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was in foul trouble early on and just couldn't play," he said. "Coming into a game in the second half, not really play- ing in the first half, it's hard to really get back into the flow of the game just like that." Stevens' experience against Campbell proved the point. Picking up his first foul just 53 seconds into the game against the Fighting Camels, he scored all eight of his points in the first half, hitting 2 of 6 shots from the floor and 3 of 4 free throw attempts. The second frame was strikingly different, as he was forced out by an early foul, then never got back in a flow. Committing four more personal fouls to force his ouster, Stevens didn't score another point, had only three more rebounds and turned the ball over four times in just 10 minutes of action. Stevens isn't alone in his predicament, either. Fellow big man and starter Mike Watkins did not foul out at all last season but was forced to the bench frequently. There were seven games in which he found himself saddled with four fouls. Knowing his value to the Lions' defen- sive efforts, Watkins said he understood he would need to manage his fouls better during the course of games. "That's a big part of our team, me stay- ing out of foul trouble, me keeping a level head and me playing at my best every day," he said. "I worked on that because I'm a great rebounder, I block plenty of shots, but Coach always told me, you're not going to block every shot. So I need to wall up strong, and that's just what I've been working on. "When guards are driving, I'm coming from help just jumping straight up and backward instead of swatting at the ball or just getting what Coach calls a 94- feet foul. If you don't get the rebound, don't go reaching. Just get back and you're going to eliminate two fouls a game." The foul problems frequently curtailed Watkins' playing time last season. He played fewer than 25 minutes in each of the five conference games in which he picked up four fouls. Watkins' teammates felt the impact of his absence, but in some instances they also felt a responsibility for it. Describ- ing what it meant to have to play with- out either Stevens or Watkins on the court during some of last season's most important stretches, point guard Tony Carr said that going forward, better de- fense on the perimeter would cut down on the opportunities for Penn State's big men to get in foul trouble in the first place. "That's big for those guys to stay on the court," Carr said. "Pretty much every game last year, one of them was in foul trouble. Nine times out of 10 it was Mike early in the game, and that hurt us down the stretch. So we've definitely been trying to use our defensive tech- niques that kind of keep them out of foul trouble and keep them on the court, because we're going to need them to win." Spending the off-season working to make the necessary improvements to avoid the same circumstances this sea- son, Stevens said he believes a year of ex- perience playing in the Big Ten will pay dividends this time around. "I think it comes down to just defend- ing at the collegiate level. In high school, they let some things go that you really can't do in the Big Ten. It's a physical league, and you really just have to pick and choose your spots," he said. "So I think it was really just an adjustment for me. It was new, and I really couldn't fig- ure out why I kept fouling either, but I watched a lot of film and I learned from it and it made me better. I'm glad I went through that time." ■ The season-opening suspension of Penn State center Mike Watkins was short-lived. Watkins was held out of action in the Nittany Lions' opener against Campbell on Nov. 10 at the Bryce Jor- dan Center, al- though he dressed for the game and was an active part of the Penn State bench throughout the team's 86-75 victory. Two days later against Fairleigh Dickinson, the redshirt sophomore was back in the starting lineup. He played 20 minutes against the Knights, 4nishing with 15 points, 4ve rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals in his 4rst action of the sea- son. A5er the Campbell game, head coach Patrick Chambers declined to discuss the reason behind the deci- sion to hold Watkins out of Penn State's opener. He had previously missed the team's trip to the Ba- hamas in August for unspeci4ed rea- sons. Watkins is expected to be a major component of an improved Penn State team this season. As a redshirt freshman last year, he averaged 9.7 points per game and was the team leader in rebounds (8.1 per game) and blocks (90). Chambers said the decision to have Watkins dress for the opener and re- turn to action in the second game was aimed at getting his center ready for what's to come. "I'm all about getting our guys mentally prepared, and I wanted him to warm up, I wanted him to be in the uniform," Chambers said. "He's done everything we've asked him to do, and I just want him to feel that juice. I wanted him to be engaged and pre- pare like he was going to play." –N.B. WATKINS Watkins returns in second game

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