Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1138762
"I should have done much better individ- ually." Playing without suspended forward Mike Watkins for their 1rst 1ve games while also breaking in a pair of true freshman guards, the Nittany Lions got o2 to a 3-2 start, with losses to DePaul and Bradley. Then came back-to-back losses to begin Big Ten play in December, dropping the team's record to 4-4 and foreshadowing what was to come. The Lions ended up losing their 1rst 10 con- ference games. But then they bounced back to win seven of their last 10. They even earned a 1rst-round bye at the Big Ten tourna- ment, but an overtime loss to Minnesota in the second round ended any hope of a return to the NIT. Penn State's 14-18 1nish was especially disappointing in that it came just one year a3er the team had won the NIT championship – an accomplishment that many had hoped would serve as a spring- board to even bigger things. As his senior season approaches, Stevens has turned his attention toward 1xing what went wrong a year ago. "I think we've all grown from last year," he said. "We put it in the past and we're just excited for the new opportunities we're going to have to face this upcoming year. "If I didn't love this school, love my coaching sta2, love my teammates, there was no chance that I would have come back to school. But I do. I have a strong belief in everybody in the Penn State men's basketball program. So what I said my freshman year coming into Penn State to shi3 the culture, it's something I want to stick by." Now, Stevens and the Nittany Lions will have that opportunity. Turning his attention to the work ahead, Stevens said he plans to do everything in his power to see the elusive goal of an NCAA tourna- ment berth come to fruition. "I'm just excited to get back to work," he said. "We talk about NCAA a lot in the preseason, and now it's just time to put our heads down and put the work in and just get there, because we're capable. We have every piece that we need." ■ T H E M O N T H I N . . . [Noah] Cain is a Blue-White Game sensation who showed patience, power and instincts to play the position. Ja'Juan Seider also declared that Cain would, in fact, see the field as a true freshman in a complementary role to Ricky Slade and Journey Brown. He brings a little something different to the table with his size and power, but looks the part of a potential three-down workhorse whenever that opportunity arises. Penn State is suddenly loaded with young backs, but Cain looks like he could be every bit as good as Slade, Brown and classmate Devyn Ford. DUSTIN HOCKENSMITH PENNLIVE.COM No more Trace McSorley, Miles Sanders or Tommy Stevens. Familiar faces on defense made the jump to the NFL and a finally stable offensive line has lost some pieces. None of this is inherently bad, but continuity and familiarity are assets not to be overlooked in a sport where sometimes the reason you win is simply because you had the fewest things change between December and Au- gust. BEN JONES STATECOLLEGE.COM O P I N I O N S JOE KRENTZMAN & SON, INC. • Buyers and Brokers of Steel, Iron and Nonferrous Metals • Industrial Scrap Buyers • Container Service Available • Large Service Territory Since 1903 Lewistown, PA • Hollidaysburg, PA • DuBois, PA (800) 543-2000 • www.krentzman.net F irst i n S cra p