Letting go of the past is a healthy sign of maturity and development.
For the Penn State men's basketball team (8-7, 2-2 Big Ten), building from Wednesday's traumatic 80-37 defeat against Illinois will be a key in the team's progress, which will be tested by Michigan tomorrow at 12:15 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Against Illinois, freshmen guards Marlon Smith and Ben Luber combined for five points on 2-for-26 shooting, Jan Jagla was shut down for the second straight game and garbage time began at the onset of the second half.
After Wednesday's loss to Illinois, a Penn State victory tomorrow may seem like a dead cat bounce, a minor recovery after a string of devastating setbacks. At the same time, however, a win against Michigan could propel the Lions' stock back to respectable levels.
Penn State men's basketball coach Ed DeChellis believes there is much to be taken from the blowout.
"It's a loss, and there's things to be learned and we need to take advantage of that," DeChellis said following Wednesday's game on the Penn State Sports Radio Network.
Michigan (10-5, 1-3 Big Ten) is led by Bernard Robinson, Jr., who is averaging 13.5 points per game. Likewise, standout guard Daniel Horton has been up to his old tricks from long range, hitting 28-of-91 from three-point range this season. Michigan men's basketball coach Tommy Amaker, a former Duke standout, led his team to a 10-6 conference mark last year.
After defeating Northwestern in its Big Ten opener this season, Michigan has struggled, coming up short against Indiana and getting spanked by Michigan State before falling on Wednesday to conference favorite Wisconsin, 74-63.
For the Lions, this game will be about re-establishing the momentum from their 2-0 Big Ten start, which seems like season's ago. Penn State's Aaron Johnson has been the team's most consistent player as of late, averaging nearly 14 points per game in conference play and leading the team in scoring the past two games, despite coming off the bench.
Even with the team's recent road misfortune, Penn State finds itself only one game out of the conference lead. The Lions have also won their last four home games.
To top it all off, the first 2,000 fans in attendance tomorrow will receive an Ed DeChellis bobble head doll. So regardless of the outcome, DeChellis will be nodding his head in approval.
