Redshirt junior Cilk McSweeney contorted his body like Stretch Armstrong, inching every aching muscle upward during his frog-like vertical jump, in an attempt to pick off an errant pass.

Problem was, the incredible effort wasn't enough -- the ball just slid over his fingertips.

"Fingernails are too short, Cilk," one coach yelled, jokingly.

It may have only been one play during the practice prior to Saturday's annual Blue-White scrimmage, but it was entirely representative of the unfortunate theme of Penn State men's basketball: Close but no cigar.

Whether it was a pass that was thrown a tad too far ahead of the intended recipient or a shot that rolled around the rim, the Nittany Lions always seemed just inches away from breaking out of mediocrity.

During practice, the Lions' shooting looked like it was straight out of the movie Pleasantville. But a bad read here, a missed shot there -- and the small mistakes began to add up quickly in the Blue-White scrimmage.

"We didn't talk as much as we needed to on offense," guard David Jackson said. "Everybody's still thinking about plays, and we're just thinking too much."

At one point, Penn State men's basketball coach Ed DeChellis became a little frustrated with his team's miscommunication about swarming around the ball too often. He then stepped onto the court and chastised his defense for allowing open men on the baseline.

"I don't need three guys on the ball," he said. "This isn't a big ball."

For the most part, though, the floor management mistakes didn't seem too costly until the waning seconds of the scrimmage. With White leading, 28-27, the Blue team had possession of the ball with just 15 seconds left.

Penn State had difficulty finding an open shot until 6-foot-9 freshman Joonas Suotamo tried a pass to teammate Ben Luber, who was waiting in the paint.

The ball went out of bounds. End of game.

It was an anti-climatic ending to a close scrimmage that boasted several lead changes, but according to at least one player, the basketball team's current flaws should only be temporary.

"We're learning new plays and with school on top of that, it's tough," McSweeney said. "But we should be fine by the season's start."

Size matters

Jackson, a junior transfer from community college, said he wasn't intimated at all by the step up to Division I basketball.

"Basically, we're running the same thing in junior college," he said. "They want us to get the ball and push it as fast as we can down the court."

The step up to a larger campus, however? According to Jackson, that was a different story.

"The biggest adjustment was the size of the campus," he said. "I could get across Gulf Coast Community College in about five minutes, now it takes a while.

"I go the same way all the time now; you can't get lost that way."

What scrimmage?

Several hundred fans, many of whom were dressed in Derrick Williams or Justin King jerseys, knew of the intrasquad scrimmage and were on hand for the 11 a.m. event.

McSweeney, on the other hand, apparently wasn't.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't even know we were scrimmaging until I saw all the people," he said.

Morrissey Update

As of Saturday, sophomore guard Danny Morrissey was still in the hospital recovering from Thursday's surgery on his knee.

Morrissey's rehab should last around three months -- at which time, he will be re-evaluated. He could be sidelined up to six months, possibly choosing to redshirt this season.

Morrissey underwent a similar procedure during high school when he suffered an identical injury to his other knee.