27, 2009 9:14 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hey now

I said a few games. I think we could take St. Francis. Really, if I had a team full of Danny Morrissey’s I could do quite well in the Ivy League.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

by BSD on Oct 27, 2009 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No chance

NittanyWhiteOut.com. Arguably the second best Penn State blog I know of.

by PSUdevon on Oct 27, 2009 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Danny

I appreciate what he did for the program, and the element he brought to our team.

That said, to be better, we have to move beyond guys like him. We need guys who can fly…

God Created the World Out Of Nothing, Paterno Built A National Superpower On Cow Fields...

by fugimaster24 on Oct 27, 2009 9:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

fly . . .

or smash . . . Cornley SMASH!

by NittanySeaLion on Oct 27, 2009 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wouldn't be shocked with a little half-step backwards this year.

But they’ll be really fun to watch.

Twitter: @scrappled

"When it’s third-and-10, you can take the milk drinkers and I’ll take the whiskey drinkers every time" - Max McGee

by Run Up The Score on Oct 27, 2009 10:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Oh yeah

This team is interesting because it has a bunch of guys who’ve played a lot, but no seniors. It will be interesting to see how the leadership plays out. The youth, combined with a tougher schedule and tougher B10 should equal more average record. Still, Talor Battle does magical things, and I think Andrew Jones will really step up. Stranger things have happened.

"I'm colonel cool! And I'm the captain on this rocket to the stars!"

by psuphiman80 on Oct 27, 2009 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Danny was...Danny

He was clutch for us in many a game. He was not on the same level as what we have now or had last year but the fact is he played his role last year well and we will miss him. There were a few games we do not win last year if we don’t have DM. Stanley and Jamelle will both be missed. Stanley,s 3 and Jamelle’s enforcer attitude are going to be difficult to replace. I have some ideas on what we will be like next year. The Big Ten is going be tough this year but I think we have a bunch of the replacement players already on board. It is important to step it up. I will save my comments on that for tomorrows post.

Peter

by psuboy on Oct 27, 2009 1:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Morrissey

I’m not going to repeat a lot of the things that people have already said, but I was a huge Morrissey fan. He was never going to be the star but definitely made some clutch 3’s and made some big plays at times. I think he could have had more PT if he would have been a little better on defense, but he knew his role – to come in and spark the team with a 3 pointer or two.

by mundyscorner99 on Oct 27, 2009 8:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs