It's clear assistant coach Lewis Preston is wasting no time in his first season with the Nittany Lions. The former Notre Dame and Florida assistant could be seen bumping players during layup lines, forcing them players to adjust their shots.

The tactic resulted in seven misses, and afterward, head coach Ed DeChellis made those who missed run full-court sprints seven times in less than 10 seconds.

Later on, in five-on-four drills, the 6-8 assistant could be heard barking mercilessly at many of the Lions' big men during each trip down the court.

It'll be interesting to see if the intensity of Preston -- who played four years of college ball at VMI before a four-year stint in Europe -- can lead to improved play down low for Penn State.

***

Before answering his question, Talor Battle stopped to pat Steve Jones on the back and tell him, "You're my man!" Jones got a crack out of the sequence.

I had the chance to interview the Lions' radio play-by-play man a few weeks ago, and I can tell you no one has struck me as a classier individual. Glad Battle seems to feel the same way.

***

It may be a few weeks until the Lions' first meaningful game, and he may have just been having a strong day (perhaps to impress yours truly?), but Chris Babb looks like the real deal.

The 6-5, 210 lb guard is certainly not built like a true freshman. Babb also has a beautiful stroke on his J, which was demonstrated during shootarounds when he casually drained a few shots from about 40 feet, just inside the the halfcourt line.

The Texan was aggressive throughout, attacking big men when taking it to the hole and not afraid of defending the post.

If given the chance to shine, look for Babb to make some noise this season. You heard it here first.

... I always wanted to say that.

***

Lastly, we leave you with an article on the beloved Calvin Booth from SI.com.

Writer Steve Aschburner throws out a variety of stats to show just how well-paid the only Lion currently in the NBA is. I guess when you make $106,145.25 per game despite producing career averages of just 3.3 ppg and 2.8 rpg, you're certainly not one of the many suffering through these dark days in our economy.

Here's hoping the rest of you Penn Staters have as much success (and as many incompetent bosses) in the real world.

-Fortuna

The first installment of the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll was released today. North Carolina, who returns its top six scorers off a Final Four team from a year ago, garnered all 31 first place votes.

Frankly, the Tar Heels are going to be dynamite this year. National player of the year Tyler Hansbrough returns for his senior season. Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Ty Lawson all withdrew their names from the NBA draft at the last minute to come back. And, the Tar Heels have the second and third best prospects at power forward coming in as true freshmen with seven-footer Tyler Zeller and Ed Davis. Also joining Zeller and Davis is the third-best PG prospect, Larry Drew.

Other observations: Defending champ Kansas debuts at No. 23. Kentucky is unranked in the preseason for the first time ever. And just three schools from the Big Ten are ranked.

Complete ESPN/USA Today coaches' preseason poll:

1. North Carolina (31) 0-0 775
2. Connecticut 0-0 707
3. Louisville 0-0 694
4. UCLA 0-0 650
5. Duke 0-0 578
6. Pittsburgh 0-0 576
7. Michigan State 0-0 572
8. Texas 0-0 538
9. Notre Dame 0-0 525
10. Purdue 0-0 465
11. Gonzaga 0-0 437
12. Memphis 0-0 425
13. Tennessee 0-0 408
14. Oklahoma 0-0 387
15. Arizona State 0-0 304
16. Miami (FL) 0-0 233
17. Marquette 0-0 219
18. Georgetown 0-0 175
19. Florida 0-0 161
20. Davidson 0-0 158
21. USC 0-0 153
21. Wisconsin 0-0 153
23. Kansas 0-0 130
24. Wake Forest 0-0 129
25. Villanova 0-0 122
Others Receiving Votes
UNLV 60, Saint Mary's 59, Ohio State 54, Baylor 47, Xavier 27, Syracuse 23, Texas A&M 19, LSU 19, Arizona 18, Virginia Tech 15, Brigham Young 13, West Virginia 10, Washington 8, Siena 8, Kentucky 7, Vanderbilt 7, Oklahoma State 4, Clemson 2, Washington State 1.

-Mink

Well thats all from coach D. Time to hit the hardwood, (oh, now I get it) and see these players up close for the first time.

***

Free throw shooting was a bugaboo for the Nits last year. DeChellis has no idea whether or not this year's version will be more consistent from the charity stripe. Guys like Cornley and D.J. Jackson, who expect to be frequent visitors to the line via playing inside need to improve, he said.

***

It's looking as if the defense will be an old school, traditional, hard-nosed man to man. The team is not afraid to play zones, but a physical man defense can pressure the ball handler and force turnovers to create fast break scoring chances. DeChellis also hinted his team is working on more press packages than ever before.

This type of in-your-face defense is the favorite of yours-truly.

***

Strength and toughness has hampered the Lions on the glass a year ago. DeChellis said Jeff Brooks is now 210 lb, up from the 195 lb. he played at last year.

Brooks will be a key component for the Lions' interior offense and defense. Taking the pressure off Cornley in the paint will give the Lions not only another option on the low block, but also keep Cornley from bangin' hard underneath each time down the floor.

***

Cornley, Danny Morrissey and sophomore Battle are captains for this season.

***

Guys grew up on and off the floor over the course of the season with injuries to key players.

"It's important, they did make big shots, they gained some confidence toward the end of the year. We played some pretty solid basketball."

***

He begins by addressing the summer fling North of the Border, saying the extra practice helped the young guys develop and Cornley gain confidence coming off his injury. He said this team is by no means a finished product, yet believes the team can compete on every night no matter the opponent.

DeChellis singled out Cornley and guard Talor Battle as guys who have to put up consistent numbers for this team to shine.

***

Cornley got straight the point when it came to the big picture in terms of this season's goal.

