SB Nation - Cammeron Woodyard

North Carolina Defeats Valiant Penn State, 80-69.

Run Up The Score — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:11:29 -0000

Oh, forget it. I don't even have the heart to write the fake "Tarheels Beat Nittany Lions" post. This game was a disaster, practically from the opening tip. UNC-Wilmington (1-2) -- a team that went 7-25 and had a RPI ranking of 273 one year ago -- never lost the lead after breaking a 7-7 tie early in the first half, although Penn State (2-1) whittled the deficit to two points with three minutes remaining. Chris Babb, Andrew Jones, and Tim Frazier combined to shoot 4-28 from the field. Babb was an unconscionably bad 2-10 on his three-point attempts. Despite those awful shooting performances, Cammeron Woodyard couldn't get more than four minutes of playing time -- two more than Andrew Ott received. Talor Battle scored 29 points, but was 8-23 from the field. However, he was uncharacteristically great from the foul line (11-12).

How bad was it? Penn State had nine steals and only five turnovers, and still lost by 11. It was obvious that Ed DeChellis was frantically searching for a winning combination, like an 80 year old man about to bet his Social Security check at the racetrack. Nothing worked. Perhaps Penn State was flat due to playing a game two nights ago and traveling to South Carolina. Maybe it was just one of those games where four guys were ice cold at the same time -- the only two players to hit more than half of their field goals were David Jackson (4-5) and Jeff Brooks (4-6). Except for the unusual amount of made free throws, Penn State looked like the DeChellis teams of 3-5 years ago. Next to no production from the post players, awful perimeter defense, and lots of bricks on the offensive end.

It'll be filed under the "Bad Loss" category come March, if this team turns out to be bubble-worthy again. The Charleston Classic, just like the other in-season tournaments Penn State has particpated in recently, is already an epic failure. This was Penn State's chance to add some quality wins (or hell, some quality competition) to its resume, against teams like Miami, Davidson, or South Carolina. Instead, it's Tulane tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 p.m. No rest for the frigid.

Penn State Basketball Preview - Part II

BSD — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:56:42 -0000

Earlier this week we talked about what Penn State has to replace this year. We'll get into the new faces Ed DeChellis will ask to fill those minutes. But first, let's talk about what Penn State has coming back this year.

22 - Andrew Jones III (6-10, 245)

			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 - Andrew Jones III	38	25.8	2.3	4.0	57.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.6	2.2	69.4	2.2	3.6	5.8	0.4	1.1	0.5	0.3	2.4	6.2

The evolution of Andrew Jones was a fun thing to watch last year. He started out with a rather insignificant stat line for a starter only managing five or six points and three or four rebounds per game. But by the time the NIT came around he was a dominating force on the hardwood. During the tournament he averaged 10 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Here is what I had to say after the Indiana game.

Andrew Jones has become a really solid player. He had a couple of boneheaded turnovers, but for the most part when he gets the ball in the low post good things happen. He finished the night 4-for-4 from the field, and get this: over his last eight games Jones has shot 21-of-27 (77%) from the field. He has shown a nice mid-range jumper to go along with the baby hook he's developing. And when an outside shooter pops open he's good at getting them the ball. I'm starting to think he may turn into a significant scoring threat next season when he gets some of Cornley's touches.

Penn State will look to Jones and his 6'10" 245 lb frame to provide a big presence in the paint this year.

15 - David "D.J." Jackson (6-7, 210)

			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 - David Jackson	38	20.8	1.5	3.5	42.9	0.2	1.0	20.5	1.3	1.6	79.0	1.3	1.8	3.1	0.6	1.1	0.5	0.2	1.9	4.5

He was expected to be a major contributor last season, but David Jackson suffered through one of the most horrendous sophomore slumps this blogger has ever seen. Here is just one example of a review of one of his performances.

I hate to keep harping on the kid, but David Jackson is a complete liability. He only saw six minutes of play last night to close out the first half. He was completely ineffective against covering his man through the screen and Michigan State went on a 15-2 run during that stretch to close out the half. He had one scoring chance where he was standing all alone under the basket, and he traveled. Like I said, I really hate to talk down on college kids, but he shouldn't see the floor until garbage time for the rest of the season. And he better hit the gym and training table hard this summer. He looks scrawny against his competition and needs to put on 25 or 30 pounds.

That was after the Michigan game. I'm usually not one to rag on kids like that, but there was no other way to describe Jackson's performance. Every time he got the ball it ended in disaster. Passes were going right through his hands. He would get the ball all alone under the basket and travel. He looked completely lost on defense. He was nothing short of a liability to the team, and Ed eventually had no choice but to remove him from the starting lineup.

But, this story has a happy ending. Something clicked and Jackson managed to score in double figures in four of his last seven games of the season. I'm hoping he put on a few pounds in the weight room this summer and he can ride that momentum from the end of the season into this fall.

25 - Jeff Brooks (6-8, 200)

			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 - Jeff Brooks	37	16.2	1.3	3.6	36.6	0.3	1.1	25.6	0.4	0.8	50.0	1.1	2.0	3.1	0.8	0.8	0.3	0.3	1.6	3.3

Jeff Brooks has been an enigma his first two years at Penn State. He came from Kentucky full of athleticism and promise, but he has yet to live up to the hype. As a freshman he looked completely lost on the floor. As a sophomore, he didn't look lost, but he didn't play with confidence or control. He would often pull down an impressive rebound on the defensive end only to dribble down the court and bounce it off his foot out of bounds. If he can put it all together and average seven or eight points and six or seven rebounds it will be a tremendous improvement.

