Penn State guard Talor Battle insists he wouldn’t trade his NIT championship for anything, but that doesn’t mean he has his sights set on a repeat.
Battle would rather spend next spring playing in a different tournament. Even the joy of winning the NIT couldn’t remove all the heartbreak Penn State endured on a disappointing Selection Sunday.
Talor Battle enjoyed winning the NIT but wants more this season.
“We’re definitely hungry,” Battle said. “That was a bad feeling. Even though we were able to bounce back and win the NIT, when we didn’t make the (NCAA) tournament a lot of people were down. We don’t want that feeling again.”
Penn State’s chances of avoiding that feeling depend largely on Battle, who enters the 2009-10 season as one of the nation’s most indispensable players.
The Nittany Lions went 27-11 and set a school record for victories last season by relying largely on the trio of Battle, power forward Jamelle Cornley and guard Stanley Pringle. Cornley and Pringle were departing seniors who recently signed contracts with pro teams in Europe, leaving Battle as Penn State’s only player who averaged more than 6.2 points per game last season.
This isn’t the best time for a Big Ten team to feature a young lineup. Michigan State and Purdue enter the season as legitimate Final Four contenders. Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio State also return most of their key performers after reaching the tournament last season.
via Rivals.com College Basketball – Battle out to push Penn State into tournament.