Achil-les had his heel, Superman his kryptonite and the Penn State men's basketball team has the press.

In the Lions' three losses this season, the team has averaged 20.7 turnovers per game as opposed to a 14.2 average for the six Penn State wins.

The three teams who have beaten Penn State -- Stony Brook, Georgia Tech and Seton Hall -- have all used defensive pressure to wreak havoc and generate steals.

All three employ the press to force at least 17 turnovers per game. The full court defense is the reason why the Lions are having trouble and head coach Ed DeChellis knows it.

When asked if he would expect future opponents to press the Lions, DeChellis responded, "I would. We struggled with three teams that really got after us. I expect it and our kids expect it."

When Dr. James Nasmith invented basketball, he didn't intend for the sport to be a defensive struggle. It shouldn't be hard for the Lions to move the ball and break the press, especially considering the experienced backcourt DeChellis has running his offense.

Starting guards Ben Luber and David Jackson are both seniors who have logged serious minutes as the main ball handlers for the Lions.

Mike Walker is a junior and Danny Morrissey is listed as a sophomore, but is more like a junior since he had to red-shirt last season because of an injury.

Junior swingman Geary Claxton is as comfortable with the ball as any guard, so the team can't cite a lack of experience or comfort as a reason for the trouble.

But Walker, who has a team-best 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio, has only averaged 12 minutes in each of the three losses, including only four minutes of action Saturday against Seton Hall. But in the six victories, the junior guard has logged 20.5 minutes.

Against Seton Hall, sophomore forward Milos Bogetic, with a 0.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, saw significant playing time against the aggressive Pirates as he played 31 minutes, his most this season.

Granted, Bogetic had his best game of the year and only committed two turnovers, but Walker remained on the bench while the Lions threw the ball away 21 times on their way to a 10-point defeat.

I'm not saying he had to start, but considering Luber and Jackson combined for 12 turnovers, it might have helped to mix the guards up a little bit and throw some different looks at the Pirate press.

When teams throw the proverbial kitchen sink at the Lions, it's difficult for guys like junior center Brandon Hassell, sophomore forward Jamelle Cornley and Bogetic to move the ball up the court and break the defense.

Switching between their base set and a three-guard set might cause some confusion in the defense and generate some easy buckets.

Sure, the Lions would then be at a disadvantage in the half-court set, but according to Bogetic, Penn State's first goal is to score on fast breaks generated by beating the press, which means odd-man breaks and uncontested lay-up opportunities, so size doesn't matter.

Scrapping the system isn't necessary. After all, a 6-3 start to the season would make any Penn State fan happy. But this team expects to win the big games, and in order to do that, the Lions will have to learn to break the press.

This year's version of the Lions has the potential to be special, and I have confidence that DeChellis will fix the press problem. But if the ball handling woes continue, this could go from a magical basketball season to just another long, cold winter in Happy Valley.