The Penn State men's basketball team will take on an UNC-Wilmington team that Chris Babb said will be the team's strongest opponent yet.
The Seahawks provide a tough test for the Nittany Lions (2-0) -- sporting an athletic lineup of players who can run up and down the court on offense.
Coach Ed DeChellis said this is the first time both stars for UNC-Wilmington will be on the court at the same time. Swingman John Fields, a 6-foot-9 transfer from Eastern Carolina, put up 21 points in the team's first game but sat out their second game. Montez Downey, a 6-foot 5 senior guard , is also a potent scorer.
Win or lose, the Lions will play three games in four days in the Charleston Classic in South Carolina against quality opponents.
"They've got guys who can score, so we'll have to play our best game," DeChellis said. "We can't waltz around and play a half and expect to win. We'll have to play, so hopefully we'll get that message across."
The Lions hit the road for the first time this season to play UNC-Wilmington at 4 p.m. today. The game will be aired on ESPNU. On Friday, the Lions could play either Tulane or Miami (Fla), depending on if they win or lose. South Carolina, South Florida, LaSalle and Davidson are also possible opponents for the Lions on Sunday.
Talor Battle played for Miami coach Frank Haith this summer with the U.S. World University Games team and said he was excited at the possibility of playing against him.
Battle will face the toughest guards he's played against this year. Among the possibilities are Downey, Miami senior guard James Dews (13.5 ppg) and Tulane junior guard Kris Richard (15 ppg). He'll be shooting with a different ball too -- the Rock -- the ball used by the Southern Conference, which is hosting the tournament. Babb spent the beginning of practice Tuesday shooting around the arc with the new ball, which he said was a little different from the normal Nike ball the team normally practices with.
"It's a basketball they don't change much, just a different grip." Battle said. "It's nothing major, but to get a little feel for it in terms of dribbling."
DeChellis said the challenging teams his team will face in a short amount of time will be great preparation for postseason play.
Redshirt junior guard Adam Highberger explained how important that will be for the Lions.
"That's why coach likes to take a lot of the younger players on the road," Highberger said. "He wants to take as many players as he can because it's different preparation. It's important for them because once you get on the road in the Big Ten, you have to bring it every game."
Travelling to Duquesne three weeks ago was important for the younger players to stay in a hotel and play in a road environment, DeChellis said. This time, though, it won't be an exhibition.
Freshman guard Tim Frazier said it will be a new experience for him this weekend, but playing in AAU tournaments -- which can consist of five or six games in a three-day period -- was good preparation.
"With the away crowds and away referees, we're just gonna have to deal with it and take in the adversity and be able to compete," he said.
Highberger saw a different Lion team take the court in the second half against Robert Morris on Monday. He thinks they must bring the same tenacity to South Carolina to be successful.
"We were enthusiastic on defense and that opened up our offense as well," Highberger said. "So this three-game stretch, if we can get two or three wins, it'd be big for us going into the other games in the out of conference schedule."
