Penn State men’s basketball will get its best Big Ten-style test of the brief out of conference slate as it takes on a tall Seton Hall team Sunday night.
‘Sunday night is against one of the biggest teams in college basketball,’ Penn State coach Jim Ferry said on Friday. ‘I think that they’re the third tallest team in college basketball. So our guys are going to be put to the test especially the front court, which again hopefully will prepare us for the likes of Luka Garza for the likes of Illinois and Michigan and the Big Ten, the Big Ten is a big league.’
While it’s difficult to know if Ferry’s ranking of Seton Hall’s size is accurate, his point is absolutely accurate in general premise. Seton Hall has nine players measuring in at 6-foot-5 or taller, even with the occasionally rounding-up tendencies of program rosters, the Pirates pack plenty of height led by big man Ike Obiagu who comes in at a whopping 7-foot-2.
Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions are tall, but not overly so. A speedy guard offense without the height of now graduated Mike Watkins leaves a lot to be desired against the big trees of the Big Ten. John Harrar is the tallest of the bunch at 6–foot-9, and while Penn State also technically has nine players at 6-foot-5 or taller that height is far more weighted towards the bottom end of that scale.
Of course size isn’t everything, but there’s little doubt that when looking at Penn State’s strengths and weaknesses, few programs will have as many guards to play but with so few established options in close near the basket. Harrar is a capable and efficient asset, but lacks the athleticism and finishing power of Watkins, behind him there is even more uncertainty.
To answer that need behind Harrar, Penn State will primarily look towards senior big man Trent Buttrick who has spent much of his career waiting the wings. Buttrick has already been a regular rotation for piece for Penn State behind Harrar through two games and will almost certainly continue in that role moving forward. The challenge now, getting Buttrick ready for the Big Ten where size and power are prevalent on nearly every successful program, especially as freshman Abdou Tsimbila continues to learn the ropes.
Wanted more playing time? Be careful what you wish for.
‘It’s ‘throw him into the fire’ Ferry said with a laugh. ‘Trent is a good basketball player, he’s a big dude and he’s tough kid and he’s a competitor. It’s just, he was playing behind Lamar [Stevens] and Mike, I don’t know how many people in this country we’re going to get on the court with that. We’re gonna play him at the four we’re gonna play him at the five.’
Penn State’s season looks to be a long one in a talented and highly promising year for the Big Ten. That being said, the Nittany Lions are not without talent at the guard position, and in turn, they might be able to get away without nearly as much production down low as they’ve had in the past.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, Penn State will get a few preliminary answers on Sunday night against Seton Hall. Of course the Nittany Lions will provide teams with their own obstacles to overcome trying to track down a horde of speedy scorers.
‘I think that’s one of the closest comparisons to what it’s like in the Big Ten,’ Ferry added. ‘We’ve got to figure it out but we can’t stray too far from who we are too. Like they have to match up to us and the way we do things as well, so I think that’s kind of the balance that we have to figure out over the next couple of weeks as we start into Big Ten play.’
