Over the past five days, Ed DeChellis has lost one player and three assistant coaches and hired an assistant coach to replace the departed ones.

None of the three assistant coaches under Jerry Dunn -- Christian Appleman, Mike Boyd and Pat Brogan -- will be on the sidelines for the 2003-2004 Penn State basketball season under new coach DeChellis. Instead, DeChellis decided to go the other route and has hired one of his East Tennessee State assistant coaches, Hilliary Scott.

"Ed wanted to bring in his staff," Boyd said. "When you have a coaching change, it happens. It's not surprising."

Boyd said that the first time he spoke with DeChellis they discussed the team and DeChellis asked for some time to think before making any decisions.

"He went home for his banquet [at East Tennessee State] and made up his mind," Boyd said. "When you leave to take over a new program and an assistant has been loyal to you, you hope for one of two things: one, that he gets that job or that you bring them to the new job."

Thus far, DeChellis has named only Scott as an assistant coach. Scott will be entering his seventh season as an assistant coach. For the past five seasons Scott has been a part of DeChellis' staff at East Tennessee.

Scott has been instrumental in recruiting many of the current East Tennessee State players, who won the Southern Conference this season. Scott has also served has an academic advisor.

Scott was unavailable for comment.

DeChellis said he is pleased with the opportunity to continue working with Scott in the future at Penn State.

"He was a valuable member of my staff at East Tennessee State," DeChellis said in a prepared statement. "Hilliary is an exceptional coach who has extensive background. He is a superb bench coach."

The three assistants collectively have 51 years of experience coaching college basketball.

Appleman is leaving his alma mater after coaching Penn State basketball for seven seasons. Brogan only spent one season in Happy Valley after spending the previous eight seasons as an assistant at Lafayette.

Boyd has the longest tenure in coaching with 29 seasons, including the last seven at Penn State.

Boyd said he plans on continuing coaching, but it's a waiting game for assistants.

"Everyone has aspirations of becoming a head coach," Boyd said.

"Only a strong athletic director would hire an assistant coach, because we're coming off two not very good years."

East Tennessee has yet to name a replacement for the opening vacated by DeChellis two weeks ago. At his press conference, DeChellis said that he was going to wait and see whether one of his assistants received the job.

More of DeChellis' staff that lost a heart-breaking game to Wake Forrest, 76-73, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament could be headed to State College, once a coach is named at East Tennessee.