The kid sits in the corner, a loose-fitting sweatsuit resting on his lanky frame. There are patches of peach fuzz sprouting from his boyish face.
"Dan Earl, No. 10," the tag on the desk reads. Dan Earl, the most decorated recruit ever signed by Coach Bruce Parkhill at Penn State. The USA Today New Jersey player of the year.
This kid must be in the wrong seat.
Next to fellow freshman Phil Williams, who towers at 6-foot-8, 260 pounds, Dan Earl looks something like a pretzel stick. He is 6-foot-3, 175 pounds. His coach and teammates call him Danny.
He talks like a freshman, too. The clichs are dropped with regularity.
"If Coach decides to play me, I'd like to get some playing time," he says, then dropping the old stand-by, "I'd like to help the team out the best I can."
This is the savior of a program?
Sure, expectations are high, but the kid has had less than a week of collegiate practice -- 23.3 points, 8 assists and 4.5 steals are high school numbers. Bobby Knight doesn't give a damn about those.
So instead, that ugly word --potential -- will be invoked. Until Dan Earl steps on the court and proves those prep accolades are legitimate, he has the potential to be star.
Right now, the kid just wants to fit in. He came to Penn State to help build a program -- not to be a program.
"They have guys here that are really good players," Earl said. "I'm just trying to be part of the team."
But people will grasp onto whatever they can to be optimistic after a 2-16 Big Ten finish last year. The arrival of Earl, coupled with the return of junior Donovan Williams, gives the Lions two more point guards than they had last year, when Michael Jennings played out of position.
He is no Messiah. But already, this kid has made an impact on his teammates. He is adjusting to the level of intensity, to ferocious defenses and relentless offenses.
"He has stepped in and assumed a role as a leader, which you have to do as a point guard," center John Amaechi said.
Parkhill wants his point guard to be quick, to distribute the ball and to make good decisions. Williams is the quickest player on the team, but he has shot 20 percent from the floor in his injury-plagued career.
"I would like our point guard to be a threat from the perimeter," Parkhill said, but he added, "I really like to let a freshman just work his way in."
So Earl will work. He chose Penn State over Northwestern, Rutgers, Princeton, Penn and Stanford -- he chose a school that plays in the nation's best conference. A team forcing its way up from the bottom of the ladder. He will work for his chance to challenge some of the best.
"I can't even imagine what it's going to be like," Earl said. "You watch (the Big Ten) on TV -- I'm sure you don't get the sense of what it's really like. It's going to be amazing."
Someday, maybe this kid will be amazing.