"If we don't make the NCAA tournament, that's a failure on my part. I am the captain on this team. I've been here the longest. I know what it takes to win close games, I know what it takes to be successful in this league. The NCAA tournament is our biggest goal."

DeChellis up next.

***

Lion forward Jamelle Cornley on the mic first. He says he loves the athleticism this team, being able to run up tempo off the rebound.

Cornley was forced to miss the end of last season due to a nagging knee injury.

"Right now I'm fine, I'm 100 percent," Cornley said. "I've been out there doing every drill, every sprint, every activity that we've had. My knee is probably stronger than what it was before."

***

Hey all you Penn State basketball fans, this is Nate Mink coming to you live from inside the greenroom at the BJC to bring you coach Ed DeChellis' first press conference of the 2008-09 season. We should be about 20 minutes away from getting started. Be sure to check with Hardwood Hits for continuing coverage of DeChellis' thoughts on the upcoming season. Excuse me for a few minutes, there's this pastry tray over here that will not be ignored by me.

Earlier today, Big Ten coaches gathered at the O'Hare Marriott in Chicago for the conference's media day.

Ed DeChellis stated his goals for the Nittany Lions this season, saying he hopes the team can contend for the Big Ten regular season and tournament crowns in hopes of making the NCAA tournament. DeChellis also addressed the obvious -- that his team needs to stay healthy.

"We want to be an upper level team in the Big Ten Conference. Whether we will be successful or not, I do not know, but once you get to a certain level of winning, you want more and you get greedy, so who knows what the end will bring."

A 22-member media panel (which unfortunately does not include us) voted on the conference's preseason awards, which include player of the year, all-Big Ten team and the conference's top three teams.

Purdue returns all five starters from its 15-3 Big Ten team a year ago. Likewise, they were picked as the preseason favorite, with forward Robbie Hummel tabbed as the preseason player of the year in the conference.

The rest of the favorites are as follows:

2008-09 Top Three Preseason Picks

1. Purdue
2. Michigan State
3. Wisconsin

2008-09 Big Ten Preseason All-Conference Team

Manny Harris, MICH, So., G
Raymar Morgan, MSU, Jr., F
Robbie Hummel, PUR, So., F
E'Twaun Moore, PUR, So., G
Marcus Landry, WIS, Sr., F

I was a little disappointed to see Harris on the team in place of Talor Battle. Sure, Harris put up better numbers last season, but he was the sole bright spot on a Wolverine team that struggled from start to finish. They should definitely improve this year as most of their players have had a year under their belts to adjust to coach John Beilein's offense, but with the way Battle came on strong towards the end of last season, I'm surprised he has yet to receive more recognition.

DeChellis said Battle put on a lot of weight in the offseason, while noting that his star guard holds the assets that "you cannot teach" to a player.

"He hates to lose and he wants to take the big shot. He wants to have the ball at crunch time and he wants to accept the challenge of having the ball when the game is on the line. That is something you cannot teach, someone who wants the ball at pivotal times and someone who accepts that challenge."

- Fortuna

The Nittany Lions tabbed their first recruit to the class of 2009 when Strake Jesuit College Prep's Tim Frazier told coach Ed DeChellis he's leaving the heart of Texas for central Pennsylvania.

Frazier is rated as the country's 29th-best prospect at point guard according to fightonstate.com

Frazier's 6-foot-1, 160-pound frame is just smaller than current Lion court general, Stanley Pringle. Still, the Houston native will sure up a backcourt that sees Pringle and Danny Morrissey graduating after this season.

Garnering offers from Stanford, Penn and Colorado State, among others, Frazier is the latest example of DeChellis' ability to track down and snag proven talent across the country. And, if all goes according to plan, Frazier will get to run will fellow Texan Chris Babb in '09.

-Mink

Practice began on Friday, and a Minnesota team with high expectations has already seen one of its key players go down with an injury.

Junior forward Damian Johnson, who averaged 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last season, broke his left hand in Monday's practice. Johnson is expected to be out four-to-six weeks.

In the second year of the Tubby Smith era in Minneapolis, this is certainly not the start the Golden Gophers were looking for. With three starters gone, Johnson is in position to take over the spot vacated by Dan Coleman. It's unlikely he will be ready when Minnesota takes the floor in its opener against Concordia-St. Paul.

Of course, Concordia is a Division II squad, so the Gophers will likely survive.

-Brown

The heater finally went on in my room, students are starting to break out their winter jackets (and, unfortunately, their Uggs) and Happy Valley is abuzz with the football team in the BCS hunt.

For us, that can only mean one thing.....

Basketball season is right around the corner!

This is Matt Fortuna, who along with my colleagues, Matt Brown and Nate Mink, will be taking you every step of the way for the 2008-09 men's basketball season.

As Collegian alum Dana O'Neil writes on ESPN.com, a number of teams have been holding "Midnight Madness" at their respective campuses lately.

Just how big does it get? Look no further than a few hours east, as O'Neil says Villanova coach Jay Wright invited Lloyd Banks to make an appearance at "Hoops Mania," the Wildcats' version of the event in 2006. When the rapper couldn't make it because of a scheduling conflict, his G-Unit partners Tony Yayo and 50 Cent took his place, sending the crowd into such a hysteria that this year Wright has been forced to make the event ticketed and refuses to disclose the guest he'll have in store.

Penn State unfortunately has nothing like that with its basketball program. With a breakout season, however, that could all change. Just ask fellow Big Ten coach Matt Painter, whose Purdue squad is coming off a 15-win conference season and will now hold "Mackey Madness," its version of the event, on Friday night.

"I always said when we see improvements in our program, we'll bring it back," Painter said. "Last year we made a big step, so it's the perfect time. If fans come out and support us, if there's a packed house, we'll continue it."

What would it take for you to attend a similar event at the BJC? We love feedback.