Centre Daily Times | 01/28/2005 | Penn State expanding back yard to recruit:
“Very little separated the Penn State and Ohio State men’s basketball teams Wednesday night in Columbus. Experience, certainly — the Buckeyes played one freshman and four juniors, the Nittany Lions four freshmen and two juniors — and, of course, the six points on the scoreboard.
“The distinction Penn State coach Ed DeChellis found the most telling, though, was geographical. Nine of 14 Buckeyes hail from Ohio; three of the nine active Nittany Lions are from Pennsylvania.
“Sounds easy. Worry about the kids in your own backyard, particularly if that backyard is as lush with high school talent as Penn State’s. While recruiting home-grown players is certainly no guarantee for success, the nation’s top collegiate teams at least have the option.
“When you’ve won eight Big Ten games in three and a half seasons, though, your recruiting pool shrinks. At the same time, your hunting ground expands, out of the state and lately, across the ocean.
“As they continue to build for the future, the Nittany Lions are finding the best recruits they can wherever they can. Finland, Serbia & Montenegro, junior colleges throughout the U.S. They would love to pluck the top prizes from Philadelphia or the state’s other fertile recruiting areas, but they know there is only so much elbow room for teams with their recent record.
“‘Until we can get there, we’ve got to try to piece this thing together,’ DeChellis said. ‘Mix and match.’
“Midway through Year 2 of the DeChellis era, the Nittany Lions already have a pieced-together feel. The starting forwards are a former walk-on and the team’s first JUCO in 20 years. The starting guards are Pennsylvania products who rely more on their wits than sheer athletic ability…”