The star of the team is an undersized power forward who is as smart as he is popular on the University Park Campus. Senior Jesse Arnelle might be moving up a ‘weight class’ but he will work his tail end off to keep up with the Big Dogs of the Big Ten.  Arnelle was dominant in the A-10 and is out to prove he belongs with these bigger cats because he has an incredible drive and work ethic.  How good is he?  Well, he is a warrior on the boards who does not mind battling the bigger guys.  At 6’5 220 Arnelle will usually be giving up 4 or 5 inches in the paint and that is if he plays the four-if he plays the five which he has most of his career here he will be giving up half of a foot to most of the Big 10 centers.  Arnelle is the BMOC in Happy Valley (perhaps the worst named campus EVER) even with all of them macho football players as he was elected Student Body President this year.  He may not have a big future at the next level as the world has passed by six five power forwards and this kid has much bigger goals.  He is already planning on going to law school when his career as a player is over.  He plans on fighting for injustices that need to be fought especially after what he has seen at Pennsylvania State!  He wants to be a civil rights lawyer and not just for African-Americans but for all people who need their rights defended.  Who knows, with this kids desire, brains and toughness he might just make it.  One thing for sure he will never be replaced here as he is without question the best basketball player the Nittany Lions have ever had.  

 The Lions do not have another player on their roster even close to the talent level of Arnelle at least as far as upperclassmen.  That does not bode well for their inaugural season in the top-rated conference in the country. Egli has made it a point to move Arnelle to the four and has a large group of big men ready for minutes.  Seniors Paul Mickey and Bill Stansfield, juniors Randy ‘Take it to the limit’ Meister and Carvin Jefferson and sophomores Frank Brickowski, Mike Lang, Ed Fogell and Dick Mummy are all in the running for playing time.  If this group fails Egli does have a shot blocking freshman and has even went the portal route stealing a kid from Vanderbilt as he knows he has to get bigger up front quickly.  Egli is obviously throwing everything and the kitchen sink at this issue and even with all of these competitors there is not a seven footer in the bunch.  Mickey and Stansfield have some size (6’9 and 6’8 respectively) but are not the most athletic pair.  On top of that Stansfield broke his right forearm and could possibly be out half of the year.  Meister is similar size (6’9 225) but he does not exactly soar with the Eagles as like the seniors his vertical jump is almost non-existent.  Jefferson can jump and is a solid rim protector but at 6’7 is way too short for post in this league.  Jefferson is a popular kid around these parts who might be more known for his antics on campus then he is a basketball player as he has spent most of his time on the JV in his first two years.  That will have to change quickly if he is going to help this team this year.  The sophomores have the best chance of playing regular minutes especially Brickowski and Lang as they are just a little bigger (and thicker) than their peers.  ‘Brick’ from Locust Valley New York is 6’9 240 and is just starting to fill out.  He has a nice overall skill set with an offensive game that is ‘developing’ but his best attribute is his mentality.  Not only is he smart but Brickowski will mix it up down and more importantly knows when to do it.  He is the favorite to start at the center but is better as a swing post but on this team they will take what they can get.  Lang is exactly the same size as Brick and was a big recruit from Lombard Illinois but is a bit slower in his development last year than his classmate.  He can board and bang and is a good defender but needs to improve on the blocks.  Still, he should get some minutes unless these new guys are that good.  And why would you come to Penn State if you were that good?  Mumma is the tallest of the upperclassmen at 6’10 but only goes 225 from Bedford PA and barely played on JV last year so he has a long way to go to even get on the Lions bench this year.  Things do not look good for the Nittany Lions up front this year as they just don’t have the size or athletes to compete at this level and the only guy with the pedigree to compete here is vastly undersized.  The hope is these upperclassmen can survive at least through the preconference part of the schedule and the young recruits are better than expected and can contribute by midseason (heck the transfer from Vandy will be sitting out at least a few games right).  At Penn State I do not know if the fans even know they have a basketball team until after the first of the year anyway.  We do know they are bigger at 6’10 (270 too) and 6’11 (though rail thin at 230) so there is a sliver of hope in Happy Valley. 