10 - Chris Babb (6-5, 215)

			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 - Chris Babb	32	10.1	0.9	2.6	33.7	0.7	2.0	34.9	0.4	0.7	61.9	0.4	0.7	1.1	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.1	0.3	2.8

Babb was one of two true freshmen to see the court in 2008-2009. He's a tenacious defender with a pretty jump shot. Ed played him sparingly in the early part of the season and it was readily apparent he was only a freshman. His minutes diminished significantly during the thick of the Big Ten season, but toward the end an ankle injury to Stanley Pringle and the fatigue of the Big Ten season wearing on Talor Battle forced Ed to put him on the court. By the end of the year he was providing solid minutes and scored double digits against George Mason and Rhode Island in the NIT. This year Babb will most likely be starting in the backcourt along with Talor Battle.

24 - Cammeron Woodyard (6-5, 210)

			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 - Cammeron Woodyard	24	6.7	0.8	1.7	43.9	0.5	1.1	44.4	0.2	0.3	66.7	0.2	0.7	0.9	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.3	2.2

One thing Cammeron Woodyard did not lack when he stepped foot on the floor as a true freshman was confidence. He proved early on he was not timid about putting up a shot from anywhere on the court. Unfortunately, this can often come across as being a player who "doesn't play in the system". As the season wore on, Woodyard's minutes dwindled and dwindled to the point he didn't even see the court during the NIT.

This year I think Ed will experiment with Woodyard by plugging his big body in the two, three, and maybe even the four position. The hope will be to create a mismatch somewhere with his size against smaller guards and swingmen. The hope will be for him to be a solid player off the bench averaging maybe eight minutes, four points, and two or three rebounds per game.

54 - Andrew Ott (6-10, 240)

			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 - Andrew Ott	25	7.0	0.5	1.0	48.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.4	0.9	50.0	0.6	1.0	1.6	0.1	0.4	0.2	0.4	1.0	1.4

When Ott joined the floor after sitting out the first month of the season due to transfer rules, the hope was that he could just provide five or ten solid minutes per night to give Andrew Jones a break in the middle. I don't think Ed really expected him to do a lot of scoring. If he could just play good defense and pull down some rebounds everyone would have been thrilled with that.

But Ott was somewhat of a disappointment. As expected, he wasn't really a scoring threat. But his defense wasn't much to speak of either. He was a big man who didn't pull down rebounds, and wasn't blocking many shots. And so his minutes dwindled as the season progressed.

This year Penn State will hope he has improved over the summer. Ott will be counted on to provide a solid five or ten minutes per game to give Andrew Jones and occasional rest.

#12 - Talor Battle (6-0, 170)

			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 - Talor Battle	38	37.4	5.2	13.0	40.2	2.4	7.1	33.9	3.9	5.5	70.0	0.9	4.4	5.3	5.0	2.4	1.2	0.1	2.1	16.7

You may remember Talor Battle from such movies as...

Talor Battle Scores the Game Winning Basket PSU Bests Illinois (via pickletoon)

I don't have to tell you how good Talor Battle is. You already know that. And you probably already know that he is the unquestioned leader of this team. He will be asked to mentor the younger players while running the offense to get the ball in the hands of guys that can score.

The question for Talor Battle will be how well he can hold up. Last year he started off on a tear and he peaked during the amazing upset of Michigan State in East Lansing when he scored 29 points. After that it was obvious the wear and tear of playing 40 minutes per game through the tough Big Ten schedule was starting to get to him. He lost some of his zip. The jump shots stopped falling, and he struggled to score. This year, Penn State will need some of the new faces to reduce his minutes. If Ed doesn't feel comfortable in any of his freshman guards by the time conference play starts, it's going to be a long season for Talor Battle.

Nitt Picks Vaguely Remembers Some Other Sport They Play On Campus In The Winter

BSD — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:18:13 -0000

More photos » by Ralph Wilson - AP

about 1 month ago: Tim Frazier looks to pass during practice at the Penn State preseason men's NCAA college basketball media day in State College, Pa. on Monday Oct. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Ralph Wilson)

Browse more photos »

Though we're in the thick of football season with big games against Michigan and Ohio State coming up, let's not forget about the other team that won our hearts last spring with an improbable run through the NIT tournament, the Nittany Lion men's basketball team. Yesterday was media day at the Bryce Jordan Center, so there is a lot to talk about the team today. Next week I plan on rolling out some preview posts of the team. It seems like a good time to do it since we're playing justNorthwestern. But for today here is a little basketball flavored Nitt Picks to get your mind thinking ahead.

The first thing you need to know is that thanks to the NIT run last spring, Ed DeChellis is rocking a three-year contract extension this fall. Cue the generic quote of endorsement from Athletic Department official.

"We are very excited about the significant progress our men's basketball program has made under Coach DeChellis and are thrilled that he will continue to lead the program into the future," athletic director Tim Curley said in a press release. "Ed and his staff have brought tremendous work ethic, passion and energy to the program and the Penn State basketball community."

There is no doubt that the excitement level for this team is higher than I have ever seen it in the preseason. Ticket sales are at an all-time high. But some people debate whether Ed earned this extension. Afterall, in six years he has yet to take a Penn State team to the NCAA tournament. On the other hand, anyone can see that progress has been made and winning the NIT is more than anyone could have dreamed just three or four years ago. But this much is known: In order for Ed to get another extension in 2012, he will have to take this team to the next level. Now that he won the NIT, just going to the NIT isn't going to cut it anymore.

But enough about nasty details of money and contracts. Let's talk about the team. Talor Battle will be the unquestioned leader of the team, and it's a role he is embracing.

