Penn State Men's Basketball is well into the Big Ten schedule and things seem to be the same as they have always been. We have a losing record, we get absolutely dominated in the Big Ten and best case we make the NIT Tournament (and that will be close). Will things ever change in Happy Valley when it comes to Penn State Men's Basketball?
I have been a passionate Nittany Lion fan for over 20 years, and I don't really think I have seen much progress in Men's Basketball over that period. If anything I have seen the further decline of a program, no matter who the coach is or where they play (in fact I think we had a better chance when we played at Rec Hall vs. BJC).
Of course there have been a few exceptions, a Sweet 16 appearance back in 2001 and an NIT title in 2009, but our inability to even maintain a .500 record and consistent apperances in the NCAA tournament is just down right pathtic for a school the size of Penn State.
So why is this, why can't a school like Penn State establish a winning tradition. Is it the coaching, is it the lack of recruiting, is it the strength and conditioning program?
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Heading into the Wisconsin game, my mind wanders and for some reason I am pulled to think about this season on the whole, a late season recap so to speak.
Questions come to mind like are we better or worse than expected, how is this team different from the Paterno era and have there been any surprises compared to pre-season expectations for the 2012 squad. [click to continue…]
It has been too long, my blogging frequency has been pathetic, but I am back. Time to talk a little Penn State football and there is no bigger game for me than this week vs. Nebraska.
For all of us who were either cheering for the Nittany Lions or in school like I was back in 1994, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are a team right, wrong or indifferent which we Penn State fans tend not to like. I know, I know, it is not their fault for not winning a piece of the 1994 National Championship, it is the fault of the press and voting coaches, but since we don't know who those people are by name, we have pinned the blame on the Children of the Corn. [click to continue…]
There is no doubt that over the last three weeks we have seen a Penn State team which has continued to improve in all facets of the game (well except for one but we will save that mess for another blog). But this week’s game vs. Northwestern will be a much better predictor of the type of season the Nittany Lions will have in 2012.
Beating teams like Navy, Temple and Illinois is always a good thing. But all three of these teams are average at best and ultimately none will end up with very good records at the end of the year. In fact none might end up with winning records.
But Northwestern comes to Happy Valley 5-0, having an explosive offense and a defense that has been good enough to win most games pretty handily. [click to continue…]
Penn State finally got some good news last week, winning soundly against a pretty bad Navy team. But for the team, the school, alumni and fans, a win is a win. And we will take any sign of hope we can get.
Up until last week, the offense struggled to score (which is all too familiar) and the defense had trouble 'getting off the field'. But against Navy, things came together and Penn State put together a complete game and solid win.
But today's game vs. Temple will be a much better test to finding out what type of team Penn State has this year. [click to continue…]
With the extremely disappointing Ohio game behind Penn State, it is time to move onto Charlottesville, to face the Hoos.
Last weeks game was a complete shocker for most of us Nittany Lions fans, the offense was average at best, but most suprisingly, the defense was horrid.
This week, the Lions will have to better in all facets of the game, but there are a few key areas to winning.
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