N I T T A N Y L I O N BASKETBALL
SUCCESS WITH HONOR
‘09-’10 REVIEW
2010-11 SEASON • PLAYERS • COACHES • OPPONENTS •
’09-’10 REVIEW • HISTORY & RECORDS • UNIVERSITY
▲ Junior David Jackson posted a career-best year averaging 9.5 ppg and posting 17 double-digit scoring games on the year.
▲ Freshman Tim Frazier started 10 games and played in all 31 while helping to handle the point-guard duties for the Lions.
▲ Junior Andrew Jones averaged 8.2 ppg and 6.5 rpg while hitting 54.8 percent from the floor in the last six regular season games.
▲ A former walk-on, junior Adam Highberger earned a scholarship for his final season in blue and white.
Lions Win Of 3 Of Last 6, Challenge Top 15 Teams To Close Regular Season: Penn State rallied behind the
sons. No Lion has ever twice earned firstteam honors. Only six Lions have been honored on one of the first three All-Big Ten teams more than once as Battle joins Crispin, John Amaechi, Pete Lisicky, Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley. Amaechi leads all Lions earning selection in three seasons (first-team in 1995 and third-team selections in 1993 and 1994).
ing his three year career, Battle was poised to join them in 2010-11. Battle IS ON PACE to join former teammates Jamelle Cornley and Geary Claxton as the 18th member of the 1,000-point, 500-rebound club. HE STOOD JUST 25 REBOUNDS shy of the mark at the end of the season. He can become THE FIRST PLAYER IN PENN STATE HISTORY to log 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists.
career-high 13 points and five boards in the Lions’ first round NIT win, Brooks strung together six of his most productive games of the season in the Lions’ last six regular season games as PSU went 3-3 over that span. Brooks averaged 10.8 ppg and 5.2 rpg in those six games, four times posting doublefigures. Brooks averaged 5.4 ppg and 4.1 rpg over the Lions first 12 Big Ten games.
improved production of its junior forwards to win three of its last six games (two on the road) of the regular season. THE LIONS THREE LOSSES ALL CAME TO TOP 15 RANKED FOES including a two-point loss at No. 11 Michigan State (67-65), a four-point loss to No. 6 Purdue (64-60) and an eight-point loss to No. 9 Ohio State, ALL OF WHICH ADVANCED TO THE NCAA SWEET 16. Junior forwards Andrew Jones (8.2 ppg & 6.5 rpg in last six) and Jeff Brooks (10.8 ppg & 5.2 rpg in last six) both shot better than 54 percent and greatly increased their production during the span to join fellow juniors Talor Battle (15.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.3 apg in last six) and David Jackson (10.8 ppg & 4.3 rpg) in helping lead the Lions. The final six regular season games saw THE MOST BALANCED OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION from PSU since the non-con season and resulted in 67.8 ppg scoring, 48.8 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent shooting from three.
Battle Earns All-Big Ten & AllDistrict Honors For Second Time: Junior guard Talor Battle (18.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.2 apg) was named to the ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM BY BOTH THE COACHES AND MEDIA voters and to the NABC ALL-DISTRICT 7 SECOND-TEAM, earning post-season all-conference and all-district honors for the second time. He was named a FIRST-TEAM ALL-BIG TEN SELECTION BY THE SPORTING NEWS. Battle, a first-team selection as a sophomore (16.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.9 apg), joins Joe Crispin (first-team in 2001, second-team in 2000) as the only Nittany Lions ever to be honored on the first or second All-Big Ten teams in two sea-
500-Point Club: Andrew Jones posted 10 points in the Lions’ victory at Michigan, his second-straight double-figure game, to become the third active Lion to reach 500 career points joining Talor Battle (1,526) and David Jackson (656). Jeff Brooks stood just 51 points shy at 449 career points. All four players return for the 2010-11 season.
Bank On Battle: Talor Battle was THE ONLY PLAYER IN THE SIX BCS CONFERENCES to lead his team in total points (18.5), rebounds (5.3 rpg), assists (4.2 apg) and steals (1.1 spg). Battle finished second in the Big Ten in scoring, 16th in rebounding, third in assists and 14th in steals. Ohio State’s Evan Turner and Michigan’s Manny Harris were the only other Big Ten players to rank in the top 15 in points, rebounds, assists and steals in the conference. Turner was the only other BCS player to lead his team in total points, rebounds and assists. Battle Moves Into Seventh: With a team-high 22 points vs. Ohio State (2/24), Talor Battle passed Tom Hovasse (1,459) for seventh on Penn State’s all-time scoring list with 1,526 points. Battle On Verge Of Penn State First: Talor Battle became just the THIRD Lion ever to reach 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists on a career with a team-high six assists vs. Northwestern (2/28). He was the first Lion to reach those career marks Freddie Barnes and Monroe Brown in 1992. Only two Lions (Barnes and Dan Earl) have ever posted 1,000 points and 500 assists on a career. Averaging 136 assists a season dur-
RARE NUMBERS: Talor Battle was ONE OF JUST TWO PLAYERS IN NCAA DIVISION I BASKETBALL in 2009-10 to average better than 18.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 4.0 apg on the year. Battle posted 18.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 4.2 apg and was joined only by Ohio State’s Evan Turner (19.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 5.9 apg) in reaching those rare averages on the year. JUST SEVEN NCAA Div. I players reached 2/3 of the equation posting better than 18.5 points and 4.0 assists per game, including such standouts as Battle, Turner, Jimmer Fredette (BYU), Malcolm Delaney (Virginia Tech) and Greivis Vasquez (Maryland).
Brooks Posts Career Year: Forward Jeff Brooks posted BY FAR his best season in Blue & White capped with a 12-point, seven-rebound effort vs. No. 6 Purdue coming on the heels of a 13-point, 5-of-7 effort at No. 11 Michigan State in the final weeks of the season. Brooks improved his numbers in ever single category over last season including drastic increases in shooting (50%, a huge jump over last season’s 36.6%), free throw shooting (65% to 50.0%) and scoring (230 (7.4 ppg) to 122 (3.3 ppg). He has also increased his rebounding (4.2 to 3.1), and steal (13), block (14) and assist (43) totals in just 31 games compared to his 38-game totals last year. Similar to last season when his play began to peak late in the year, including a
Jones Closes Hard Again: 6-10 junior forward Andrew Jones put together his best stretch of games in Penn State’s last six outings of the year since he averaged 10 ppg and 8.2 rpg in the Lions’ five-game 2009 NIT Championship run to close the 200809 season. Jones posted back-to-back double-digit games in the Lions’ first two Big Ten wins (at Northwestern and at Michigan) and led the team in rebounding in four games, including eight in a 75-67 loss to No. 9 Ohio State and in a 64-60 loss to No. 6 Purdue, his most since Dec. 29 at Minnesota. Jones averaged 8.2 ppg and 6.5 rpg in his last six regular season games while shooting 54.8 percent from the floor. I AM LEGEND: Only four players in Penn State history have logged more combined points, rebounds and assists on a career than junior Talor Battle and they all did it in four years. Battle finished his junior year on pace to overtake the great Jesse Arnelle as he continues his charge through the Penn State record books: Player
Points+Rebounds+Assists
1. Jesse Arnelle (1951-55)
3,376 (no assists kept) 2. Joe Crispin (1997-2001) 2,841 3. Jamelle Cornley (2005-09) 2,511 4. Geary Claxton (2004-08) 2,459 5. TALOR BATTLE 2,418
2010-11 P E N N S T A T E BASKETBALL
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