Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketball

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Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State Nittany Lions athletic logo

University The Pennsylvania State University
Conference Big Ten
Location University Park, PA
Head Coach Ed DeChellis (5th year)
Arena Bryce Jordan Center
(Capacity: 15,261)
Nickname Nittany Lions
Student Section Nittany Nation
Colors Blue and White

             

Uniforms
 
Home jersey
Home jersey
 
Home shorts
Home
 
Away jersey
Away jersey
 
Away shorts
Away
NCAA Tournament Final Four
1954
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
1942
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1952, 1955, 2001
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1942, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1965, 1991, 1996, 2001
Conference Tournament Champions
1991 (Atlantic 10)
Conference Regular Season Champions
1977 (Eastern 8)

The Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketball team is a NCAA Division 1 college basketball team representing the Pennsylvania State University. They are a member of the Big Ten Conference and play home games at the 15,261-seat Bryce Jordan Center, moving there from boisterous Rec Hall during the 1995/96 season. Their student cheering section is known as the Nittany Nation.

The program has 8 NCAA tournament appearances with its best finish coming in 1954, reaching the Final Four. Its most recent appearance was in 2001, when the team defeated #2-seeded North Carolina to reach the Sweet Sixteen.

[edit] Current coaching staff

[edit] Coaches

Overall Conference
Name Years Won-Lost Pct. Won-Lost Pct. Note
None 1897-1915 30-17 includes 1917-18 season
Burke M. "Dutch" Hermann 1916-1932 148-74 PSU's first coach.
None 1917-18
Hugo Bezdek 1918-19 11-2 Coached PSU football, MLB Pitt. Pirates and PSU Basketball in one year
Earl "Spike" Leslie 1933-36 29-28
John Lawther 1937-49 150-93 1942 NCAA
Elmer Gross 1950-54 80-40 1952 NCAA, 1954 NCAA Final Four, the First Person to both play and coach in the NCAA Tournament
John Egli 1955-68 187-135 1955 & 1965 NCAA, 1966 NIT
Johnny Bach 1969-78 122-121
Dick Harter 1979-83 79-61 1980 NIT
Bruce Parkhill 1983-95 181-169 1991 NCAA - 1989, 1990 & 1992 NIT
Jerry Dunn 1995-2003 117-121 1995 NCAA, 2001 NCAA Sweet Sixteen - 1998 & 2000 NIT
Ed DeChellis 2003-Present 56-91 38.1 19-63 23.2 2006 Post Season NIT

[edit] NBA Draft Picks

1947 John Rusinko Baltimore Bullets

1953 Herman Sledzik Baltimore Bullets

1955- Jesse Arnelle (2) Fort Wayne Pistons

1961 Peter Baltic (9) Detroit Pistons

1965- Bob Weiss (3) 76ers

1966- Carver Clinton (11) 76ers

1974- Ron Brown (7) Celtics

1981- Frank Brickowski (3) Knicks

1983- Mike Lang (8) Knicks

1984- Dick Mumma (10) Clippers

1995- John Amaechi (signed undrafted) Cavaliers

1999- Calvin Booth (2) Wizards


Nittany Lion Men's Basketball Players