Dan Earl had just sunk his fifth three-pointer of the night on his fifth attempt, from close to NBA-range, in the waning seconds of last night's Blue-White game. But he didn't want to be the first one to face the media.
It was the big center, John Amaechi, an old pro at facing reporters, who pulled the freshman away from the autograph-seekers and into the media room to face the press.
"I didn't feel a lot of pressure until it got to be the tipoff," Earl said of his initiation to the rigors of college basketball.
After the tipoff, the jitters showed immediately -- as his main competition for the starting point guard position, Donovan Williams, stripped the ball from the lanky freshman and headed in for the one-handed dunk.
The 6-foot-3 Earl had just gotten his first lesson on defense.
"I guess you all are surprised because you haven't seen point guards here do that in the past," Williams said.
All-in-all, it was a rather productive night for Coach Bruce Parkhill and company.
Parkhill said the results were just about what he expected after two weeks of practice -- he was mostly thankful that nobody got hurt. But he realizes that there's still a lot of work to be done before the season opener Nov. 26 at Vanderbilt.
"We really need to get a lot sharper in our execution," Parkhill said. "Our defense was, at times, very porous."
Parkhill also said that he hasn't even thought about a potential starting lineup, but there's still plenty of time for that. Parkhill had ample opportunity to see what each of his players could do, as five Nittany Lions -- including Earl, who ended up with 20 points, and Amaechi -- were forced to play all 40 minutes in the Blue squad's 62-55 win.
But would anybody admit to feeling the fatigue? Certainly not the veteran Amaechi. You'd better ask the rookie.
"I'll be honest," Earl said, reflecting on his fourth-quarter condition, "I got winded."
Notes:
-- The other freshman, 6-foot-8, 260-pound Phil Williams, scored 12 points on five-for-eight shooting from the floor. He also grabbed five rebounds. And while it may have been a relatively quiet night in Rec Hall, the atmosphere was intimidating enough to give Williams the jitters.
"Compared to high school, the crowd was bigger than most of my high school games," Williams said. "At first, I was like 'Oh, man' --all this for a Blue-White game?"
-- Syracuse transfer Glenn Sekunda, who will sit out this year and become eligible to play in the 1994-95 season, was one-for-five from the floor, but grabbed seven rebounds. His White teammate, Rahsaan Carlton, scored 16 points but turned the ball over seven times.
-- The two teams shot 30 three-point shots on the night. Subtract Earl, and the Lions were 1-for-25.
"If it's there, we would like to advantage of it," Parkhill said of the three-point shot.
-- Center John Amaechi scored 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, but he was playing against third-string center Dan McKenna for most of the night. Backup Michael Joseph is still bothered by a knee injury, and saw limited action.
"He'll probably be a little bit sore tomorrow," Parkhill said of Joseph. "He is not in shape and he hadn't been out there going live."
-- Forward Matt Gaudio is still day-to-day after reinjuring his chronically wounded back. Parkhill said Gaudio had practiced a couple of days this week. Gaudio was in street clothes last night.
-- The Lions will play host to Marathon Oil in an exhibition game next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Parkhill said former Iowa sharpshooter Val Barnes, who lit up the Lions for 33 points on six-for-six three-point shooting last season in Rec Hall, may compete for the Oilers. The coach added that former Penn State center C.J. Johnson, who graduated in 1991, may also play.
