Just because it's July doesn't mean there isn't any basketball news to report. I know its been a while since I've touched this blog, but today was a rather big news day for the Penn State basketball program.

First and foremost, the 2008-09 non-conference basketball schedule was released, and it looks to be a solid, if unspectacular, slate.

The season kicks off with a pretty tough matchup, with William and Mary coming to the Bryce Jordan Center on Nov. 14. Roundball junkies probably remember the Tribe as the team that made a Cinderella run to the finals of last season's CAA tournament, only to bow out to George Mason. Bill and Mary figures to be back strong next year, with double-digit scorers Danny Sumner and David Schneider returning. Watching Sumner holds particular interest for me, as he and I graduated from the same high school class at Paul VI Catholic in Fairfax, VA.

After three home games with New Jersey Tech (which went winless last year), Hartford (which nearly beat Penn State two years ago) and New Hampshire, the Nittany Lions will travel to the Palestra to play Penn, and then to play in the Philly Hoops Classic (also at the Palestra) on Nov. 28 and 29. The entire field for the event has yet to be announced.

As most probably know, the Lions will travel to Georgia Tech in the Big Ten/ACC challenge on Dec. 3. That game will tip at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.

Temple will travel to the Bryce Jordan Center on Dec. 6 and the non-conference schedule will round itself out with Army, Mount St. Mary's, Lafayette and Sacred Heart.

The Lions will also play four exhibition games in Canada over Labor Day weekend, and will be allowed to practice 10 days before those games. However, the Lions must return to the normal practice schedule when they return, which allows for the first practice on Oct. 17.

Obviously, to make a fair assessment of this schedule we need to know the field in the Philly Classic, but on the surface this looks like a typical Penn State schedule. William and Mary, Temple and Georgia Tech all figure to add beef to the RPI, but New Jersey Tech, Army and Lafayette will probably all bring the RPI down come March, even if Penn State wins those games by 50 points.

Unless Temple or Georgia Tech can be considered marquee opponents, then this schedule lacks a big-name game. Of course the Philly Classic could end up providing that, but the biggest names from last year's field were Virginia and Seton Hall, two teams that missed the NCAA tournament last year.

It does appear that most of these games are winnable for Penn State, and that's good because I think the Lions will need to post a pretty impressive record through that slate to put themselves into NCAA tournament-bid contention.

In alumni news, Jan Jagla will be playing alongside Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman with Germany in next month's Olympics.

Jagla, who is currently playing pro ball with Joventut Badalona of Spain, played at Penn State from 2002-04, so he is a little before my time, but I am excited to watch him play next month.

- Steve