s John Amaechi was named the Academic All-American of the Year in 1995 and played five seasons in the NBA.
s Calvin Booth set a Big Ten and Penn State career record for blocked shots and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 1999. He was selected in the second round of the 1999 NBA draft and went on to play for a decade.
s All-Big Ten guard Joe Crispin ranks third on the PSU scoring charts with 1,986 points.
Penn State was 15-6 with two games left to play in ‘72-73 when sophomore center and leading scorer (14.7) Randy Meister broke his hand. The Lions dropped both games, finished 15-8 and out of the NCAA/NIT mix. All five starters were back, including ferocious rebounder Jon Marshall, in ‘73-74 when the Lions made their last stand. But four losses by a total of eight points through December put this club behind the eight ball. Penn State ended up 14-12, but did manage to collect one of the greatest wins in school history. Brown scored 32 points, including the game-winner at the buzzer, to lift the Lions to a 66-64 win over seventh-ranked Pittsburgh at Rec Hall. The Panthers had won 22 in a row. Bach’s last four teams had losing records, but did feature long-range bomber Jeff Miller (1,008 career points). Future NBA coach Dick Harter became the Lions’ eighth coach in 1978 and posted a 79-61 log in five seasons. Harter’s intensity quickly rubbed off on the squad. His first team (1978-79) played possibly the toughest schedule in school history — to that point — and posted a respectable 12-18 mark. Freshman guard Mike Edelman led the team in scoring (11.4 ppg). The Lions were 4-6 in their third season in the Eastern 8. Penn State played as an independent for three seasons beginning in 1979-80. Led by junior center Frank Brickowski, efficient pointguard Tom Wilkinson (who held the career record of 485 assists), Edelman and top recruits Mike Lang and Rich Fetter, the Lions won 12 of their final 14 games to finish the regular-season 18-9. For the first time in 14 years, Penn State was extended a post-season bid and lost in the first round of the 1980 NIT at Alabama, 53-49. Lebanon, Pa., forward Steve Kuhn closed his career with 1,057 points.
While the Lions had winning seasons the next three years, they did not return to post-season play. Penn State rejoined the Eastern 8, renamed the Atlantic 10 Conference, for the ‘82-83 season. Brickowski had a fine year in ‘80-81, averaging 13.0 points, 6.3 boards and shooting 60.1 percent from the floor. He was a third round draft pick of the New York Knicks, opted to play overseas and returned to enjoy an eventual 12-year NBA career. Edelman and Lang, a starter in all 110 career games, both topped 1,000 points. Two overtime losses are among the most memorable games of the early 1980’s. On Dec. 28, 1981, the Lions lost a heartbreaker to No. 1-ranked North Carolina, 56-50, in the first round of the Cable Car Classic at Santa Clara, Calif. The Tar Heels’ lineup included Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Sam Perkins. On Dec. 11, 1982, 11th-ranked Alabama defeated the Lions, 75-67, in raucous Rec Hall. State College native Bruce Parkhill returned home to lead the Lions in 1983-84. Parkhill’s squads demonstrated steady improvement over his 12 years as head coach. His first five teams were a combined 53-84, but four straight 20-win seasons (1989-92) sent the Nittany Lions into the Big Ten riding a wave of success. In 1985, guard Craig Collins set a NCAA free throw shooting record at 95.9 percent. Penn State broke through with a 20-12 slate in 1988-89. It was the Lions’ first 20-win season since 1964-65 as the team advanced to postseason play (NIT) for the first time in nine years. Parkhill’s squads were 25-9, 21-11 and 21-8, respectively, the next three years and made four consecutive post-season tournament appearances. An 89-73 victory against Murray State in the 1989 NIT marked the Nittany Lions’ first national
games (14.2 ppg.). His 15-foot jumper was a key in Penn State’s game-plan. On Dec. 19, 1989, Penn State announced it was joining the Big Ten Conference. And although the transition timetable had not completely been worked out, the first domino had fallen in the realignment of collegiate athletics. At first it seemed the Nittany Lions would have to wait at least three to five years to begin conference play in basketball. On Jan. 28, 1991, Pennsylvania Governor Robert P. Casey released $16.8 million, almost half of the total state authorization, for the design and planning of the University’s Academic/Athletic Convocation & Events Center. One month later, the Big Ten approved Penn State’s participation in basketball for 1992-93 — two years earlier than some scenarios had forecasted. Parkhill again faced the task of rebuilding the program as the Nittany Lions were lacking personnel, but preparing to enter one of the nation’s elite basketball conferences. The uncertainty of the Big Ten transition, the graduation of the best backcourt in school history and a series of injuries left the team short for its inaugural Big Ten season. After a three-point loss to defending champion Ohio State in their Big Ten debut, the Lions mustered a great effort Feb. 9 in falling to Bob Knight’s No. 1-ranked Indiana Hoosiers, 88-84, in double-overtime. From overall and conference records of 7-20 (2-16) in 1993 to 13-14 (6-12) in ‘94 and 21-11 (9-9) in ‘95, Penn State demonstrated steady progress since joining the Big Ten. At the “center” of the improvement was John Amaechi — the Lions’ first All-Big Ten firstteam selection. College basketball’s Academic All-American of the Year in ‘95, Amaechi scored 1,310 points, grabbed 745 rebounds and blocked
post-season win in 34 years. Five of Penn State’s seven 20-win seasons and 10 of the school’s 16 post-season (NCAA or NIT) victories came under Parkhill. Behind center Ed Fogell, the Nittany Lions equaled their best finish in a national tournament, placing third in the 1990 NIT. The following season, Penn State tied for third place in the Atlantic 10 regular-season standings, but won the Atlantic 10 Tournament, qualified for the 1991 NCAA Tournament and knocked off 16th-ranked UCLA, 74-69, in the first round. It was the Nittany Lions’ first NCAA appearance in 26 years and first NCAA win since 1955. Playing as an independent in 1991-92, Penn State compiled a 21-8 slate, including a firstround loss to Pittsburgh, 67-65, in the 1992 NIT. Eight of 29 Lions to crack 1,000 points played for Parkhill. The first was guard Tony Ward (1985-88), who sank 100 career threepointers. Next was Colorado sharp-shooter Tom Hovasse (1986-89). Fogell (1985-90) capped a brilliant senior year by topping 1,000 points and shooting 60.8 percent from the floor and 81.2 percent from the line. Burly forward James Barnes (1988-91) cracked the barrier in the memorable NCAA win over UCLA. The magnificent backcourt duo of Freddie Barnes and Monroe Brown (both 198992) compiled an 82-34 mark when starting together (47-4 at home) and never lost three games in a row. Both eclipsed 1,000 career points. Barnes also set career marks for minutes played (4,038), later surpassed by Talor Battle, and assists (600). Brown had 239 career steals, second only to Ron Brown. Another star of the early 1990’s was forward DeRon Hayes (1990-93). A starter in a then record 120 games, Hayes scored 184 points in 13 career Atlantic 10, NIT and NCAA tournament
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