When Nike Elite coach Glenn Sargent walked into The Bryce Jordan Center Media room after his squad had defeated the Penn State men's basketball team in its first exhibition game of the season, he was asked for his assessment of the Nittany Lions squad he'd just seen.

"It's going to be a long season (for Penn State)," he told reporters.

Those reporters in that room might not have quite understood what it would mean to have a "long season" at Penn State.

At places like Duke, UCLA or Kentucky, a long season is an NIT bid, or barely sub-.500 at absolute worst. At Penn State, as was proven this season, it means losses to Yale and James Madison.

It means no wins on the road, a 3-14 conference record and scrapping every night for dismally minor positives to keep confidence going.

Indeed, it was a very long season for the Lions, even though it ended as early as it possible could with their loss to Minnesota in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

It was hard to watch the Lions play games that were over by halftime almost weekly, and many times, even when they still had a shot late in the game, it seemed almost inevitable that they would find a way not to finish it off.

As hard as it was to watch, it was probably even more difficult to play through, yet somehow the Lions did it without giving up, without laying down and without losing so much as an ounce of their team unity and resilience. Make no mistake, this Lions team was bad. It tied the school's lowest win total since 1984 when they won just five games in then-coach Bruce Parkhill's first season. They were dominated inside, not just by stars like Indiana's Jared Jeffries, but also by very good, yet comparatively ordinary forwards like Illinois' Robert Archibald. However, by battling as they have through all of this, they've earned my respect and should earn that of all who have watched them.

Among the things I've heard this team called on campus is a disgrace to the university.

If a team that fights to the buzzer even when it faces insurmountable odds is a disgrace to the university, Penn State must be one high and mighty school.

I doubt there are many among us who have ever been athletes, be it in rec leagues or high school, who have never been on a losing team. Chances are, even in the short seasons they faced, the team unraveled. The last games were not nearly as intensely played as the early ones when there was still a chance at making something happen. Communication dropped off and chaos reigned.

I doubt there are many among us that could have shown the same spirit it took to fight through a season this bad.

This team will improve with this experience and be a much better team next season.

The coaches know they can count on the players to never quit, and the players know that about each other. They know what losing is like and they are getting an idea of how to change that.

This year they were limited by inexperience. Next year they could still be limited by lack of overwhelming talent, but if nothing else, their heart will make certain that they find out exactly how far they can stretch those limits.