The funny thing is that the situation on the perimeter might be even worse.  One of the biggest problems is players who were good in the A-10 will be outmatched in this more athletic and tougher conference.  Seniors like Bob Weiss, Gene ‘Soul Jazz’ Harris, Mark DuMars, Whitey Von Nieda, Tom Daley, John Barr, Herschel Baltimore and Carver Clinton have been productive players for the Lions since they arrived in the so-called Happy Valley.  Von Nieda is almost legendary in these parts as he put Ephrate basketball on the map.  But his off the court antics have what made him infamous.  Oh and that wonderful head of hair.  Don’t get me wrong Whitey can play as he can flat fill it up when he gets going but his off the court fun is what he is notorious for.  Von Nieda has been known to throw a few back and when he traveled in an All-Star trip cross country last summer he and his buddy George Mikan (and a few others who shall remain nameless) hit a few taverns.  The stories were amazing but Whitey lost some playing time last year.  At 6’0 170 this scoring machine better pick it up even if he is going to keep his job.  Whitey is in it for the long haul so whatever happens this guy will have a long, wonderful life and he will never have to buy a beer in these parts ever again.  The amazing DuMars from up the road in Sharon PA played off guard in the A-10 but might be too small here.  Mark the Magician is a ballhandling savant and can really fly up and down the court and loves going to the hoop but at five eight and 145 pounds he was way too small to be guarding Jimmy Jackson or Steve Smith (or even Steve Alford).  You would think he would be a point guard with his ball handling skills (he is no Magic passing however) but he is a little too offense first and the Lions actually have a little depth at the point.   Harris is one terrific athlete who can jump out of the gym but at 6’3 200 lbs might be a bit small for this league.  This Pittsburgh born and bred kid is tough (aren’t all of them kids from up there tough) and has even played some four on this team (when Arnelle was playing center) but will have to switch to the three to have a chance for minutes this season.  He tired that some last year and did okay but he must improve his outside shooting and ball handling.  His defense should be fine.  Clinton was recruited all the way from Selma Alabama (and yes he was there) and has been a jack of all trades (and positions) since he got here.  At one point or another Clinton has played all five positions for the Lions and we are not talking one or two minutes.  He has skills and some size at 6’4 but at 192 pounds soaking wet the post positions are out of play.  He has a nice shot of starting at the three (really it’s between him and Harris right now) and brings diverse skills to the floor.  He is one senior that might stick this year if he can handle the physicality of this new league.  John Barr is another wing in the running for playing time but he is nowhere near athletic enough for the Big 10.  The 6’3 205 pound kid from Shamokin PA has had some glory days here but those were a while ago as even last year he was barely in the rotation.  One senior who the switch won’t affect as much hopefully is Weiss primarily due to the face he not only doesn’t look like an athlete but is not much of one anyone.  Weiss does not have the greatest quickness anyways and gets by completely on smarts and desire.  Hell he looks like an accountant with that balding hair and wire rim glasses.  But Weiss is as cerebral of a player as it gets and he is tough and he can defend.  He loves the game and does whatever it takes to survive and when you are as smart as this cat you don’t have to be able to jump over the moon to contribute.   The lefty swing guard can hit jumpers and is unselfish to a fault (he can really set up big men) but his best attribute is that he just loves this game and knows it better than anybody on the team and that might include Egli.  Daley is another point guard that has some skills but might be a little deep in the rotation to get many minutes.  He has size (6’2) and skill and when he has played there has not been a drop off in production for the Lions.  Baltimore, though he has a fabulous name and is a local favorite from New Castle, really has very little chance of even making the team.  At 6’4 195 this former post will try to transition to win ala Clinton but he has nowhere near the skill set and might have to ride his last year here on the pine. 

 Junior Ron Brown might be the most talented player on the team not named Arnelle and for sure is the most entertaining.  This Brooklyn kid grew up playing street ball and it shows though not by the way he looks.  He is another bespectled backcourt player for the Lions (when he and Weiss are on the court together which is often this team looks like a team from the Ivy league) but is a tremendous athlete.  Brown goes 6’4 and a strong 210 and can handle himself inside the key.  Brown also has point guard skills though he usually guards the other teams two or even three due to his athleticism.  And this kid is a clutch performer as he showed last year against Pitt by hitting a 25 footer to beat the Panthers in the last game played at REC Hall.  He also hit 38 against Virginia in a game that they seated 8600 (1500 over capacity) as they destoryed the Caveliers 93-68 two years ago (yes, before Sampson) and Meister had a marvelous 17 and 16 double double.  The Nittany Lions built a monstrosity called the Bryce Jordan Center that seats 15,000 plus, a number they will never fill up consistently even in the new league.  Brown almost assuredly will start this year at some point unless Egli is really loyal to those seniors or if the new kids coming up (and there are a bunch of them) are as good as advertised.  That is almost never the case and there are no blue chippers in the mix (Brown was actually the first HS All-American ever to come to play ball here) but Egli and his assistants have brought in a bunch of guys who can fly and shoot the three. 

The Penn State Nittany Lions may be the most ill prepared team for what they are about to do EVER.  The slogan ‘what have I gotten into’ fits this program about as well as any team ever.  They were a decent mid-major team who cannot keep up in any way with the big boys of the Big 10.  They will try and compete and the admin has made sure they have a soft out of conference schedule to get some easy wins (hopefully) but that won’t matter much once they get to the league schedule as if anybody will be watching in Happy Valley by then?  After all football is still being played in these parts at least until New Year’s.   So how does such a prolific football program shape up smack dab in the middle of the Keystone state and the basketball program barely stays afloat.  The resources are obviously there in Happy Valley but is the inspiration especially from the Administration?  Why do most of the recruits come from out of State when one of the basketball hotbeds is just around the corner in Philadelphia?  Something has to change at Penn State!  If not this team will continue to be the distraction through the cold winter months for the fans who are waiting for the Big Bad football team’s first spring practice.  Egli is supposedly incorporating a zone defense which should be easier for players to adjust to and could be a problem for opponents who don’t see it much aka Syracuse.  And yes the Lions have finally recruited some players with size to try and get bigger (and better) real quick in their new league.  It won’t get any better being a doormat in the mighty Big Ten though of course there will be much more money in the coffers to spend probably on a new style of uniforms for the football players.  That’s a joke of course but in reality that kind of one sport mentality works if you are an Indy but not in this league.  But that won’t change unless the fans and players in Happy Valley demand more from their basketball program.  And right now that kind of energy just isn’t there in Happy Valley!  They seem to like things just the way they are no matter how obscene it is.  That is Pathetic with a Capital P!