The Nittany Lions should expect more of the same tonight. Edinboro may be a more difficult test than Lock Haven -- the Fighting Scots made an NCAA Tournament appearance last year -- but they are still a Division II squad, after all.
Penn State's defensive game plan was to keep things simple vs. Lock Haven, but the team is gradually starting to branch out in other defensive schemes like the trap.
"I don't think it makes any sense to do several things and not do any of them well," DeChellis said. "You can have all these things in your repertoire, but if you can't run 'em or you can't execute 'em, they're not gonna work. So what's the sense in having them?"
Tuesday's practice also revealed some changes on offense as McSweeney's effort wasn't the only highlight.
Early on, sophomore Brandon Hassell slammed an authoritative two-handed dunk over 6-foot-9 Joonas Suotamo. Both players simultaneously became airborne, but Hassell somehow came out on top.
"I don't even think Joonas saw me coming," Hassell said with a smile.
The play was an enjoyable one to witness, as most players couldn't stop from grinning. Eldon Price, the director of basketball operations, had to keep softly repeating, "It's not over yet," because it appeared like the team was a bit stunned after watching the two giants go at it.
That was in stark contrast to Hassell's performance against Lock Haven.
Just one week ago, Hassell missed a pair of dunk attempts -- hitting iron instead -- but believed Edinboro would be different, adding he won't be gun-shy when it comes to slamming it home.
And that's certainly a good thing -- with at least two holes in the starting lineup, consistent play is a prerequisite to earning minutes, and Hassell understands he still has to impress the coaches to get some additional playing time.
Even third-year veteran Ben Luber said he wasn't exempt from proving himself.
"I definitely have to work harder to get my spot," he said. "We're all gonna be pushing for minutes."
Luber and teammates Geary Claxton and Travis Parker are the closest players to being sure starters, but that still leaves two openings for competition. Danny Morrissey was poised to line up at shooting guard, but a knee injury put an end to that idea. At least for now.
"I don't know if anybody's really stepped up yet," DeChellis said. "And we need one of those guys to step up because Danny was going to play, so there's minutes that we've got to fill the void for ... maybe it'll be by committee."
That group may include the likes of Mike Walker, David Jackson, McSweeney and even a few others. Tonight's preseason game will act as Penn State's final opportunity to test that committee against different faces -- until the Nov. 19 regular-season opener against Cornell.
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