It’s been a rough week for Penn State basketball coach Ed DeChellis. Just a
season after his Nittany Lions captured an NIT championship, the head coach is
coming under fire.
While many believed that the Nittany Lions would build
off the success of the NIT, this year’s squad has actually taken a gigantic step
backward and is winless in the Big Ten.
In today’s edition of Morelli
OnLion, we’ll examine the head coach’s lack of success at Penn State. We’ll also
take a final look back at Penn State’s 2009 football season.
Let’s start
with coach DeChellis.
With the Nittany Lions winless in the Big Ten, Ed DeChellis should be fired.
(Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated)
Time For A Change
Before we get to the heart of
the matter, you need to know that I am a Penn State graduate. I am a Penn State
fan. I’m also a basketball fan. That’s why it’s not easy to write
this.
It’s time for Nittany Lion basketball coach Ed DeChellis to be
fired.
Not at the end of the season. Not after the next loss. Right now.
Today.
The Nittany Lion basketball program is in disarray. The team’s
latest collapse came on Sunday afternoon in Madison, when it squandered a
16-point lead and wound up losing in overtime, 79-71. It’s been a disturbing
trend for the 2009-10 version of the Nittany Lions, who have an embarrassing 0-7
record in the conference and an 8-11 overall mark.
But DeChellis — who
was given an extension at the end of last year’s “title” run — has numbers
working against him now.
Consider: DeChellis is 29-78 in Big Ten games at
Penn State. Overall, he is 92-114 since returning to his alma mater. The Lions
have not made the NCAA tournament once since he took over and aside from last
season’s fourth-place finish, his high-water mark was a seventh place finish in
the conference.
By comparison, Jerry Dunn (who was ousted to make way for
DeChellis) had a 110-100 record after seven seasons and was 43-73 in the Big
Ten. But his squads made two NCAA tournaments in his eight seasons and made the
Sweet 16 in one of those seasons, knocking off North Carolina along the
way.
But this is not about Jerry Dunn. It’s about Ed
DeChellis.
Attendance at the Bryce Jordan Center has dwindled, and it’s
easy to figure out why — no one wants to see a loser. Right now, Battle is the
only reason to go watch the Lions and based on attendance numbers, folks in
Happy Valley aren’t willing to fork over 15 bucks to watch the talented
youngster play.
Look, no one is questioning DeChellis’ intentions. He
wants to win, but he simply cannot. Even with Penn State’s most talented squad
in several years, the best he could do last season was get the Lions to the NIT.
That shouldn’t be good enough at a school like Penn State, but an extension told
fans that’s where expectations should be.
Yes, Penn State is football
school. Always has, always will be. But there’s no reason why basketball can’t
be a close second. I’ve always said that if the Lions would simply contend in
the Big 10, then the Jordan Center would be packed for every game. I stand by
that statement. Instead, the Nittany Lions have become the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Constantly rebuilding and never really a threat to contend for a
championship.
Since he’s been at Penn State, DeChellis has struggled with
recruiting. How many former Penn Staters are playing in the NBA? Other than
Battle, the blue chip recruits have been few and far between. Penn State is a
great university in a great location with great facilities. Why is it so hard
for DeChellis to recruit? Who knows? The University of Pittsburgh seems to have
no trouble getting top-notch talent to play in Oakland for a school that has
never been to a Final Four. The Panthers lost a ton of talent to the NBA and
graduation, but the Panthers are right back in the hunt for a Big East
championship and assured of another NCAA berth. How can it happen there but not
three hours away? That’s a very good question.
The bottom line is this —
is the program any better than it was when DeChellis took over? The answers is
no.
It’s time for DeChellis to be shown the door.
Season In
Review: Part I
With the 2009 Penn State football season completely in the
books, it’s time to sit back, relax and take a look in the rearview mirror and
reflect on the season that was.
There was some good, some bad and some
ugly to the 2009 season. So let’s review the first six games of the Nittany
Lions’ 11-2 campaign.
Game One: Sept. 5, Beaver Stadium
Penn State
31, Akron 7 — The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 31-0 first half lead and put it
in cruise control on their way to a solid season-opening win in front of the
home crowd. Penn State outgained Akron, 515-186 and picked up 379 of those yards
through the air.
The highlight: Quarterback Daryll Clark tosses three
touchdown passes to three different receivers — Chaz Powell, Derek Moye and
Graham Zug.
