The Penn State Men’s Basketball team lost again last night in their Big Ten opener, at Minnesota (75-70). The Lions continue to be a huge disappointment this year, after coming off an NIT championship last year, this team has played uninspired and mistake filled basketball, which has lead to an 8-5 record and wins against not one to team of any significance. If this team thinks they are going to make the NCAA tournament this year, they better think again. Their only chance is to finish top 5 in the conference, which will likely require a 10-6 conference record. And we have only done that once this decade.
What is the difference between this year’s team vs. last? Obviously they are desperately missing their leader from last year, Jamelle Cornley, who owned the middle of the court and often was the go-to person when the Lions needed a basket or an emotional push. Yes, Mr. Battle made several winning baskets last year, but it is obvious that Corneley made a bigger impact, considering the team’s performance this year thus far. The only other missing link this year from last is starting PG, Stanley Pringle, but his average of 10-12 points per game should not be that significant to the team’s performance this year. We have several guards on the team this year, who should be able to pick up that slack (Frazier-FR and Babb-SO).
The only bright spots thus far this year are Battle’s continued amazing shot making abilities and the contributions the Lions have gotten from true FR forward Bill Edwards (he looks to be special). All other returning starter and key contributors have been huge disappointments; they seem to have gotten worse from last year to this year. Jeff Brooks – how this guy continues to play so poorly with such god-given physical abilities is amazing. Andrew Jones – he has little confidence and is consistently dominated when up against a center of any experience. Andrew Ott – he is a complete liability on the floor, absolutely no offensive skills, none.
While this team seems to have a bright future, which is the same thing I have heard for the past decade, I think we all deserve some results NOW. When is this team going to finally consistently finish in the top portion of the Big Ten conference and consistently make the real tournament?
Enjoy this post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed and never miss another! Or sign up to get exclusive PennStateCentral.com Sports Analysis straight to your inbox!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Excellent analysis. Keep up the good work. Dead on with regard to Brroks, Jones and Ott. Frankly I haven’t seen much development in them. Brooks has been a dud. A 4 star recruit who looks totally inept on offense and lazy on D.