FanPost

Dechellis quotes from Day 1

Ed was asked about the players he inherited when he was hired.

"We'll see over the next few weeks if everyone will be back," DeChellis said. "We want people that want to be at Penn State. These guys have to understand that we're raising the bar in everything we do here."

Is raising the bar 0 NCAA trips in 7 years?

How about 4 last place finishes in 7 years?

How about two wins in the Big Ten Tournament in 7 years? To Northwestern and the worse Indiana team ever.

How about embarrassing performances in preseason tournaments?

How about consistently putting together incredibly weak non conference schedules?

How about never selling out the BJC?

Ed, how exactly have you set the bar higher?

Your predecessor, who might have been the worse recruiter in league history went to two NCAA Tournaments, got to the Sweet 16, got to the weekend of the Big Ten Tournament twice, made it to the Final 4 of the NIT twice, beat Villanova and Temple, played Kentucky on the road and won, etc.

Despite having one of the best guards in the country leading your team and a front court with years of starting experience, your team in a critical year to show you can sustain success finished in last place in the Big Ten and had two losses against mid major doormats like Tulane and UNC Wilmington. This was such a weak year for college basketball, and despite what you did return, you still finished in last place. You couldn't even beat teams like Iowa or Indiana when you were desperate for a win.

It's too late for most of your players to transfer, but 2 of the 3 most promising young players on the team have transferred out.

I have as much faith in your teams holding onto a 6 point lead with a minute left as I do them coming back from a 6 point deficit with 1 minute left. Your teams are weak fundamentally and make everything look so much harder than it needs to be. Even the Virginia game that you won, despite having a 10 point lead w/ under 2 minutes left, Virginia still had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer.

Defensively your teams are terrible. Your zone defenses are a 3 point shooters wet dream. If a team isn't scoring against you, it's often because they aren't shooting it well. This is probably why your teams are always vulnerable to huge runs.

As a season ticket holder and long time follower of Villanova, your teams often play lazily and uninspired. Jay's teams aren't just about talent, they out work you. Your teams don't outwork other teams.


Have you raised the bar compared to Dunn's last 2 years? Yeah, but so what. Dunn's last 2 years were so bad, how could you not raise the bar? Dunn eventually fell victim to the fact that above all else, he couldn't recruit even a little bit.

I might be a stronger recruiter, but not good enough. You've neglected the front court for years and outside of the Battle brothers there's not much else to brag about. It's better than the end of the Dunn era, but it's still not good enough.

If you can't get to the NCAA Tournament with one of the best guards in the country and in the history of the program, it's never going to happen.

"When I got here," DeChellis said, "we weren't a program that believed we could win. We were floundering around. I think the expectations had kind of slipped. We accepted losing. And that had to change."

Apparently you and the program are still accepting losing because no coach in Penn State history has lost more and yet you're returning for an 8th season. Is it fair that your continued presence at the head of the program is forcing fans to accept losing?

"If everybody had stayed, and we didn't have anybody transfer," said Summers, who left for West Virginia, "we could have been a great team." Said DeChellis: "I Disagree. Those guys had false impressions of how good they really were. Sometimes you have to change the parts before you can truly change the attitudes."

Sometimes you have to change the coach before you can change the results. Sometimes it's not just the parts. I think you have a false impression that you can turn this program around. I was hoping you could, and wished you could because you are a Penn State guy, but you can't. It's not going to happen, not at this late stage in your tenure. You're not the fresh face from ETSU anymore, you're a veteran Big Ten coach with an awful overall record.

"I came here with a challenge," DeChellis said. "I knew what we had. I knew it was going to be hard. Yet I wake up every day eager to get here, eager to get started, and my goal is to hang banners in that arena out there. So we're going to do it. There's just that one magic question: When?"

Ed, the people that care have been waiting forever to see this program take advantage of its Big Ten affiliation. We've been waiting forever to see what the right coach can do with the Bryce Jordan Center. I think some of us are tired of former Penn State guys running this program. You and Jerry had your chance for 15 years. The results aren't pretty. The fans deserve the opportunity to see something different. You don't agree?

When Penn State can't win with a proven coach and recruiter from outside the Penn State family, maybe I'll concede that it's never going to happen at Penn State. Until that happens, myself along with others will continue to be frustrated with your presence.

You can't honestly believe you haven't been given a fair chance. At any other school in the country you'd have been let go by now. The longer you hang around, the more you'll be resented when you go. You've done some good things, don't let your hard work go to waste and force another huge rebuilding project a year or two down the road for another coach.

If you really care about the program and giving the fans something to be proud of, you'll resign.

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