It will hit Meggan Quinn when the season finally starts.
Come Nov. 8, when the Lady Lions play Indiana (Pa.) in an exhibition at the Bryce Jordan Center, Quinn will be on the sideline, doing everything she can to help her teammates win.
Everything short of actually taking the court.
Quinn is coming off of her second knee surgery in three years at Penn State. In her freshman season, she missed the final seven games after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) in her left knee.
The guard was able to play her entire sophomore season, but suffered another setback last year when she again tore her ACL in her left knee.
This season, her senior season, Quinn will be relegated to what she called an assistant-coach-type role, but that doesn't mean she won't be a leader.
"It's a different role, and I actually like taking a leadership role off the court," Quinn said.
"Just guiding [my teammates] in the right direction. I've been here for four years, so I know the ropes."
According to Lady Lions coach Coquese Washington, the experiences Quinn has had in her four years at Penn State make her valuable member of the team.
"We need her," Washington said. "We need her leadership sorely, and she's doing a great job of providing it for us."
Quinn's leadership and experience are what led Washington to name her one of the team captains this season, despite the fact that she is not able to play.
"The team definitely looks to her," Washington said. "She's the mother hen of the group. She's always conscious and aware of looking out for everybody's interests."
With four freshmen expected to see significant playing time, Quinn knows she will be needed. She said part of her role this season will be to help the freshmen keep their confidence up. With a young team and a tough conference, there could be some bumps along the way, but Quinn's love for the program and her teammates is what led her to stay around for her senior season.
It can be seen in practice when Quinn, who is still in uniform, stands under the basket and grabs rebounds for her teammates who are running drills. Although it is practice, she can be heard encouraging her teammates to keep working and hustle through every drill.
Despite her new role on the team, Quinn hasn't seen a difference in the way she and her teammates interact.
"I'm still part of the team," Quinn said. "I think they'll always think of me as just one of them, and I really appreciate that."
Quinn admitted she was not ready to leave. She still enjoys going to the movies with her teammates, with whom she shares a relationship that goes much deeper than basketball.
For Quinn, her teammates are her family, and she wants to spend one last year with them.
"I don't have any sisters," Quinn said as she looked around the BJC floor at her teammates. "These are my sisters."