Battle said being the leader is still a work in progress, and every day things get better for him as he adjusts. Aside from being a good communicator, the junior said keeping the energy high is something else he wants to do.

"All of the guys are looking up to me," Battle said. "So it's my job to try stay positive as much as I can even if my shot's not falling. That's been the toughest adjustment."

Battle played a lot of minutes last year, and now with Stanley Pringle gone one would think those minutes may go up. Which is why it's important true freshman Tim Frazier is (cue cheesy pun) ready for battle.

"Tim (Frazier) is exciting," Battle said Monday at the team’s media day. "Super-athletic and really quick. In some ways it’ll be similar to playing with Stan. He doesn’t shoot as well as Stanley right now but as far as getting out in transition and baskets and someone running with me, he’ll be right there."

The other big loss is Jamelle Cornley who served as the heart and soul of the team the past two years. Billy Oliver will hope to take over a lot of Mel's vacated minutes. Though he can't repace Cornley's heart, he might be able to replace some of his production.

The forgotten man in the Penn State lineup, redshirt freshman Billy Oliver, reported to the season's first practice Friday and showed coaches and teammates signs of the player he could be when healthy.

"He was tremendous," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "He was very, very good."

Finally, last Saturday the team put on a fun exhibition that featured a three-point shooting and dunk contest.

Cammeron Woodyard defeated Edwards in the final round to win the 3-point shooting contest and Frazier narrowly edged Jones in the dunk contest. The 6-foot-1 freshman, who threw down a two-handed jam on a breakaway in the scrimmage, windmilled home a ball that he caught off the bounce to earn a score of 36 from the judges. The 6-foot-10 Jones drew points for dressing up as football coach Joe Paterno but his bland final-round dunk couldn’t score enough points to pass Frazier.

We'll leave it at that for now. Like I said, I plan to do a few more in depth posts next week so I'll save some for that. For now just click on the media day link in the opening paragraph. There's lots of good reading there.

BtB 2009-10 Big Ten Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:44:34 -0000

For all of the beating that the Big Ten took during a particularly rough and tumble regular season, the conference really validated itself in the postseason. Those March and April performances bode well for this season, especially considering that the Big Ten's main contenders didn't lose as much as the contenders in other conferences. For example, all five players on the coaches' All-Big Ten team from last season are back.

The two teams who progressed furthest in the NCAAs, national runner-up Michigan State and regional semifinalist Purdue are the clear favorites in the league, and both teams could make a serious run at a MIdwestern Final Four. Penn State, the NIT champions, will look to improve their standing enough to get into the Big Dance this time around. And of course, Northwestern will look to really shake things up in the league and make it to the NCAAs for the first time. In between, the Big Ten's other five NCAA entrants will attempt to stay in the field. The biggest thing for the conference this year is separating itself from the other BCS leagues, especially in non-conference play. With the Big Ten being hyper-competitive this year, its members really need to distinguish themselves during the early part of the season. Otherwise, teams will be clumped together on lines 8 through 12 of the bracket like last year, which doesn't bode well for sustained tourney runs. More on all 11 teams after the jump.

To refresh your memory, let's take a look at how the Big Ten standings looked at the end of the 2008-09 regular season.

Big Ten Conference Standings

(updated 4.7.2009 at 12:23 AM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Michigan St. Spartans	15	3	31	7
Purdue Boilermakers	11	7	27	10
Illinois Fighting Illini	11	7	24	10
Penn St. Nittany Lions	10	8	27	11
Ohio St. Buckeyes	10	8	22	11
Wisconsin Badgers	10	8	20	13
Minnesota Golden Gophers	9	9	22	11
Michigan Wolverines	9	9	21	14
Northwestern Wildcats	8	10	17	14
Iowa Hawkeyes	5	13	15	17
Indiana Hoosiers	1	17	6	25

Now, here are my picks for 2009-10, presented in reverse order. If a school's name appears in red, that's a link to its SBNation site. You can go there for more detailed analysis throughout the season.

Iowa (last NCAA: 2006) The long rebuilding process continues for Todd Lickliter. It looks to be another long year in Iowa City, especially since the Hawkeyes have real point guard issues after Jake Kelly (transfer to Indiana State for family reasons) and Jeff Peterson (transfer to Arkansas) left the program. 6-1 frosh Cully Payne will have to adjust to the Big Ten game fast, as he will have to be the main option. If he doesn't, expect sophomore Anthony Tucker (10.4 ppg, 0.6 apg) to move over from shooting guard. The team's only other returning double-digit scorer, Matt Gatens (10.8 ppg), will be a force as he can really shoot the ball (40.3 % from the perimeter and 90.4 % from the free throw line). The Hawkeyes really need more contributions inside, where Jarryd Cole has battled injuries and struggled offensively, which has also been a problem for the rest of Iowa's frontline players.

Indiana (last NCAA: 2008) Tom Crean is also in a rebuilding situation, but he loaded up on recruits this offseason, something Lickliter couldn't quite do. Jeremiah Rivers, son of Boston Celtics coach Doc and a Georgetown transfer, is now eligible and will run the offense. Rivers' steady hand should improve a team that rated near the bottom of Division I in assist/turnover ratio. Meanwhile, the incoming freshmen are so highly regarded that last year's leaders may see reduced playing time. Rivers' arrival, and that of freshman Jordan Hulls, will eat into Verdell Jones' playing time (11 ppg, 3,6 apg). 6-5 Maurice Creek will take time away from Devan Dumes (12.7 ppg). In the frontcourt, Tom Pritchard (9.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg) will still see significant time, and he'll be joined by freshmen Bobby Capobianco, Derek Elston, Bawa Muniru, and Christian Watford. Considering that Crean's returning frontcourt players not named Tom Pritchard only average 0.8 ppg, they should see plenty of action. If they adjust to the Big Ten quickly, the Hoosiers may win some of those close games they tended to lose in 2008-09.

