Leadership, Chemistry
Go ahead, ask Ed DeChellis about his team captains for this season. You'll get a puzzle, not an answer.

"Whew," the Penn State basketball coach said. "I don't know."

Though DeChellis sounded uncertain, he also sounded unconcerned. Leaders? Sure, those will come, so long as the team environment promotes it. Last year, that didn't happen. But now, DeChellis, in his second year, believes the Lions have drastically improved their team chemistry.

"It is a completely different atmosphere than it was a year ago," DeChellis said. "The locker room is such a better place to be."

DeChellis and his players notice a marked improvement, and that alone breeds optimism for a team that finished 9-19 last season. Practices no longer feel like a drag. Players enjoy meals together. Heck, DeChellis even notices players smiling -- something he didn't see often last season.

Call it addition by subtraction. From the 2003 team, the Lions lost three starters, including leading scorer Jan Jagla, who opted to leave the team and play pro ball in Greece. Though Jagla often showed a crafty scoring touch, he became skittish when asked to play physically. DeChellis begged Jagla to work harder on rebounding and defense. But it never happened.

Though a team with just two returning starters often portends problems, DeChellis likes the changes. If such team chemistry can last, it will be the first step in a rebuilding process.

The backcourt
By the common definition, they are young and inexperienced. By relation to their Penn State teammates, though, guards Ben Luber and Marlon Smith -- both sophomores -- are the experienced veterans of the team.

Last season, Luber started 26 of PSU's 28 games. Smith started every one. Both were freshmen. Though both struggled at times, that never took them from the court. PSU had so little depth, DeChellis had no other options. In conference play, Luber and Smith both averaged roughly 39 minutes per game.

The playing time took a toll -- Luber lost 20 pounds over the course of the season. "He had nothing left in his tank," DeChellis said. Smith, meanwhile, said he lost strength in his legs, which in turn hindered his shooting touch.

The beatings Luber and Smith took as freshmen, though, can now reap some rewards. Only an offseason has passed, but Luber and Smith no longer feel like overburdened rookies. This year, they're Penn State's two returning starters -- certainly they're the anchors of the backcourt, maybe they're even the anchors of the team.

DeChellis is counting on freshman guards Danny Morrissey and Mike Walker to provide the depth Penn State lacked last season, but most playing time will still belong to Luber and Smith.

"It's a lot easier on us," Luber said. "It's good that we get to give the freshmen some reps, so me and Marlon get to take some breaks. It's pretty nice this year."

Jamaal Tate
He has been gone for so long, most people forget the promise he once had and the way it all went sour. Penn State's Jamaal Tate is a senior now, but he last played basketball for the Lions almost two years ago. Several games into the 2002-03 season, Tate quit the team and dropped out of school to deal with an alcohol problem.

The demons hounded him for a while, but as Tate recovered, he grew into a man far different from the immature but talented player who was a backup for the 2001 Lions' team that upset North Carolina in the NCAA tournament.

Now, Tate is back, freed of his personal problems and feeling as if he's already defeated his greatest challenge.

"Expectations for Jamaal?" DeChellis said, before pausing.

"I think he's already exceeded them."

Still, Tate can help the team by providing some much-needed veteran guidance. Listed at 6-foot-5, Tate -- now 245 pounds -- is roughly 30 pounds heavier than his playing weight two years ago. He averaged 6.5 ppg in his last full season (2001-02) including a career-high 18 vs. Clemson. He admits he's still working himself into shape. Even so, he'll compete with freshmen Geary Claxton and Brandon Hassell at the team's small forward position.

"To tell you the truth," DeChellis said, "A year and a half ago, I wouldn't have given him that much of a chance."