Sports

Coach's new deal a sign of stability

Jeff Rice

I have a lot of friends who follow Penn State basketball with various levels of passion and diligence. Some are waiting until the Nittany Lions become frequent NCAA Tournament participants to truly invest themselves, others could name you the last three guys off the bench in each of the last 20 seasons.

CDT file photo/Christopher Weddle

Penn State signed head men’s basketball coach Ed DeChellis to a three-year contract extension Thursday.

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• Steady Eddie

Most of them, hardened by disappointment, approach each year and each game with a grain of salt and half-morbid sense of humor, so as news of Ed DeChellis’ contract extension broke Thursday, I could hear them already:

“You can’t spell ‘extension’ without ‘N-I-T.’”

Yes, it should be noted that DeChellis has now received two contract extensions and that each has followed a season ending with an NIT berth. The Nittany Lions were

bounced out of the “other” postseason tournament in the first round in 2006 and ripped off six wins in a row last season to win their first postseason tournament in school history.

To some fans, both extensions were a sign of mediocrity being rewarded. To others, both were a sign that the administration feels DeChellis has a ship that’s taken on a lot of water since it set sail in Big Ten seas finally pointed in the right direction.

In reality, it’s evidence of neither. Tim Curley understands what any athletic director at a big-time program does — if your coach has any sort of uncertainty surrounding his future, he is at a disadvantage on the recruiting trail. Extending DeChellis’ contract is not a vote of total confidence or even a sign that the administration is entirely satisfied with the state of the program. It’s about stability, and whether you love DeChellis or want to see him go, you have to admit that the program is as stable as it’s been in a long time.

The Nittany Lions have a superstar in place (lead guard Talor Battle), a core group that plays well together and understands how DeChellis wants to play, quality depth at most positions and arguably DeChellis’ most important recruit, Taran Buie, set to come on board next year. They won’t have any more scholarships available until the following season, but the headway DeChellis and his assistants make with this year’s junior class during the season will determine how good Buie’s teams will be.

Penn State has come a long way under DeChellis, but to go further, the Nittany Lions need to take their recruiting to another level, to supplement the diamonds in the rough with major players that are being pursued by major schools. Buie was a great start. To get more players of his caliber, the Nittany Lions will need every advantage they can get. An extension for DeChellis, and the peace of mind it should send through the entire program, avoids putting them at a potential disadvantage.

Football injury report

In the last two football games between Penn State

and Illinois, the winning team has scored a touchdown on a kickoff return, but the Nittany Lions will enter Saturday’s game at Memorial Stadium shorthanded in the return game.

Head coach Joe Paterno said Thursday on his radio show that freshman wide receiver Devon Smith, who leads Penn State with 91 return yards, suffered a concussion last week against Iowa and will not make the trip. The team’s other kick returner, Chaz Powell, has been sick all week, according to Paterno.

Smith and Powell have turned in seven of Penn State’s 11 kickoff returns this season. The other four returns have been by up-backs.

In less surprising news, linebacker Sean Lee, who missed last week’s game with a sprained left knee, is unlikely to play against the Illini.

“I don’t think Lee’s gonna make it,” Paterno said.

State College alumnus Nathan Stupar, who was limited by a sprained ankle last week, will likely start in place of Lee.

Jeff Rice can be reached at 231-4609.