After fall training camp every year, Ed DeChellis asks each player how many minutes per game he deserves.
When the players have all answered, he said the total is usually between 300 and 350 -- at least 100 minutes more than the actual number available.
But despite his obvious responsibility as the Penn State men's basketball coach to send his players onto the floor, DeChellis said he really isn't the one in charge of minutes.
"I know you guys think I'm crazy," DeChellis told the media after Monday's 80-61 victory over Robert Morris. "But players decide who plays. They decide who plays when they practice every day."
In the first two games this season, DeChellis has given at least 10 minutes per game to nine different players.
That number will most likely decrease in the near future as several starters spent most of the first two games in foul trouble. DeChellis also may not have the luxury to rest those starters with the Charleston Classic -- featuring teams like Miami and South Carolina-- beginning tonight, and the ACC/Big Ten Challenge looming in the near future.
DeChellis said the biggest factor for a player to fit into his 200-minute scheme is consistency in practice.
"We've only got so many minutes, and you've got to divide those minutes as best you can with the guys who perform in practice every day," he said. "And it's an every day thing. You can't play well one day and then take two days off."
Starting guard Chris Babb has averaged only 23.5 minutes per game because of foul problems.
He said the strength of a good bench is its ability to perform on short notice, as it has in the first two games with 16 and 31 points.
"I think we're a good bench team," Babb said. "They give our starters a rest if we get in foul trouble. I got in foul trouble and Jeff [Brooks] got in foul trouble the last couple of games -- we haven't missed a beat."
Redshirt junior guard Adam Highberger, who has come off the bench to score nine points in 15 minutes this season said his coach can sense the energy of his players in practice.
Highberger pointed to junior guard Talor Battle, who led the nation in minutes last season, and said the Lions need to give Battle a break this season.
"We've contributed well in the first two games," Highberger said of the bench. "It's always good to have a bench. Talor -- as consistent as he plays -- to play 40 minutes a game in the Big Ten -- it's impossible."
Highberger said he would like to be able to give Battle as much of a rest as he needs, but that the decision ultimately comes down to DeChellis' trust in him, sophomore Cammeron Woodyard and freshman Tim Frazier.
"It's good to establish coach's confidence in us that we can come in there and pick up right where they left off," Highberger said. "That's very important going into the season, and that's the point of the out-of-conference schedule."
The bench will receive a boost, too, as the Lions expect to get freshman swing man Bill Edwards back from a knee injury some time next week.
Edwards said there is a possibility he will play sometime in the Charleston Classic, but he set a more realistic return date for next Wednesday against Sacred Heart.
"My rehabs coming along," Edwards said. "It's almost done. Its time to get back out there, and I'm looking forward to it. I think I'm ahead of schedule."
