Last chance to right the ship.
The Penn State men's basketball team finishes up its exhibition schedule tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center against the New Zealand Select Team.
For the Nittany Lions and Coach Jerry Dunn it is the last chance to find some chemistry and combinations of players for the regular season opener Nov. 18 versus Yale.
In their only other exhibition game, the Lions started true freshmen Jan Jagla and Daren Tielsch along side of junior Brandon Watkins, sophomore Jamaal Tate and senior Tyler Smith in their 86-66 loss to Team Nike Elite.
After the loss, Dunn said in tonight's game he might juggle the starting lineup.
"I think as important as winning and maybe more important right now is finding out what each players strength and weaknesses are and what their niche will be and how we can grow as a basketball team," Dunn said.
Sophomore Ndu Egekeze figures to see limited time again, as he still is feeling the effects of having his knee scoped before the season. Egekeze saw just nine minutes of action against Nike Elite.
"I tried to played Ndu four or five minutes in the first half and four or five in the second," Dunn said. "He is not even close to being 80 percent right now."
The Lion frontcourt didn't miss a beat as Smith and Jagla led the way against Nike Elite, each putting up a double-double. Jagla could be playing his last game until Dec. 1 as it looks like that he will receive a four-game suspension from the NCAA due to playing with professionals in Germany.
"It could have been worse," Jagla said. "I didn't really expect it could happen because I never received any money or whatever and that's what people told me 'don't receive money, don't sign contracts.' I never did that so I figured I'd be fine. About a couple months ago they started asking questions about playing with professionals and that's what I did. That's what you do in Europe or you don't play at all."
Tate led the team in scoring against Nike Elite, scoring 16 points on 5 for 19 shooting. Tate knows that he is no longer a role player, and may have some difficulty adjusting to being a go-to guy.
"I feel like an old man this year, and I'm only 19," Tate said. "It's a little different especially starting. A lot of young guys asking questions and its kind of hard for me to tell them because I didn't get too much experience myself. But, I'll be able to step into the role, contribute to the team and help us win a few games this year."
The Lions face a team tonight that is winless, including losses to Georgetown and West Virginia. Georgetown opened the game against New Zealand with a 33-0 run on the way to an easy 87-53 victory.
New Zealand's Damon Rampton led the way against the Hoyas with 10 points and nine rebounds. He should provide the Lions' frontcourt with a valuable test.
The Lions need a test and a win tonight could provide some confidence for the regular season.
"It's unbelievable how much potential we got on this team," Tate said. "It's not like guys aren't giving the effort, guys are working extremely hard and putting in extra time getting shots up and working together. It's going to be a great year. I feel real positive about this team."
