The Greatest Night in the History of the Men's Basketball Team?

Was last night the greatest night in the history of the Penn State Men's Basketball Program? After all, Penn State one their first ever NIT Championship beating Baylor 69-63, and they picked up a verbal commitment from top-40 shooting guard Taran Buie, Talor Battle's younger half-brother. My knee-jerk reaction is yes, but I think that conclusion needs to be unpacked to fully understand why it is true.

But, the initial question is begs the question: what other "nights" would last night be contending with? I think there are only two others:

1. Penn State's only Final Four birth in 1954; and
2. Penn State's 2001 Sweet Sixteen run.

Before I talk about why last night eclipses both of those events, here is some of the background information. While any Final Four appearance is obviously impressive, in 1954 the NCAA Tournament consisted of less than 25 teams. Furthermore, although the Sweet Sixteen run in 2001 was impressive, that team was coached by Jerry Dunn who, history now tells us, did not capitalize on the run in any tangible way (except that he was able to save his own job for two more years).

Conversely, Penn State's NIT Championship victory was impressive for two reasons. Even though the Nits did not make the Big Dance, they made the most of the NIT and beat five top-70 teams, including one each from the Big East, Big 12, SEC, and A-10. Penn State will be one of two (legitimate) teams to finish the year with a win in April.

In addition, just after Penn State won the NIT title, they received more good news. Taran Buie, the younger half-brother of current Penn State point guard Talor Battle, verbally committed to Ed DeChellis and the Nittany Lions. Buie is a consensus top-50 combo guard, and easily the most highly ranked/recruited player to commit to Penn State in the last 10 years--maybe ever.

Thus, although the Sweet Sixteen run was exciting and unexpected in 2001, and beating North Carolina to make the Sweet Sixteen was amazing, NOTHING CAME OF THE VICTORY. Following the 2000-01 year, Penn State was no more regarded a "basketball school" than before the run. No one looked at Penn State any differently. It was a mere fluke to the rest of the basketball world.

Moreover, Jerry Dunn was unable to recruit any better players following that year. While Penn State was hard after future All Big East point guard Gerry McNamara, who ended up at Syracuse (and winning a National Championship), Dunn was unable to close the deal and snag a "program changing player" like McNamara who would have replaced 1st Team All Big Ten point guard (and my all-time favorite Penn State player) Joe Crispin.

Regarding the 1954 Final Four team, with all due respect, it was a different game, different time, and--to be honest--different money was on the line. Today, the game is faster, more athletic, the tournament is bigger and more prestigious, and there is so much more money to be made for the University by a winning and thriving basketball program.

Thus, between the NIT victory (which will hopefully begin to change the image of the program), and Buie (who is a "program changing player" in my opinion), Penn State's NIT victory is probably the greatest night in the program's history--and may prove to be the "turning point" for a program that has struggled to get out of the Big Ten basement and get national respect.

Maybe, now, things will be different.