A little Basketball news

Danny Earl has been named as an assistant coach for the Men's Basketball team. I adored Danny during his time at PSU but I have to wonder why Penn State can't hire anyone who did not graduate from PSU or anyone with any experience. I realize that this is an assistant job and a great way for a young guy to get some experience. But the current Penn State Basketball program, in my opinion, has much more important things to tend to than teaching some guy "the ropes". The team should be much more worried about the exodus of players to other schools and the non-existent recruiting program.

According the gopsusports.com: Since leaving Penn State, Earl has played professionally in Germany, Poland and Portugal. He also played in both the Continental Basketball Association and the NBA's Developmental League and was a member of the New Jersey Nets' training camp roster in '01-02 and '02-03. Earl most recently was co-owner of the Next Level Basketball Camp, an organization that conducted camps and clinics in southern New Jersey.

Ed DeChellis might be a nice guy and a good coach - but no great players want to come to Penn State to lose for an unknown guy. If PSU is serious about its basketball (men's) team the administration is going to have invest some money. PSU has very little to woo top basketball players. The BJC is great, but not that unique. Being in the Big Ten is prestigious, but if your team can't even make the post season conference tournament, what's the point? PSU basketball has no history and no future on the horizon. The one thing that the University could have brought in to get any kind of buzz for the program would have been a "name" coach. And we all know that there were plenty of guys who were (at least) interested in the job. But that didn't happen and the program has suffered (even more than before).

I'm still a Dan Earl fan. He was a talented player and a real leader on the team. It is possible that he will have a great impact on the team, but I sincerely doubt that there are many high school stars out there, sitting in their rooms dreaming of the day that they might get the chance to play for him.