Penn State (last NCAA: 2001) You rarely see teams as happy about winning the NIT than the Nittany Lions last year. PSU had a real case for an NCAA bid, thanks to 10 league wins, but a non-conference schedule full of cupcakes cost them. On that front, the Lions hope they can get some big wins in the Charleston Classic to help their case this time around. In terms of personnel, the good news is that all-Big Ten first teamer Talor Battle (16.7 ppg, 5 apg) is back. The bad news is that his backcourt mates, Stanley Pringle (12.8 ppg) and Danny Morrissey (5.3 ppg) are gone and so is star forward Jamelle Cornley (14.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg). The effectiveness of their replacements will dictate the Nittany Lions' chances of moving up. Sophomores Chris Babb (2.8 ppg) and Cammeron Woodyard (2.2 ppg) will have to step it up to replace Pringle, but incoming freshman Tim Frazier will also play a big role in the backcourt. In the frontcourt, 6-9 Andrew Jones (6.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg) is expected to increase his production to make up for Cornley's graduation, so will David Jackson. Both Jones and Jackson played key roles in PSU's NIT run. Serbian freshman Sasa Borovnjak and redshirt frosh Billy Oliver will also see lots of time inside.

Wisconsin (last NCAA: 2009) The Badgers struggled on offense and defense last year. However, Bo Ryan's team was able to right the ship after dropping six in a row in January to sneak into the tournament and grab a first round win over Florida State. However, Ryan lost two key performers off that team, swingman Joe Krabbenhoft and F Marcus Landry. Jason Bohannon (10.3 ppg, 1.7 apg) and Trevon Hughes (12.1 ppg, 2.8 apg) are back, however, so the backcourt remains in good shape, typical of a Ryan-coached team. The returning frontcourt players, led by 6-10 F Jon Leuer (8.8 ppg, 3.8 ppg) and 6-8 Keaton Nankivil (4.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg) will have to be tougher to adequately replace Landry and Krabbenhoft. Look out for the Badgers' two redshirt freshmen, Jared Berggren and Ryan Evans, as they should see significant frontcourt time as well. If the frontline improves significantly, the Badgers could go dancing for the 12th straight year.

Northwestern (last NCAA: None) While Wisconsin (and the rest of the league) has become a consistent NCAA performer, the Wildcats are the complete opposite. Once again, NU is the only team in a BCS conference to fail to qualify for a single NCAA tournament. On March 4, the men from Evanston stood at 17-11, after winning at Indiana, against Iowa at home, and at Purdue. They then managed to lose at Ohio State by 5 to finish 8-10 in the conference. If that wasn't bad enough, they then fell to Minnesota by 13 in the opening round of the conference tournament. The Wildcats cannot let something similar happen this season. Personnel-wise, the Wildcats bring back nearly everyone from last year, most importantly all-Big Ten second teamer Kevin Coble (15.5 ppg, 4.8 apg) and point guard Michael Thompson (9.9 ppg, 3.7 apg), a deadly three-point shooter (41.7%). The major loss is guard Craig Moore (14.3 ppg, 2.7 apg) who graduated. Incoming frosh Drew Crawford could slide into Moore's slot on the roster. He's the son of NBA referee Danny Crawford. If coach Bill Carmody can squeeze a little more from his returnees, who provided solid, if unspectacular and inconsistent performances throughout last season, the Wildcats will finally make the field of 65.

Minnesota (last NCAA: 2009) Expectations are high for Tubby Smith's third season in the Twin Cities. The Gophers will have to find a way to play Michigan State and Michigan better, as they didn't manage to win a single game against those two teams (0-5). The Gophers return all of their key performers from last season, including leading scorer Lawrence Westbrook (12.6 ppg), second leading scorer Damian Johnson (9.8 ppg), point guard Al Nolen (6.5 ppg, 4.3 apg), and big men Ralph Sampson III (6.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Colton Iverson (5.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg). Sampson and Iverson should see more time at center thanks to the arrival of 6-7 freshman Royce White and JC transfer Trevor Mbakwe, if he's ever cleared to play. Mbakwe is due to go on trial for assault in South Florida in December. Nolen could also see the bench if he's as inconsistent as he was during Big Ten play, thanks to the arrival of freshman PG Justin Cobbs. The Gophers are drawn against Butler in the 76 Classic in Anaheim, which should be a good indicator of how well this team will perform in 2009-10.

Michigan (last NCAA: 2009) Much like with Tubby Smith's Minnesota team. great things are expected in Ann Arbor during John Beilein's third season. Beilein's offensive and defensive philosophies usually take consistent hold in that third season, and the team's performance improves as a result. One of the Wolverines' biggest needs is in the frontcourt, where DeShawn Sims (15.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg) was often left on an island last season. Seven-foot, redshirt freshman Ben Cronin should provide some help, as should 6-8 frosh Jordan Morgan, if he plays. Beilein may redshirt him depending on how well he's recovered from offseason knee surgery. 6-10 frosh Blake McLimans and 6-6 junior Anthony Wright may be called into duty frequently. The backcourt is the strength of this UM squad, led by all-Big Ten performer Manny Harris (16.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 4.4 apg). Harris should get more time to drive to the hoop (and get to the foul line), thanks to the arrival of freshman Darius Morris, who is expected to take over at the point. The reserve backcourt players need to show more consistency, as none averaged more than 6.7 ppg, despite some impressive shooting nights.

