When Brianne O'Rourke began her freshman season, she did so knowing the history and expectations at the one-spot, where the Lady Lions program holds the nickname "Point Guard U."
Most recently in Lady Lions lore, there were Jess Strom and Helen Darling, the latter an All-American. Before them was Tina Nicholson. Back in the late 1980s, there was Suzie McConnell, a two-time Olympian who Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said was the best point guard she ever had.
Portland adheres to a trial-by-fire mentality. Sometimes, all involved have been burned.
Perhaps it was the pressure imposed by such a legacy, perhaps it was the fact that she had to go against then-No. 1 Duke, but O'Rourke's nine-turnover, four-assist performance that resulted in a 26-point home loss was a less-than-ideal debut for the Pittsburgh native.
Since that game, she's tallied 80 assists to just 49 turnovers, emerging as a solid, yet occasionally inconsistent ball-handler.
"It is all to the kid's credit," Portland said. "If you ask her if she can do it better, she'll tell you she can do it better. Right now I don't think there is a kid in the league doing it better."
Statistically, nobody else is. Factor the Duke game back in and she has 84 assists total, good for 5.6 per game, leading the Big Ten's next best disher, Janese Banks of Wisconsin, who has 65 on the year and 4.64 per contest.
Although her numbers improved as non-conference play wore along, the start of Big Ten play has not been friendly.
O'Rourke's turnover/assist ratio of 1.47 is good for eighth best in the conference for players with more than three assists a game. But since the conference opener, she has not been as impressive: 16 assists, 17 turnovers in four games. The adjustment to the conference has not been easy.
"It is a lot different than when you watch it from high school in the stands and on TV. And even watching film, it's so much different playing with them," O'Rourke said. "I mean, it's one of the best conferences in the country, and that's what I wanted to compete with. Yeah, definitely what I thought it would be and more."
Portland has typically let freshmen learn on the fly, a mentality that dates back to the days of McConnell, who assumed a starting role by the second game of the year. And it was McConnell who gave the future star a shot as a young player back at Oakland Catholic High School. There, McConnell coached O'Rourke in her freshman and sophomore seasons.
Now in college, she's been able to turn to Strom and Nicholson, who have told her she has to be more assertive.
"Both of them say she's too nice," Portland said with a laugh. "Those two, I don't want to say answered back, but certainly have their side of the story. They keep saying you have to be a little tougher, a little meaner."
There have been other growing pains. According to Portland, shot clock management, specifically the presence of one, has been a new facet of the game she's adjusted to out of necessity.
From the floor, O'Rourke has struggled as well, shooting a team-worst 29.1 percent from the field, but she realizes in her young career she's supposed to get the ball in the hands of those who can put the ball in the basket. By the time Portland has to bring in another point guard for the 2009-2010 season, she feels O'Rourke's place in Lady Lions history will be cemented and everything will have come together.
"She's still smiling, and she's still standing. I think it's an easy sell. What kid would complain about playing time?" Portland said. "What kid would complain about all the positives of being the Penn State point guard and being known as the Penn State point guard? Brianne fits that mold."
