By Jeff Rice, NN Senior Writer

jrice@nittanynetwork.com

July 18, 2009

There isn’t a Greg Oden or a Michael Beasley on this team. Penn State isn’t in the one-and-done game yet and really isn’t trying to be.

The Nittany Lions’ four-member Class of 2010 isn’t going to take the Big Ten by storm. But it could mesh nicely with the pieces already in place as Ed DeChellis looks to finally get his team to the NCAA Tournament.

Guards Tim Frazier and Jermaine Marshall and forwards Bill Edwards and Sasa Borovnjak are at various stages of physical development. Their respective games are at various levels of readiness for a Big Ten conference that favors fundamentals over flash.

But they won’t be asked to come in and take over. This is Talor Battle’s team and his show. Andrew Jones, David Jackson and Jeff Brooks will enter their third seasons and take on most of the heavy lifting in and around the paint.

Sophomore guards Chris Babb and Cammeron Woodyard and junior big man Andrew Ott are ready for bigger roles after performing spot duty last season. DeChellis rarely uses more than an eight-man rotation once the conference season rolls around, and that group alone should be more than competitive.

So if the newbies – including redshirt freshman forward Billy Oliver -- want some playing time, they will have to earn it.

Early indications are that they will. Frazier, the top-rated prospect in the state of Texas during his senior year, is a super-quick point guard who should be able to make plays in the open court or in the halfcourt game. He must add a few pounds (he’s currently about 150), but Battle didn’t play at much more than that during a solid freshman season, and the more Penn State has two players who can create their own shots and opportunities for others on the floor at the same time, (see Battle and Stanley Pringle last season) the better.

Edwards already has the demeanor and build of a veteran college player, and while little about his game has the “Wow” factor, he could be one of those Titus Ivory types who does a hundred little things that are huge in close games. He can entice bigger defenders out to the perimeter with his jump shot or fire passes over smaller defenders. His specialty is drawing the charge, a trait the Nittany Lions will need with the departure of Danny Morrissey. Look for Edwards to find his way into the rotation sooner than later.

Borovnjak is an intriguing prospect who should contribute but not necessarily right away. He has a Big Ten body (6-foot-9, 230 pounds) but hasn’t had it broken in by a Big Ten season yet which, as Andrew Jones or any conference veteran will tell you, is an important distinction. Borovnjak, a skilled offensive player, must convince DeChellis he is not a defensive liability. The sooner he does that, the sooner he will be a factor.

Marshall has been sidelined for nearly a year after tearing the patella tendon in his right knee. A perimeter slasher in the mold of Geary Claxton, Marshall needs to work on improving his handle (much like Claxton did his freshman year) and might need some time to get back to game speed. He’s been slowed during the summer by mononucleosis. Marshall said he wouldn’t mind redshirting but is ready to contribute right away. Beating out Babb, Woodyard or Frazier for time alongside Battle figures to be a tough task, though.

None of the four players came to Penn State expecting to be handed anything, and they won’t be. They will push the veterans as they learn from them, and everyone has been on the same page during summer pickup games.

“We don’t have any egos,” Jones said. “We’ve got guys who want to come in and work, who want to earn their time, and who want to win.”

The Nittany Lions’ strong second-half finish in 2009 was a product of players knowing their roles and how to play off of each other. They weren’t among the most talented teams in the league and they won’t be this year. But if they can play together the same way and the newcomers learn their own roles quickly, they will beat more talented teams again.

“This team has everything,” Edwards said. “We have size, we have quickness. I think once we work on our defensive schemes and our help defense, I think we’re going to be pretty tough.”