Cagers show signs of rebound

Was this the same team which lost its star point guard and was destined to fail mightily in the Big Ten? Was this the same team that blew a 15-point lead at Minnesota last week before eventually losing the game? Was this the same team that lost to Virginia Military Institute in December?

It couldn't be. I refused to believe it. This team had just knocked off the No. 5 team and also had beaten then-No. 16 Iowa in January.

Ample room, maybe. This is still a team without veteran leadership (Pete Lisicky is one heck of a player, but he'll be the first to admit he's not a leader). This is still a team that makes careless, sometimes comical, mistakes (i.e. check out Calvin Booth in the paint sometimes).

Granted, no team is perfect, but the Lions have indeed improved since their 71-59 loss at Michigan State, the Big Ten's top team. Here are just a few areas this team has refined.

-- Mental toughness: Dunn and his players have tried to convince fans and media that their minds are focused. I'm convinced.

"Sometimes I cringe, but that's just Joe," Dunn said, "But I don't want to see anyone else doing that."

Stephens is just another example of mental toughness. He lost his starting role and was almost nowhere to be found against the Spartans, but the 6-foot-7 forward has turned it around.

"I just go at it in practice with these guys," Stephens said about developing toughness. "We try to make each other better and it helps."

And it helps the team. After his dismal six-point effort in East Lansing, Stephens has been on a tear averaging 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

"He's doing a better job on defense," Dunn said. "He has done a real good job and has accepted his role."

-- Aggressiveness: Don't confuse aggressiveness with mental toughness. A team can be aggressive and play stupidly if not for mental toughness. For the Lions, though, mental toughness and aggressiveness go hand-in-hand.

In its last three games, Penn State has outrebounded its opponents 98-93 -- a lot of which has to do with Stephens and Booth. Booth has grabbed eight rebounds per game in his last three outings.

The best part about this aspect is these guys are getting mean. A little yelling at the refs never hurts, just so long as it's controlled. Guys like Booth and Stephens who are perceived as quiet, nonchalant players, have finally asserted themselves with attitude under the boards, with their teammates and with their opponents.

-- Jerry Dunn: It's a testament to Dunn's coaching ability that this team is playing as well as it has been.

The starting lineup against Purdue, and predominantly the whole Big Ten season, featured just one senior (Lisicky). Crispin, a freshman, calls the shots at the point. Titus Ivory, a redshirt freshman, averages 19.3 minutes in conference play.

Are these guys playing over their heads or does Dunn have something to do with it? The third-year coach has found a delicate mix of motivation for his players. If he's not going over the Xs and Os of the game, he's beating some sense into his players verbally. There's nothing wrong with that.

Indeed, this is a different team since the beginning of the Big Ten schedule. The players are capable of playing with the top teams in the Big Ten, and maybe the nation. Tournament talk anyone?