Illinois (last NCAA: 2009) While the Illini lost guards Chester Frazier and Trent Meacham, the returnees and Bruce Weber's best ever recruiting class should keep the squad near the top of the Big Ten. Demetri McCarney (11.5 ppg, 4.6 apg) already has plenty of experience at the point to replace Frazier. Incoming freshman D.J. Richardson will be called on to replace Meacham, especially from the defensive perspective. Brandon Paul, another heralded recruit, will be an inside-outside threat. In the frontcourt, Mike Davis very nearly averaged a double-double last season (11.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg), so he'll continue to be a force. Mike Tisdale could be a star if he's more aggressive. He has plenty of room to improve on the 10 points and 4 boards he averaged last season.

Ohio State (last NCAA: 2009) The Buckeyes did pretty well last season, winning 22 games and making the Big Ten title game despite losing G/F David Lighty in the seventh game of the year. With Lighty back and all-Big Ten selection/jack-of-all-trades Evan Turner still around, the Buckeyes should be even better this time around. Joining Turner as offensive forces are guards William Buford and Jon Diebler who both averaged a little more than 11 points a game. While Thad Matta has a lot of guys who can shoot, he doesn't have a true point guard. Not that this issue really stopped the Buckeyes last year. Jeremie Simmons (6.8 ppg, 2.5 apg) and P.J. Hill (3.2 ppg, 1.9 apg) saw some time at the point after Anthony Crater's departure for South Florida, with Hill making more of an impact. If the two have issues, Turner, who averaged 4 assists per game last year, could spend some time running the offense. Turner will also see time in the frontcourt, where Lighty will serve as OSU's power forward (9.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg). 6-8 junior Dallas Lauderdale and 7-foot UAB transfer Zisis Sarikopoulos will occupy the post. OSU will be tested early, thanks to a matchup with defending National Champion North Carolina at the Coaches vs. Cancer event in New York, followed by a game with either California or Syracuse.

Purdue (last NCAA: 2009) The Boilermakers bring back nearly everyone from last season's team, which fell to UConn in the West regional semifinals. Thanks to the graduation of Nemanja Calasan, Matt Painter has only two returning post players. However, they're two good ones. Robbie Hummel (12.5 ppg, 7 rpg) should be fully recovered from a stress fracture in his back that cost him five games last season. Meanwhile, 6-10 junior JaJuan Johnson (13.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg) is one of the most electrifying players in the country. They'll be backed up by a crop of freshmen, led by 6-10 Croatian C Sandi Marcius. Purdue's backcourt remains intact. Chris Kramer will provide the defense, E'Twaun Moore the scoring--and some assists (13.8 ppg, 3.0 apg), while Lewis Jackson (5.9 ppg, 3.3 apg) will run the show. The Boilermakers' commitment to defense, led by Kramer, Johnson, and Jackson, is a major reason why they will seriously threaten to make the short trip to Indy this season. If they avoid the health issues of last season, they should get a seed that will help their path.

Michigan State (last NCAA: 2009) While the Boilermakers will attempt to do what the Spartans did last year, make a short trip in state to play in the season's final weekend, don't discount MSU, a team that has plenty of history of its own in Indianapolis. Tom Izzo has a team that may be able repeat Sparty's 2000 triumph. Kalin Lucas, the Big Ten Player of the Year is back at the point. Raymar Morgan is back in the frontcourt. But the biggest questions are how well the Spartan frontcourt plays without Goran Suton and who replaces Travis Walton's defensive prowess in the backcourt. Junior Tom Herzog and incoming freshmen Derrick Nix and Garrick Sherman will be given every chance to fill Suton's shoes. Meanwhile, Lucas will have to play more of a defensive role this season than in the past, to make up for Walton's absence. While Lucas is the unquestioned star of the team, he'll need lots of support from players like guards Chris Allen (8.4 ppg) and Durrell Summers (8.6 ppg), and F Delvon Roe (5.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg) to make a second straight Final Four run.

So, the Spartans will hold the Big Ten's auto bid in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9. Check in then to see what other teams from the conference I've penciled in at the start of the season. To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-Big Ten team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-Big Ten Team

Player of the Year: Evan Turner, 6-7 G/F, Jr. (Ohio State)

Remainder of the Team
Talor Battle, 5-11 G, Jr. (Penn State)
Manny Harris, 6-5 G, Jr. (Michigan)
JaJuan Johnson, 6-10 F, Jr. (Purdue)
Kalin Lucas, 6-0 G, Jr. (Michigan State)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the Big Ten this season?

Illinois

72 votes

Indiana

4 votes

Iowa

5 votes

Michigan

12 votes

Michigan State

106 votes

Minnesota

9 votes

Northwestern

5 votes

Ohio State

14 votes

Penn State

20 votes

Purdue

49 votes

Wisconsin

4 votes

300 votes | Poll has closed

Looking Ahead To 2009-2010

BSD — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:00:15 -0000

More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

Penn State will need Jeff Brooks to step up if they hope to continue their success. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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It was mid-February when Penn State had dropped their third straight game with a 47-61 defeat against Purdue. Talor Battle was held scoreless for the third time in his career. Jamelle Cornley had 16 points, but nobody else stepped up. Through much of the season Penn State was depending on Stanley Pringle, Talor Battle, and Jamelle Cornley to do the bulk of the scoring. If one or two of those three guys failed to score in double digits, it pretty much meant Penn State lost. Even during the thrill of the hunt for the NCAA tournament, I couldn't help thinking next year would be a major drop off when Cornley and Pringle are gone. But as the season wore on, some of the role players began to come around. Late season injuries to Battle and Cornley forced many role players to step up their games, and by the time the NIT came to an end, Andrew Jones, David Jackson, Jeff Brooks, and Chris Babb were playing their best basketball of the season, giving us hope that maybe next year won't be so bad after all. Let's look at each member of the team returning next year. We'll discuss what they need to focus on during the summer and take an overall look at what the team will look like.

