Penn State coach Ed DeChellis will never forget that April evening at Madison Square Garden.
He walked out to the court where he was greeted by 36 busloads of white-clad Nittany Lion fans, who ventured to watch Penn State play in the NIT championship game last season.
Goosebumps.
“Finally, it hit you that all the hard work our kids put into this thing, that something good was gonna happen at Madison Square Garden that night,” DeChellis said. “And it happened.”
Penn State beat Baylor, 69-63, to win the NIT.
It was only the second championship Penn State had won since 1855. It capped a school-record, 27-win season. Most importantly, it marked the turning point of a program that hasn’t even sniffed the NCAA tournament since 2001.
That’s the goal this season. Last year was just a start, DeChellis hopes. As the Lions open preseason practice today, they’re out to prove last season wasn’t a one-and-done deal.
“I think you got to do it, then you got to do it over again, then you gotta do it again,” DeChellis said.
via Penn State coach DeChellis has high hopes this basketball season – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.