The Men's Basketball Team Should Get Their Dance Cards Ready

I hate to jinx it . . . but after Penn State's huge upset of #9 Michigan State in East Lansing, the Men's Basketball Team is in a prime position to make and NCAA Tournament-run.

Basic Stats:

• 17-5 Overall; 6-3 Big Ten (Tied-3rd).
  
• RPI = #67, and quickly climbing (rank calculated before beating Michigan St.).
  
• 4-Game Conference Winning Streak.
• Wins over #9 Michigan State (road); #17 Purdue (home).
• Talor Battle leads the Big Ten in both points (18.5 ppg) and assists (5.4 apg).
• Penn State is 2nd in the Big Ten in 3-Point Shooting (39%).

In short, this team is really playing well.

While I would love to say that Talor Battle is the reason, that's not completely true. Sure, Battle is Penn State's best player and arguably the Big Ten's best point guard and league MVP. Certainly if Penn State finishes in the top 5 of the Big Ten and makes the NCAA tournament, Battle will get a lot of the credit. (And, personally, Battle is easily my favorite player to watch since Joe Crispin graduated in 2001). In truth, the credit needs to be spread-out, rather than concentrated on one player.

1. First, and foremost, is Head Coach Ed Dechellis. Prior to this season, Coach Dechellis was solidly on the coaching hot seat. After five average seasons and one NIT appearance, it was put-up or shut-up for Coach D's squad... and put-up they have. While the jury is still out on how good this team can be, or whether Coach Dechellis can take Penn State to the "next level," he deserves much of the credit for this team's success. This is finally his team, his players, his style. So far, things are looking up and Dechellis likely save his job for another couple of years.
   
2. Jamelle Cornley: Other than Talor Battle, Jamelle has been the most consistent performer on this team. He's not only the most dangerous post player on the team, but he is also the team's vocal and emotional leader. Most importantly, Jamelle always seems to step up and carry the team when Battle and Stanely Pringle are struggling shooting the ball. Without his play against Michigan and Iowa, this team might have been 2-2 in its last 4 games, rather than 4-0.
   
3. Stanley Pringle: Battle's backcourt running mate is the third of the three-pronged offensive attack. Pringle is a streaky three point shooter, but when he's hot Penn State is tough to beat. More importantly, he and Battle look like they have been playing together for years. They always seem to find each other on offense and both are tremendous on-the-ball defenders. Some nights it's Pringle, some nights it's Battle; but either way, teams can't stop them both.
   
4. Finally, some credit for this culture change must go to Geary Claxton who started to bring this team back, but graduated before he could finish the job. Claxton was on his way to becoming one of the best players in Penn State history when he blew out his knee last winter. Moreover, he was well on his way to becoming the first Nittany Lion to get drafted in the NBA since Calvin Booth in 1996-97. Thus, Claxton must be given some credit the culture change and this year's success.
   

If Penn State ends its 7-year NCAA slump this year, the credit must be shared. Talor Battle is a great individual player; but above all else, the Sophomore Co-Captain understands that this is a "team game" and that Penn State wins and loses as such.