Crispin's confidence catapults Cagers to win against aggressive Iowa press

After the Penn State men's basketball team lost 71-59 to Michigan State last Saturday, point guard Joe Crispin placed the blame for the loss on himself. The freshman turned the ball over eight times and had only one assist against the Spartans.

What a difference four days can make.

-- Joe Crispin, Penn State point guard

Crispin showed his trademark confidence and 20/20 court vision as he handily broke the Hawkeyes' press and controlled the tempo for Penn State. After playing the best game of his short career one would think Crispin would be quick to snatch up accolades and take credit for the Lion victory. After all, his first and only turnover didn't come until the game was already 37 minutes and 51 seconds old.

"I'm happy about that," the 6-foot-1 guard said. "But that one turnover wasn't a good one."

True, he did cough the ball up with the game in the balance at 62-57, but he played 37 minutes against a team that forced one of the best point guards in the Big Ten, Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves, to make six turnovers last week.

But that is Joe Crispin. He is quick to deflect credit to his teammates. That is only one of the traits that makes him an atypical first-year player.

Most freshmen would have been intimidated when they watched film of Iowa's relentless full-court press. Not Crispin.

"I love it when teams press," Crispin said. "If you break it, which you should, you get easy baskets."

Every basket must have looked easy to Crispin last night. He drove to the basket on several occasions and made acrobatic shots. At other times, he sat back and hit 3-pointers.

Even when a shot looked like a bad idea to everyone in The Bryce Jordan Center, it somehow fell for the confident point guard from Pitman, N.J.

"When Joe has the ball, for the most part, good things happen," Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said. "Sometimes he amazes me. I'll say, 'Pull it out, Pull it out,' and then he does something great and I'll look up and give thanks."

Crispin's confidence isn't always a good thing. There have been times this season when he has forced passes between defenders, tried to dribble through three guys and taken a shot from somewhere between the 3-point line and the third row. Last night the negative side of his confidence almost bit him again.

With the Lions leading 67-65 and five seconds remaining on the clock, Lion center Calvin Booth took a shot that could have iced the game for the Lions. Instead it hit the rim and bounced into the hands of Iowa's Ricky Davis. Crispin being as confident in his teammates as he is in himself, decided to sit back and watch Booth's shot fall.

"I was about to chill at the other end of the court," a smiling Crispin said. "Then I got a little nervous."

Fortunately for Crispin, Davis was unable to get a shot off and the Lions won. The victory could be a building block for the rest of Penn State's season. It could also be the first great game in a long string for Crispin, who is still a work in progress.