PSU NOTEBOOK

Lions hoping for a healthy Oliver

Jeff Rice

UNIVERSITY PARK — The forgotten man in the Penn State lineup, redshirt freshman Billy Oliver, reported to the season's first practice Friday and showed coaches and teammates signs of the player he could be when healthy.

CDT/Nabil K. Mark

Taylor Battle speaks during Penn State Men's Basketball Media Day October 19, 2009. CDT/Nabil K. Mark

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“He was tremendous,” Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. “He was very, very good.”

But by the end of the weekend, health issues once again took Oliver off the court. The 6-foot-8 forward from Chatham, N.J., missed Sunday’s practice with the flu-like virus that he had been battling in recent weeks.

“I don’t want to say ‘relapse,’ but I had some symptoms and now I’m working my way back,” Oliver said Monday at Penn State’s media day. “It’s a little bit of a process, but by the time the season comes around I’m hoping to be ready.”

Various strains of the flu have also hit sophomore shooting guard Chris Babb, who missed Sunday’s practice, and walk-on guard Joe Silko, who was not in the Jordan Center on Monday. The setback was particularly disappointing for Oliver, who redshirted his freshman year after suffering a pair of concussions during practice early in the season.

Penn State’s coaches hope to use Oliver, who averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks per game during his senior year at Chatham High School, in relief of David Jackson or Jeff Brooks at the four position.

“It’s never fun to sit out, but now I know what to expect,” Oliver said. “I got to travel with the team and see everything. I got to watch players like Jamelle Cornley. I didn’t get any game experience but I got experience in other ways.”

Doubters and believers

Penn State’s 27-win season and NIT win has helped the Nittany Lions on the recruiting trail, DeChellis said Monday, by giving them national exposure.

The national respect, at least among the media, hasn’t yet taken hold.

The Sporting News, Lindy’s, Athlon and Yahoo! all have Penn State ninth in their respective preseason Big Ten rankings. Whether pundits believe the league is strong from top to bottom or simply don’t have much faith in the Nittany Lions is of no concern to DeChellis, who said he puts little stock in preseason rankings.

“Somebody sits 100 miles away and is going to tell me where will finish and has never seen our guys,” DeChellis said. “It’s a little interesting to me.”

His best player views the material as motivation.

“I see the magazines,” junior point guard Talor Battle said. “In their eyes, it may have been a one-hit wonder. It’s our job to keep working each and every day and prove everyone wrong, show that we are on the rise.”

Miscellaneous

Junior forward Jeff Brooks gained more than a dozen pounds during the offseason and now weighs in at 215. …Kurt Kanaskie, DeChellis’ top assistant, has been promoted to associate head coach. … The Nittany Lions are the Big Ten’s only team without a senior on the roster. … The athletic department reported a 13 percent increase in season ticket sales and a 22 percent increase in student ticket sales from this time last year.