Booth playing better; Crenshaw on the way

When point guard Dan Earl was injured on Dec. 6, Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn knew one of the biggest voids to fill would be the leadership Earl provided.

After seeing Calvin Booth net a career-high 23 points against Minnesota on Saturday, Dunn is resting a little easier.

"I felt everybody would have to step up in a big way," Dunn said yesterday at his weekly news conference. "I felt there had to be some upperclassmen step up as far as productivity was concerned on both ends of the floor."

Since Earl's injury, Booth has averaged 12.8 points per game. Against the Golden Gophers, the junior center was everywhere. He hit 9 of 12 shots and had eight rebounds.

Without Earl in the lineup, Booth has had to work harder to find open looks at the basket. The Nittany Lions have also been juggling their forwards for the past few weeks and this has made Booth's role that much more important.

Booth has had success this season when the Penn State point guard has been at the top of his game. Against Purdue last Wednesday, Booth shot a dismal 1 for 10 from the field and point guard Joe Crispin had seven turnovers. But after Crispin cut down on his mistakes against Minnesota, Booth's game flourished.

"There are certain points of the game that an experienced point guard can make a play here or make a play there and make it easier for a guy like Calvin to get things going," Dunn said. "Now he has to rely on when he gets inside, he has to score. He's not getting as many transition buckets as he normally gets. He's having to work harder."

The sophomore class of the Lion team may not be that large in numbers (there are only two -- Carl Jackson and Greg Stevenson) but its contributions can not be overlooked.

Jackson, a 6-foot-9 forward/center, has been playing considerable minutes for Penn State since recovering from an early season shoulder injury. He has started in three games for the Lions including the last two conference games.

"I think Carl Jackson is playing as well as I thought he would at this juncture," Dunn said. "He's doing a good job on both ends of the floor. He's a guy you can put in and he'll give you a solid defensive effort and he's going to do the little things you need him to do on the offensive end as well."

Stevenson had been starting since the third game of the season. But he has come off the bench in three of the last four games. Dunn doesn't feel that Stevenson or frontcourt mate Jarrett Stephens are playing as well as he hoped.

"Greg Stevenson is not as consistent as I'd like to see him at this juncture," Dunn said. "But certainly the potential is there. He's had some good nights."

Freshman football player Sam Crenshaw joined the basketball team last Friday. He has only practiced once and is expected to suit up for the game against Northwestern on Jan. 22.

Dunn said he is unsure of exactly what Crenshaw's role will be. He is a 6-foot-2 guard who was all-state in both football and basketball in high school.

Right now, the Lions' backcourt is playing well with Crispin and Pete Lisicky starting and Greg Grays coming off the bench. Crenshaw knows his playing time will probably be limited.

"When I talked with him when he was entertaining the thought, these are things we discussed," Dunn said. "He understands our situation. He understands at this particular point in time he is going to just do whatever he can to help the team."