There is a new coach of the Penn State men's basketball team. There is a new staff and new players. But more than that, there is a new attitude.

The team seems to have put last year behind it as if it is playing on a clean slate -- and coach Ed DeChellis is the reason.

DeChellis, a Penn State alum and former assistant coach under Bruce Parkhill and Jerry Dunn, has returned to State College after a seven-year tenure at East Tennessee State. Since turning a cellar-dwelling Buccaneers' program into a conference powerhouse, DeChellis is looking to make the same impact at his alma mater.

DeChellis pulled no punches at his inaugural press conference, saying with determination that his team has lofty goals for the long term.

"When you haven't been very successful, your expectation level may not be what I perceive it to be," DeChellis said. "Every opportunity we have, we talk about our goals as a team."

Those goals include Big Ten championships and NCAA tournament berths. While some would consider these goals unrealistic, DeChellis believes that it is the mindset that his team needs to have.

"I think that if you don't think you can get there," DeChellis said, "Why should anyone else think you can get there?"

That attitude may be the most important addition to the team. When forward Jan Jagla met his new coach, he made his decision not to return to his home country of Germany to play professionally. Forward Aaron Johnson said he likes going to his classes since DeChellis took the helm, mostly because he doesn't want to know the consequences of skipping.

A new attitude emanates throughout every player in the roster. Their reception of DeChellis is certainly respectful and filled with excitement.

"Something is changing here," senior Ndu Egekeze said of the atmosphere at practice. "Coach bleeds blue and white. It's contagious."

Every player in the media room of the Bryce Jordan Center reflected Egekeze's enthusiasm. Johnson and junior Kevin Fellows were nodding their heads right along with Jagla as he spoke of how much more intense practice has been but how much more is accomplished in those two hours.

"I'm telling you it's going to be a lot different this year," Johnson said as he sat up in his chair to be clearly heard. "I can guarantee you won't see the same record as last year. That's a promise."

"War" at practice

The team assembled for its first practice under DeChellis on Saturday and it became immediately obvious that things were going to be different this year.

The entire session played out at full speed, with players having to sprint during and in between drills.

"I think the shock kind of hit them on Saturday morning," DeChellis said. "I'm not sure they really knew what to expect with a new coach and a new staff. But I think the players have responded very well."

DeChellis also talked about implementing the infamous "war" drill popularized by Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. The drill is essentially a no-holds-barred rebounding scrum that has players doing whatever they can to get possession of the ball.

The drill may be implemented later this week as DeChellis bluntly admitted, "they're not ready for that."

Still, the changes in practice have certainly caught the attention of the players.

"When [DeChellis] got here, he just talked about things being up-tempo and how things are going to be different," junior Kevin Fellows said. "In practice, every second you get a chance you have to push it down there, lay it in and get easy scores."

Fresh(man) faces in the backcourt

With the departure of last season's starting guards, Brandon Watkins and Sharif Chambliss, the Nittany Lions are left with only one true guard with experience in Brandon Cameron.

That being the case, freshman guards Ben Luber and Marlon Smith will be looked to for major roles and significant playing time in the Penn State backcourt.

"They've done extremely well the first few days, both of them," DeChellis said. "They've done exactly what we want them to do. They're probably the top two or three guys in terms of conditioning. They're in great shape and they've run well all fall."

It's easily a possibility that the Lions could start both freshmen in the season opener against Georgetown, alternating with Cameron. With only three true guards expected to play, sophomore DeForrest Riley-Smith also figures to see some time at shooting guard, a position he played some last season.

"It's good that we know we're going to play," Luber said. "We know the coaches are confident in us and we're confident in ourselves. It's just going to be us going out there and playing our game."

Shooting from 7'0"

With a glut of forwards and centers available to play the baseline and a drought of experience in the backcourt, DeChellis is experimenting with Jagla at small forward.

In his first two seasons as a forward, Jagla averaged 8.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. This season, DeChellis looks to take advantage of the German's skill by transitioning him to the perimeter, even though his seven-foot stature is the tallest on the team.

"We've got to move somebody from the back line to the front line," DeChellis said.

"We feel like we can take advantage of a couple of Jan's skills that he has, especially in some offensive things. We're going to try to post him at the three spot against smaller wings. He does have perimeter skills and he's running floor extremely well. Even when he's in the post he's going to be in the perimeter with some of the things we're trying to do for him."

Jagla said he feels more comfortable as a forward but is willing to play at the position his team needs him.