The lowlight: Penn State fails to find the end zone over the
final 30 minutes of play.
Game Two: Sept. 12, Beaver Stadium
Penn
State 28, Syracuse 7 — Although it failed to light up the scoreboard, the
Nittany Lions picked up their second non-conference win in as many games,
dropping the Orange by three touchdowns. For the second consecutive game, Clark
fired three touchdown passes to lead the offense. Again, he spread it around,
connecting with running back Evan Royster (49 yards), Graham Zug (20 yards) and
Mickey Shuler (1 yard).
The highlight: Penns Valley product Josh Hull has
one of the best games of his career, racking up 11 tackles and notching his
second career interception.
The lowlight: Penn State puts the ball on the
ground twice, losing a pair of fumbles. Clark is also intercepted for the second
time in as many games.
Game Three: Sept. 19, Beaver Stadium
Penn State
31, Temple 6 — Former Nittany Lion Al Golden didn’t enjoy his return trip to
Happy Valley as Penn State hammered the Owls in a game that wasn’t as close as
the score would indicate. The ground game finally got untracked as Royster
rushed for 134 yards on 19 carries and a TD. Again, the Nittany Lions jumped out
to a big halftime lead (21-3) and cruised from there.
The highlight:
Linebacker Sean Lee looked like his old self, piling up 12 tackles including 2
1/2 tackles for loss as he was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the
Week.
The lowlight: Clark struggles, completing just 16-of-26 passes for
167 yards. While he does toss a pair of TDs, there’s another interception — his
third of the young season.
Game Four: Sept. 26, Beaver Stadium
Iowa
21, Penn State 10 — In what was billed as a revenge game, the Nittany Lions lay
an egg in front of a primetime audience, falling to the upset-minded Hawkeyes
for the second consecutive season. The Nittany Lions jump out to a 7-0 lead that
ignites the Beaver Stadium crowd, but the Hawks claw their way back into things
and score 16 fourth-quarter points to upset Penn State.
The highlight:
Clark hooks up with Powell for a 79-yard TD pass to Powell on Penn State’s first
play from scrimmage and the stadium shakes as the Nittany Lions grab a 7-0
lead.
The lowlight: Adrian Clayborn blocks a Jeremy Boone punt and
returns it 53 yards for a TD to give the Hawkeyes an 11-10 lead with 12:21 left
in the game. The Nittany Lions would not recover from that momentum-turning play
and are upset once again by Kirk Ferentz’s troops.
Game Five: Oct. 3,
Memorial Stadium
Penn State 35, Illinois 17 — Penn State’s ground game posted
a season-high 338 yards as the Nittany Lions bounced back from their upset loss
to Iowa. The game was close at the intermission, 7-3. However, the Nittany Lions
grabbed a 14-3 lead entering the final quarter of play, where they blew the game
open. Four different Nittany Lion runners (Stephfon Green, Brent Carter, Royster
and Clark) rushed for scores.
The highlight: Green had 120 yards on 13
carries and Royster had 105 on 17 totes. Both players scored a TD in the
lopsided win.
The lowlight: Illinois had a ton of yardage (393) against
the Penn State defense, but found the end zone just twice.
Navorro Bowman made plenty of big plays for the Nittany Lions in 2009.
(Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated)
Game Six: Oct.
10, Beaver Stadium
Penn State 52, Eastern Illinois — The Nittany Lions
improved to 4-0 in their non-conference games by blowing out the Panthers. PSU
put up 38 first-half points in the rout. Clark completed 13-of-19 passes for 234
yards and three touchdowns, connecting with Moye, Powell and Brett Brackett for
TDs. Penn State racked up 553 yards of offense in the lopsided
affair.
The highlight: Navorro Bowman scoops up a Panther fumble and
returns it 91 yards for a score just before the end of the first half to send
the Nittany Lions to the locker room on a high note.
The lowlight:
Eastern Illinois got on the board with a 43-yard field goal in the third
quarter, ending any hopes Penn State had of pitching a shutout.
Chris
Morelli is the award-winning editor of Blue White Illustrated, a weekly
publication devoted to Penn State athletics. He is also a regular on “Sports
Central,” which airs on ESPN Radio in Altoona and State College. E-mail him at
morellionlion@gmail.com. This column
does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of BWI’s writers or
publisher.