The point guard position in basketball is not always a glamourous one. The player usually sets up the offense and, on occasion, scores. But that suits Penn State's Dan Earl just fine.

With a quiet, low-key personality, Earl does not fit the stereotypical hotshot player role keyed as the possible savior of the Nittany Lions' program. He is more like the average, next-door neighbor.

"Everbody likes to be noticed -- I'm not going to lie to you," Earl said. "But I really don't mind not having my name in the paper. The main thing is winning."

That will be on the minds of Earl and his teammates as well at 9:30 p.m. today when Penn State (11-3, 3-2 Big Ten) travels to Madison, Wisc. Awaiting the Lions in a nationally televised encounter on ESPN are the Badgers (8-6, 2-3).

Wisconsin was picked to be one of the conference's top teams this season, but it has struggled. Now the team finds itself in a tie for eighth place in the conference. But Lion Coach Bruce Parkhill is not taking anything for granted.

"Everyone's looking at them like they do the (top) three and four teams in the league," Parkhill said of the Badgers. "Everyone's up for them."

As far as the national audience, Parkhill doesn't really know how it will affect his team: "I hope it won't have an effect -- at least a negative effect."

But one thing that has affected Parkhill is the arrival of Earl.

After being named USA Today's 1993 New Jersey Player-of-the-Year, the Medford Lakes, N.J., native made his presence known at Penn State.

During his inaugural season of Big Ten basketball last year, Earl equaled a Penn State record for assists by a freshman with 113, led the team with 32 three-point baskets and ranked second in three-point shooting percentage (37.2).

This season, Earl has averaged 7.8 points per game while dishing out 5.5 assists per game (third overall in the Big Ten).

"His role on the team is to direct the team," forward Glenn Sekunda said. "Whether he is scoring 15 to 20 points or not . . . he can do different things other than scoring to help us win."

Earl knows scoring is not his major role -- distributing the ball to ensure that others will score is. It may not be the most spectacular job, but it's his.

Even in high school, Earl was not concerned with being in the spotlight.

"I was known as a kid that was one of the better players, but wasn't outstanding," he said. "They had the top 100 players, and I'd always be somewhere in that, but wasn't real highlighted. My main concern is just winning."

And under Earl's guidance, the Lions have been winning. But the lack of a true Lion point guard last season forced Earl into the starting lineup in an unfamiliar and hostile Big Ten environment. It has paid off -- he is now a seasoned veteran.

"I really didn't feel that much pressure last year," Earl said. "It's always tough coming in and playing a lot of minutes as a freshman, with whatever position you're in."

However, Earl is in a position that demands a lot of maturity and responsibility. Many before have played it with flash and charisma, but as far as Earl is concerned, those qualities do not necessarily make the player.

"A lot of people have described me as not showing a lot of emotion and just going out and doing my job -- and that's what I want to do," he said. "If I have an open shot, I'll take it; but I usually don't force things."

Although he may not score many points or tally 10 assists per game, he does not make costly turnovers.

It may not be the most gaudy performance, but Dan Earl gets the job done -- adequately and quietly.