Talor Battle

The 2009-2010 Nittany Lions will undoubtedly be Talor Battle's team. Without the emotional Jamelle Cornley, the team will take their cues from the fiesty point guard.

It's hard to think of any way Battle could improve his game, but he's certainly not perfect. He was called on to share the load of carrying the team with Pringle and Cornley, but next year he's going to put even more weight on his shoulders. By the midway point in the season, he was visibly gassed and his scoring average dropped considerably. His jump shot also suffered as his legs went soft.

Summer Homework: Battle has to improve his strength and conditioning to better endure the rigors of the Big Ten season. He also needs to work on perfecting his jump shot and foul shooting.

David Jackson

After playing well in the first few games, Jackson went into a major sophomore slump. It got so bad that disaster struck nearly every time he touched the ball. He had simple passes go through his hands out of bounds. Or he would get the ball all alone under the basket and travel. At one point he scored only five points over a ten-game stretch, and against Ohio State he only logged three insignificant minutes of play. It was obvious he confidence was in complete shambles.

But once the Big Ten tournament started, Jackson became a new player. Showing improved confidence and aggressiveness, Jackson scored in double digits four times in seven games and became a lot more aggressive in his rebounding.

Summer Homework: Hit the gym and eat a lot of cheeseburgers. Jackson routinely gives up 30-40 lbs to the guys he's battling inside.

Jeff Brooks

There probably isn't a player on the team as physically gifted as Jeff Brooks, but in two seasons he hasn't been able to put it all together. He shows flashes here and there, but so far he hasn't been able to put two consistent games together back-to-back. At times, he has looked downright horrible in turning the ball over and playing out of control.

Most disheartening with Jeff is his obvious lack of confidence. He beats himself up after every little mistake. At one point in the season the camera zoomed in on his face as he was about to attempt a foul shot. He had a look on his face like a gambler who had lost everything he owned and was betting his last chip on one last desperation spin at the roulette wheel. He knew he was going to miss it, and he did.

Brooks scored his first double digit game against George Mason with 13 points in 29 minutes. After hitting a few shots you could tell his confidence was sky high and his play reflected it. Penn State will need him to be a factor next year.

Summer Homework: Work on the ball handling and cut down on the turnovers. And, I dunno, see a psychologist?

Andrew Jones III

No player showed more improvement this season than Andrew Jones. Something happened midway through the year where his confidence went up and he became a lot more aggressive. At the same time he began playing with control allowing him to stay on the court instead of sitting on the bench in foul trouble. By the time the NIT came around Jones was playing his best basketball of the season. In seven games he scored in double digits four times and registered two double-doubles.

Jones has shown to be deadly with his mid range jumper, and he has developed a nice baby hook shot from the low post. If he can develop a little drop step move or a turnaround fade away shot with his back to the basket...lookout.

Summer Homework: Keep hitting the gym and putting on the muscle. Try to develop a second post up move to compliment the baby hook. Also work on his defense, playing under control to avoid silly fouls and work on becoming a shot blocker.

Chris Babb

Babb played well for a kid in his true freshman year. He was obviously lost early in the year and didn't know what he was supposed to be doing on offense. But even then I could tell he was a good defender. He often got out of position as he adjusted to the speed of the game, but when he was asked to guard someone one-on-one, I liked his footwork and hands.

As the season wore on his play and numbers improved. He scored 11 points against George Mason and 13 points against Rhode Island in the NIT. With Stanley Pringle leaving, Babb will competing to be the guy starting with Battle in the backcourt.

Summer Homework: Babb already has a quick release and pretty jump shot. He has to work on his ball handling and defense if he hopes to claim Pringle's spot.

Cammeron Woodyard

Woodyard showed confidence and aggressiveness from the moment he stepped on the court. Maybe too much so, as he often launched some ill-advised shots. Evidently, Ed became tired of his inability to play within the system, because his minutes diminished as the season wore on, and he didn't log a single minute during the NIT.

Summer Homework: Learn the system, and learn to play within that system. Maybe slim down a bit to pick up some quickness.

Andrew Ott

Ott had one good game where he scored eight points against Michigan. Other than that he was a disappointment. But Penn State didn't really need Ott to be a scorer. They just needed a big body that could pull down rebounds and provide a big defensive presence in the middle. At times he would show flashes with a key block ro rebound, but then he would give it back by losing his man or giving up position for an easy basket.

Summer Homework: Show up in Lewis Preston's office every day with a roll of tape. Then go out and battle Andrew Jones one-on-one for two hours. Bulk up, play some tough defense, and rebound.

The Other Guys

So let's look at what the team is losing this year. We lose a good inside presence in Cornley. We lose a terrific guard in Pringle who can play defense, shoot the long ball, and drive the hoop and finish. And we lose Morrissey, a non-athletic three-point shooter with poor ball handling skills.

What are we picking up? Tim Frazier supposedly possesses tremendous ball handling skills, so maybe he can replace Pringle's driving ability while Babb replaces his three-point shooting.

By all accounts, Sasa Borovanjak is an excellent low post scorer, so maybe he can eventually replace Cornley in that area. If he can rebound, that would be great.

