There's not a single day of the Penn State men's basketball team's 7-18 season when freshman guard Danny Morrissey doesn't think about Kyle Beigie.

Kyle and Morrissey were teammates on a fourth-grade squad that won the city championship.

They played on the same AAU team throughout high school.

They were always together, Morrissey said.

Kyle was Morrissey's best friend who died after a battle with Leukemia at the age of 19.

"Sometimes when it gets tough, when you're losing and you're mad because you didn't play well and you start to feel sorry for yourself, then you think about it and realize it's not that bad," Morrissey said.

Morrissey's brother Neil, a former Cornell football player, said Kyle was a "more phenomenal athlete than both of us combined," capable of winning Division I scholarships for both football and basketball. That's why Morrissey cherishes his college experience -- because Kyle didn't have that chance.

"For him to not even have an opportunity to play college athletics really influenced Danny his senior year and it still does," Neil said. "When you are given skills and talent, he knows it's up to you what you do with them."

Since that dreary January day in 2003 when Kyle passed away, Morrissey has had an ambition -- to live in a small house on the English countryside and run a Leukemia foundation from the Internet.

He'll use basketball as his stepping stone, with the goal of playing professionally. He knows how to use his talent, and he's known for quite awhile now.

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Morrissey was practically born in the gym because his mother, Mary Ellen, was a Christian Youth Organization (CYO) volleyball coach and his father, Jim, was a CYO basketball coach. By first grade, Morrissey beat the eighth graders in free throw-shooting contests and was hitting 3-pointers.

In second grade, Morrissey played
on the fifth-grade team with brother Neil. Though his jersey was too big for Morrissey, Neil said his brother was also better than most of the kids.

"I remember them being bigger and faster, but I just kind of stood on the wing, caught it and shot it," Morrissey said.

When Morrissey moved on to high school at the University School in Ohio, he started on the varsity squad. Neil wasn't fazed by his little brother starting while he came off the bench.

"On my team, we had five seniors and could have been the senior-laden team, and he came in and scored 13 points a game," Neil said. "He was a contributing factor as to why we were so good that year. It was a lot about the Morrissey kid who played basketball and not the football player."

After two years at the University School, Morrissey realized it wasn't the right fit for him because he was forced to devote too much time to his studies and not enough to basketball. So he jumped at the chance when University School coach Tony Tucker invited him to transfer to the IMG Basketball Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where Tucker accepted a head coaching job.

"I was impressed with Danny's energy," Tucker said. "He would not back down from anybody. He's hard-nosed and tenacious.

"He was a kid that had his eye on the prize he was looking for."

Morrissey, the youngest of three boys, left home after his sophomore year of high school. The Pepper Pike, Ohio, native wasn't particularly fond of the Cleveland area, and resented the fact that it was a football town. So he moved to Bradenton, Fla., where he took classes at the Pendleton School, one of three academic affiliates of the Basketball Academy, one of many sports campuses at IMG.

"When I went down to the Basketball Academy, I was part of something that was just being built," Morrissey said of being a member of the inaugural team. "I was one of the first people to go there and that was big for me."

Morrissey played there for three years when knee injuries during his first two seasons at the University School allowed for a redshirt year. By the end of his junior season, he averaged 22 points and seven rebounds per game for a team that was ranked in the top 25 nationally. During his senior season, he led the team to a 26-2 record while averaging 24 points and eight rebounds per game, and colleges took notice.

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Morrissey's three-year stay at the 190-acre Basketball Academy campus was a preview of the next level. He followed a rigorous routine, consisting of two practices a day, class, lifting, study hall and even a lights-out rule.

His roommates in his first year at the Basketball Academy came from Venezuela and Mexico, so arriving in Happy Valley and living with Penn State freshman guard Mike Walker was hardly an adjustment.

Easing Morrissey's transition to Big Ten play was his experience of always playing against those older than he.

Morrissey averages 6.9 points per game this season as the Nittany Lions' sixth man and has settled into conference play, providing solid defense.

"He's a tremendous shooter and has really improved defensively," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "Now it's just a matter of getting stronger and more confident. He does everything you ask him to do. He puts a lot of time in."

His nice looking 3-point shot is a result of many private sessions in the gym. On a good day, he said he'll sink 400 out of 500. On a bad day, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound shooting guard may have to put up 1,000 to hit as many.

"He learned how to do it properly very young on Little Tikes," said Jim, who was a point guard in college. "He learned it properly from day one."

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Morrissey chose Penn State because he wanted to be close to home so his family could watch him play. His parents have been to almost every game and Neil, who works in Las Vegas, spends game nights at the casino, where he can catch Morrissey on TV. Tucker said he purchased the ESPN Full Court package "just for Danny."

Playing time was also a big factor in Morrissey's decision to become a Lion and join the rebuilding process.

"I wanted to be someone who started something and that's how it is here," Morrissey said. "I want to be someone who started it and people look back and say, 'He was part of that class that got it going.' "

Morrissey knows things aren't going to turn around overnight. He said he's confident Penn State can compete for a Big Ten championship and a bid to the NCAA tournament by his junior year.

He knows he has to persevere through the tough times first, but it's nothing compared to what Kyle had to endure. And he keeps that in mind every single time he steps on the court, when he's about to get frustrated and when things aren't looking too promising.

"When he gets down and wants to complain, I think he thinks about what Kyle could have done," Jim said. "Kyle went through a year and a half of living hell and Danny watched him go from this kid that smiled all the time to a shell of his former self. Danny has that [college experience] and Kyle doesn't, but he knows it. He can't stand losing ... but he cherishes what he has."

And he knows he has the talent to get him where he wants to go and accomplish what he wants: To live in a small house on the English countryside and run a Leukemia Foundation from the Internet -- for Kyle.