How Long Does DeChellis Deserve?
There has been a long raging debate between Penn State basketball fans about what direction the program should go in- stick with DeChellis through the long haul or find an established head coach who can bring the talent right away but failed at another school. The two names that fit the second category are ex-UCLA coach Steve Lavin and ex-Notre Dame and North Carolina head man Matt Dougherty. Many Penn State fans feel that DeChellis deserves the benefit of the doubt and should be given a couple of years to build the program. Others believe that PSU needs a "name" coach who can increase the talent level almost immediately.
I fall somewhere in between. I feel that while DeChellis does deserve time, this team has shown little to no progress from his first season to now his third season, evidenced by the 91-54 loss to Pitt. Heck, last season PSU only lost by 13 to a Pitt squad that is much better than this year's. DeChellis has only managed to bring two or three players to Penn State and keep them here (read: Marlon Smith to Fordham). The two obvious choices are swingmen Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley, Serbian Milos Bogetic has been impressive early on and is emerging as one of Penn State's better players. Otherwise the team is mostly filled with players who really belong playing in the Patriot League or MAC, not the Big Ten. No offense to players like Ben Luber and Travis Parker, but they would be hard pressed to be starters, or even frequent role players, at all of the other Big Ten schools. How can anyone expect the Lions to win with players like that starting? My biggest problem with DeChellis is that the team has not shown any major signs of improvement. Sure, all of the young players on the roster right now finally gives ED a decent core to build around but most of us were expecting this team to be able to top 10 wins and win 3-5 Big Ten games. 10 wins could happen but anymore than 2 Big Ten wins would surprise me. I need ED to show me something by the end of the season to earn my support. Beating Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament would have been a big step. 10-12 wins with one big Big Ten victory would satisfy me. I just can't support him if this team ends up winning only 7 or 8 games yet again.
I fall somewhere in between. I feel that while DeChellis does deserve time, this team has shown little to no progress from his first season to now his third season, evidenced by the 91-54 loss to Pitt. Heck, last season PSU only lost by 13 to a Pitt squad that is much better than this year's. DeChellis has only managed to bring two or three players to Penn State and keep them here (read: Marlon Smith to Fordham). The two obvious choices are swingmen Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley, Serbian Milos Bogetic has been impressive early on and is emerging as one of Penn State's better players. Otherwise the team is mostly filled with players who really belong playing in the Patriot League or MAC, not the Big Ten. No offense to players like Ben Luber and Travis Parker, but they would be hard pressed to be starters, or even frequent role players, at all of the other Big Ten schools. How can anyone expect the Lions to win with players like that starting? My biggest problem with DeChellis is that the team has not shown any major signs of improvement. Sure, all of the young players on the roster right now finally gives ED a decent core to build around but most of us were expecting this team to be able to top 10 wins and win 3-5 Big Ten games. 10 wins could happen but anymore than 2 Big Ten wins would surprise me. I need ED to show me something by the end of the season to earn my support. Beating Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament would have been a big step. 10-12 wins with one big Big Ten victory would satisfy me. I just can't support him if this team ends up winning only 7 or 8 games yet again.
posted by The Nittany Blog at 7:47 PM
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