Billy Oliver is somewhat of a mystery to me. From what I've read and heard about his high school career he likes to work the perimeter on offense which is not ideal in my mind for a guy who is 6'8" tall. But then he also blocked 144 shots his junior year, so maybe he can provide another interior defensive presence.

Jermaine Marshall, I know nothing about. Maybe he's good, or maybe he's not. But I expect he's at least as good as Danny Morrissey.

So overall we lose three bodies, but we pick up four. Sasa and Marshall may redshirt, but I would expect Frazier to play right away. Oliver will take off his redshirt. Babb and Woodyard should be better. Jones has been steadily improving. Jackson seems to be out of his slump. So we lose a lot, but it's not like the crappy years where we're holding tryouts for a walk-on to start at shooting guard in September. There will undoubtedly be a drop-off. You don't replace guys like Pringle and Cornley with freshmen without some decline, but I don't think we'll see a slip back into the basement of the conference.

Back on the Bubble

BSD — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:38:07 -0000

Final - 2.14.2009	1	2	Total
Minnesota Golden Gophers	23	40	63
Penn St. Nittany Lions	24	44	68

Complete Coverage >

Talor Battle got his swagger back. And so did the Nittany Lions.

It was a game that both teams need to win. Minnesota hoped to solidify their tournament hopes. Penn State was just hoping to remember what it was like to have tournament hopes. At the end of the day Penn State got the win thanks to the return of Talor Battle, some key contributions from a few role players, and some decent free throw shooting.

The Good

Talor Battle overcame a poor shooting first half to score 21 points. The spark that got him going came just before the half when Chris Babb stole a long pass from Minnesota at half court and fired it up to Battle standing at the three point line. Battle sank the buzzer beating shot to give Penn State a one point halftime lead. From that point on he was the old Talor Battle again. He was hitting threes, making passes, and finishing his drives.

Battle had the other key play of the game with a minute to go. Penn State was just up by two when he picked Devoe Joseph's pocket and raced to the basket. He used his body to shield the ball as he went up for the layup. He made the shot and drew the foul. Though he missed the foul shot, Jones pulled down the offensive rebound and kicked it back out to Battle at the key. With time winding down Minnesota was forced to foul Talor again, and that time he made both shots to give Penn State a six point lead with a half minute to go.

Chris Babb and Cammeron Woodyard made significant contributions scoring eight and seven points respectively. Babb also had the key steal mentioned earlier. Hopefully the freshmen are starting to get it and we can count on production like that from them every night. This would make me feel better about the 2009-2010 team without Stanley Pringle.

David Jackson seems to be getting his confidence back. He was attacking the basket more and managed to get a layup and a few free throws to finish with six points. But there were one or two times he went to the hoop and got completely rejected. I'm talking ball shoved back in your face and driving you to the ground rejected. Oh well. Good to see him at least being aggressive again.

Stanley Pringle ignited a nice run early in the second half by draining three pointers in three straight possessions. Unfortunately, poor defense on the other end only allowed the lead to be extended from seven to nine.

Penn State shot 75% from the free throw line for the day. I'll take that every game and never complain again if they can do it. They were especially good down the stretch hitting 10-of-13 in the final two minutes. Games are so much less stressful when they do this.

The Bad

Danny Morrissey didn't play due to a problem with his knee. Though given the contribution we got from Babb and Woodyard, one might say this is a good thing.

Cornley had a slow day only scoring six points and five rebounds. He also had five turnovers.

Andrew Ott only played two minutes. He didn't get a point or a rebound, but he managed to tally two quick personal fouls.

For the second straight game Penn State let a guard come off the bench and torch them. This time it was Devoe Joseph who looked like his shots were being guided by satellite. Joseph shot 8-of-9 from the field and 7-of-8 from the arc to score all 23 of his points in the second half.

The Ugly

The first half was pretty painful to watch. Both teams turned the ball over 11 times with a ton of traveling calls. Penn State was able to fix their problems and only gave the ball up 4 times in the second half. Minnesota gave the ball back another 8 times.

On top of the turnovers in the first half, neither team was shooting well making for a whistle infested low scoring game. Minnesota shot 29% from the field while Penn State shot 36%.

Next Up

Five games to go until the Big Ten Tournament (@Illinois, @Ohio State, Indiana, Illinois, @Iowa). I still think we need to get to 22 wins to make the tournament. So that makes winning the two home games imperative. The game at Iowa is a winnable game, but not an easy one. Win that and the two home games and we're at 21 wins. Maybe with a win or two in the Big Ten tournament we can sneak in.

But what I don't like about this scenario is that it involves losing our next two games at Illinois and Ohio State. Penn State has momentum now and I hate to see them give that up. To lose another two games could carry over and translate into an upset loss to Indiana. So we can't afford to write off these games against Illinois and Ohio State to keep this momentum going. Luckily, Penn State historically plays well in Champaign. We've won our last two games there and pulled that major upset back in 2006.

One Step Forward. Two Steps Back

BSD — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:00:07 -0000

Final - 12.6.2008	1	2	Total
Temple Owls	28	37	65
Penn St. Nittany Lions	24	35	59

Complete Coverage >

It figures that Penn State would follow up their greatest road win since 2005 by laying an egg against Temple at home. The Nittany Lions came out flat and never got it going. Though Penn State managed to close to finish within six points, it wasn't really that close. Penn State jumped out to a 10-4 lead, but then Temple went on a run to take a 15-14 lead halfway through the first half and they never looked back from there. They led by 6-10 points through much of the second half.

