It hasn't turned out exactly as they planned, just yet.

They were going to be Penn State's newest version of Fred and Barney, Lenny and Carl, Oscar and Felix, Simon and ... well, you get the point. They were good friends, teammates, even roommates beginning last fall.

It was their task to try and turn around a struggling program on the court -- together.

Heading into their second year on the men's basketball team, guards Ben Luber and Marlon Smith were ready to take charge and rescue Penn State from its perennial spot at the bottom of the Big Ten. But there's been one obstacle after another in their way.

The two began their journey in the fall of 2003 under the tutelage of new Penn State men's basketball coach Ed DeChellis, a former Nittany Lion assistant who had recently guided East Tennessee State to prominence and a near-upset of No. 2 seeded Wake Forest in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.

DeChellis immediately turned to the two freshmen as the new foundation of his team, and they didn't disappoint.

"We got a lot of experience," Luber said. "I don't think many people get that as freshmen. We both got 38-39 minutes a game."

The team struggled to a 9-19 record after its roster was gutted by transfers, but Luber and Smith took advantage of the opportunity given to them by their new coach. By season's end, Smith was the team's second-leading scorer with 13.4 points per game and the first Penn State player ever to be named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Luber set a new freshman team mark with 114 assists; he also had a team-high 40 steals.

Both had higher expectations for their second time around. They weren't just going to play basketball; they were looking forward to being leaders together both on and off the court, all while trying to create a better atmosphere on the team.

"I think Ben and I are going to be leaders on the floor, [like] generals," Smith said before the season. "This year it definitely feels more like a team, I kind of feel like a family with them. ... I think my relationship with Ben this year is a lot better than last year, for the simple fact that he's also my roommate. We're always in the room together, we're always talking."

However, as the season progressed, the two barely found each other on the court at the same time. Before the Lions' first home game on Nov. 19, it was learned that Luber had asked to become an inactive member of the team "to concentrate on some personal matters."

With Luber out, Smith took even more responsibility on a team overflowing with newcomers. All he did was respond with an average 13.6 points and more than 38 minutes in his next three games played, not counting two missed with an ankle injury.

Quashing any rumors that yet another Penn State basketball player would transfer, Luber returned prior to the Lions' contest with Pittsburgh on Dec. 11 -- he didn't get any significant playing time until the Dec. 29, more than two weeks later, against Long Island.

The two were back together, like they had planned all along. But it wouldn't last for long.

Tragedy struck one week later when Smith collapsed before practice. Nobody knew it at the time, but Smith had a blood clot in his brain. He was immediately rushed to Mount Nittany Medical Center and later transferred to Milton S. Hershey Medical Center for more testing.

"Something happens and all of a sudden your whole life changes," DeChellis said. "I told the guys we have to be very, very grateful for our health. Until we don't have it, we realize how important it is, and when we do we take it for granted. I asked [the players] several times to think about it. Marlon [was] in our thoughts and prayers before games and after games."

According to Penn State physicians, the blood clot was not a life or death situation, but was serious nonetheless. Smith will miss the remainder of the season and will have to wait at least three months before even attempting any kind of physical activity.

The team will be without arguably one of its best players and inspirational leaders, but that doesn't matter to the other guys. Smith's teammates are glad to see him back at Penn State where he rightfully belongs, not in a hospital bed somewhere in central Pennsylvania.

"It's been tough," Luber said, "but the only positive is that he's getting healthy, he's getting better. We were worried about him for a while, [and they] didn't know really what was going on. But now I get to see him every day again and just make sure that I know that he's well. And that's really the only thing that matters."

So the two roommates will have to wait another year, if all goes well for Smith, to collectively fight the uphill battle that is Big Ten basketball at Penn State. And even if Smith's career is over, they both know that it's not the end of the world. After all, where friends are concerned, it's only basketball -- and, for Luber, his friend is back.