Big Ten Conference report

SportsLine Report
April 1, 2000

A Glance at 2000

Now that coach Jerry Dunn has apparently dodged a bullet sent his way via a newspaper report that detailed the program's violation of the NCAA's 20-hour practice standard, he can concentrate on a more daunting task.

That would be ending the Nittany Lions' habit of falling just short of an NCAA Tournament bid. They made the NIT in 1998 and again in 2000, advancing to Madison Square Garden on both occasions.

The only problem now is that they will have to do it without Jarrett Stephens, whose 19 double-doubles led the Big Ten last season and who was the team's scoring and rebounding backbone.

The Nittany Lions will have to replace 36 percent of its rebounding and 43 percent of its offensive rebounding. Now consider that the other three departing players combined to average 2.2 boards a game and Stephens' value is easier to understand.

In averaging 18.8 points and 10.5 rebounds a game, Stephens also managed to shatter the school's season minutes record.

All is not lost, however. Though Stephens will be impossible to replace and was a horse who carried the mail nightly, junior guard Joe Crispin wasn't bad in his own right, averaging 18.5 points.

Had Stephens not set the season minutes record, Crispin would have. He'll be back next season, but without Stephens in the paint, defenses will make it tough for him to have another big season.

The Coach

Sooner or later Dunn will have to take this program to the NCAA Tournament. That he failed to last season and still kept his job says plenty about how he is viewed by the school's administration. With Stephens on board, this appeared to be the Lions' best shot at making the big dance. With him gone, the odds only get longer. Dunn, however, has been given a vote of confidence and will press on toward the tourney.

Who'll Be Back

Though Stephens accounted for 29 percent of the Lions' scoring, the team returns 71 percent of its offense, including three who average at least 9.3 a game.

All-Big Ten point guard Crispin dropped in 18.5 points per game while his brother, Jon Crispin, pitched in 9.3. Titus Ivory will be asked to step up next season after averaging 12.7 points as a junior.

Gyasi Cline-Heard is another player who will be asked to make a greater contribution, though his will need to come on the glass. His 5.5 rebounds a game make him the team's top returning boarder.

Who's Gone

No player -- not even Mateen Cleaves at Michigan State -- meant as much to a Big Ten team as Stephens did to Penn State. His loss will be devastating and the Lions will have to change the way they play the game in order to be effective without him.

Of the other three players who have exhausted their eligibility, only center Carl Jackson saw substantial action. Jackson started all 35 games last season, averaging 2.5 points and 1.9 rebounds. He was more a defensive player and provided the muscle to let Stephens get loose in the paint.

Key Newcomers

The Nittany Lions picked up commitments from a pair of guards in the early period, Sharif Chamblis (6-2, 170) of Racine, Wis. And Jamaal Tate (6-6, 220) from Linden, N.J.