This team is just not good enough to the point they can just show up and win. They have to play hard every night, and on Sunday they didn't do that. They didn't play defense and they didn't play sharp on offense. The key part of the offense, the transition game, never got started.

The big blow was Stanley Pringle spraining his ankle in the first half. He didn't return, and the offense suffered for it. Hopefully they can squeak by these last four non-conference games without him, but the bench is pretty thin as Happy Hour Valley points out.

There’s barely a semblance of an inside game, particularly on the defensive end, and the backcourt becomes a hell of a lot weaker without Stanley Pringle in there. Danny Morrissey is a streaky shooter whose performance depends on how many wide open looks he get, and tonight he got zero because Temple’s strategy involved locking down on him and rendering him useless.

This brings me to my next question, why is ED so reluctant to go to his bench when the situation is dire? Could Woodyard and Babb done any worse out there? If he’s actually relying on a 7-man rotation to carry him through the season then we’re in deeper (BSD - bleep) than initially thought.

I have to agree that Danny Morrissey is more liability than benefit. He's good at getting open when Penn State is in transition. But in the half court offense he's too slow to get open off the screens. And his defense is terrible. So terrible that Penn State is forced to play zone when he's on the court. It would seem that he's all we got, but I have to agree with HHV. Could Woodyard and Babb be that much worse? I hope these kids see a lot of playing time over the next four games in case Pringle is slow to come back. And if Battle has to keep playing all 40 minutes he'll be dead by the end of the year.

So we ended our toughest stretch of the non-conference schedule 3-2. We gave up one we could have won, and we blew our chance to get the valuable RPI boost of playing Villanova. We should enter the Big Ten schedule with a 12-2 record barring a monumental collapse somewhere. That would mean we would probably need ten conference wins to make the NCAA tournament. I think that goal is on life support at this point. However, if we can pull off seven or eight wins I think we can still make the NIT. There's a lot of work to do yet, but first they have to focus on beating Army tonight.

There Can Be Only One

BSD — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:00:08 -0000

And it isn't the Highlanders of New Jersey Tech. Penn State overcame a sloppy first half to pull away and dominate the game 74-47. Let's look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

Talor Battle continues to be our best player scoring 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists in only 32 minutes. I mentioned after the last game I wanted to see him averaging six or seven assists per game, so this was a great improvement. The offense really lacked direction when he was on the bench. I also liked that he only had one turnover.

David Jackson was really aggressive and played well. He was attacking the lane and went to the charity stripe five times hitting all five shots to finish with 13 points.

Ed DeChellis may have found a diamond in the rough in Cammeron Woodyard. He doesn't seem at all intimidated by the speed of the game and played with a lot of aggression. He logged 16 minutes and finished with six points and two rebounds. I especially liked the way he attacked the boards and went after rebounds. We'll need more of that this year to help Cornley inside.

Jeff Brooks saw his first action of the year and looks a lot improved over last year. He was attacking the lane drawing the defense in and did a nice job of kicking the ball out to the shooters. I also liked the way he crashed the boards and pulled in six rebounds.

The Bad

Jeff Brooks is out of control. He turned the ball over five times and committed several stupid fouls eventually fouling out of the game. I'm hoping he was just trying to do too much to show everybody how much he has improved. But if he learns how to control that athletic ability we could have another Geary Claxton in a few years.

Stanley Pringle does a good job of pushing the fast break. Unfortunately, he just outruns his teammates and when he realizes he's leading a one-on-three fast break he decides to pull up and try a three point shot. We need better shot selection than that. It's ok to pull up and go into the half court set if the fast break isn't there.

27 of our 53 field goal attemts were three point shots. That's over half. NJIT is a small team that we should have been able to dominate in the paint. But there were too many times where everyone was just kind of standing around on offense passing it around the perimeter until somebody decided to take a shot. Luckily our shooters were on last night hitting 13 of the 27 attempts, but if we have an off shooting night we are going to find ourselves in a dogfight.

Jamelle Cornley should have scored 30 points on this team they were so weak inside. But he only had six points and four rebounds. Admittedly, they really tried to take him out of the game and Ed only played him 23 minutes to keep him healthy.

Chris Babb got into the game late, but he still doesn't look ready. He ran around looking lost on offense and turned the ball over twice, but there are signs of hope. Like most good players do when they can't get it going on offense they focus on defense and rebounding. He pulled down a couple boards and in the final minutes of the game he looked like he was starting to just play and have fun on the offensive end. Hopefully he's over the first game jitters now.

The first half defense was terrible. The perimeter defense was overpursuing and letting the Highlanders get some wide open jump shots. They did a better job in the second half.

The Ugly

What was up with the officiating? 46 fouls? Really? You couldn't breathe on your opponent without drawing a whistle. I was afraid to reach over my sleeping dog for my soda can for fear I would get called for an over the back violation. It made it really hard to enjoy the game, let alone watch it on DVR in under two hours while fast forwarding through commercials.

Andrew Jones is an awful free throw shooter. He went to the stipe ten times and only hit four shots. It's obvious to see he rushes through his shooting motion and never really comes set before he takes the shot. Does Ed coach these guys on how to shoot foul shots or does he just tell them to shoot a hundred free throws after practice and turn out the lights when they are done? Last year I noted Geary Claxton never even looked at the rim until he was half way through his shooting motion. Jamelle Cornley uses too much wrist in his shot. Who is coaching these guys? It's supposed to be the easiest shot in basketball. That's why they call it the Charity Stripe.

Jeff Brooks gets an honorable mention on the free throw Hall of Shame. He had one attempt and clanked the front end of a one-and-one horribly off the front of the rim. An inch or two shorter and it would have been an air ball.