A long season just got a little longer for the Penn State men’s basketball
team.
In a game that they could’ve easily won, they fell apart (again) in
the closing seconds on Saturday afternoon and fell to Minnesota, 66-64, at the
Bryce Jordan Center.
In today’s edition of Morelli OnLion, we’ll check in
with the struggling Nittany Lions and go inside the world of football
recruiting. We’ll start with the winless Nits.
Ed DeChellis and the Nittany Lions are now 0-11 in conference play.
(Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated).
Down and Out
Just when
you thought it couldn’t get any worse for the Penn State men’s basketball team,
it did.
The Nittany Lions came back to tie Saturday’s game with the
Golden Gophers, but Lawrence Westbrook canned a bucket at the buzzer to send
Minnesota home with a two-point win.
It was just the latest debacle for
the Nits, who are now 8-15 overall, 0-11 in the Big Ten. They’ve now dropped 11
consecutive conference games. There is a very good chance that this team will
go winless in conference play, something that has never happened at Penn
State.
For those of you keeping score at home, coach Ed DeChellis is now
92-118 during his tenure at Penn State. How he keeps his job in 2010-11 is
beyond me. I was one of several thousand in attendance on Saturday and I can
tell you first hand that his team seems lifeless and uninspired. They play with
a lack of focus and motivation. Again, that falls directly on the head
coach.
Penn State is off this week. Hopefully, coach DeChellis and his
staff are installing some new offenses, teaching the squad how to break a press
and learning how to score against a 2-3 zone, something they couldn’t do on
Saturday.
On Saturday, the Nittany Lions host Michigan State. That game
will be followed by trips to Northwestern and Michigan. Then, they come home for
games against Northwestern and Ohio State. A trip to East Lansing to face the
Spartans is followed by a home finale with Purdue.
I don’t see a win in
there. If you do, feel free to e-mail me and let me know when exactly it’s
coming.
There was a decent crowd on Saturday for the two-point loss to
Minnesota. Part of the reason may have been the throwback uniforms the team was
wearing (you’re welcome for the idea, Penn State).
Hopefully, they’ve got
more throwbacks in a closet somewhere. They’re going to need something to draw
fans through the turnstiles.
Former Penn Stater Derrick Williams was the top recruit in the nation in
2004.
(Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated).
Recruiting Sideshow
“Welcome back my
friends, to the show that never ends. We’re so glad you could attend, come
inside, come inside.” — Emerson, Lake and Palmer lyrics
When the rock
band ELP penned those lyrics, they certainly were not talking about the world of
college football recruiting.
However, that’s what recruiting has become —
one big show. Much like the game itself, recruiting has blown up and at times
seems bigger than the contests that are played before thousands of fans every
autumn Saturday.
For example, after a Penn State game (win or lose),
message boards are often filled with comments about the game. However, at least
one-third of the comments revolve around the recruits who attended the game.
People will ask who was there? Who wasn’t? Did they enjoy their visit? Will they
commit? If so, when?
And so it goes.
My issue is not with the
fans. You’re passionate, and understandably so. It’s easy to get enamored with
the four- and five-star recruits who are considering Penn State.
No, my issue
is with the players themselves. When it comes time to make a college choice,
these youngsters are showing less and less class.
Need an example? Take a
look at the tape from the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Game. NBC cuts to the
sideline for a verbal commitment from Dior Mathis, a quarterback from Detroit.
Mathis is surrounded by his family and is standing at a table with baseball caps
from Michigan, Michigan State, Miami and Oregon. As the NBC sideline reporter
asks him to make a choice, Mathis begins picking up hats. He flip flops the
Miami and Michigan State hats, then picks up the Michigan hat and opens it. When
the announcer tells him, “you gotta make a choice,” Mathis finally puts the
Oregon hat on and then clowns around for the NBC cameras.
While that was
bad, one of the worst examples of choosing a school came in front of the ESPN
cameras at the 2008 Under Armour High School All-American Game. In that game,
sideline reporter Quint Kessenich is standing next to standout wide receiver
Andre DeBose, who is surrounded by his family.
Here’s where it gets
really bad. DeBose has placed hats of the teams he is considering on the heads
of his family members. His mom sports a South Carolina hat, while other members
of his family wear Florida, LSU, Georgia and Miami.
When Kessenich asks him
about his choice, DeBose tells him that he’s staying in state. Kessenich then
becomes part of the sideshow and begins removing hats from the members of the
DeBose family. Shame on the reporter for not only being part of this display,
but participating in it.
Look, I realize that these are 18-year-old kids
who are making one of the biggest decisions of their lives, but it doesn’t mean
that they need to abandon their class and dignity when making the
choice.
I have no problem with a player pulling a cap on to reveal his
choice. But when we’ve got a table filled with hats and players begin picking
them up and unfolding them to tease the crowd, they’ve crossed the line. It’s
not “American Idol” — you’re not revealing a golden ticket. You’re getting a
full ride to the university of your choice. Act like the young adult you
are.
And shame on the parents for not only allowing this to happen, but
for getting involved in the sideshow. These parents need to lead, not follow
their children. Of course, when dad is standing nearby wearing a XXL jersey
bearing his son’s number, it’s hard to not be part of the sideshow.
So
when does this end? Well, probably not anytime soon. Networks like NBC and ESPN
encourage players to wait to reveal their college choice in hopes of drawing in
viewers curious to see which school the five-star chose. Based on what we’ve
seen to this point, parents probably won’t do anything to change the way things
are done because they like being in the spotlight as much as their
child.
I’m guessing that someday soon, pulling on a ballcap will become
passe. Perhaps these high school players will bring out team mascots, then put
on the head, al a Lee Corso.
Or better yet, maybe we can get boxing ring
girls to carry out signs with the team logo on them and have the players
eliminate the girls, one by one.
Pass the chips.
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.