Hey, guys.  Sorry we haven’t been so vigilant with the updates lately, but we’ve all been real busy here at NittanyWhiteOut.  Personally, I had my final exams, had to move back home, and find a summer job, but we here at NWO are going to stay committed to our mission: to keep bringing you the pressing information about all things Penn State sports all summer, even if this is supposed to be the “dead time” of the sports calendar.

And without further ado, here is your Wednesday Morning Link Dump: the stories that we’ve missed this past week, and the quick hits you want to read.

• We’ll start things off with basketball.  Well, you know how Penn State doesn’t really have a reliable big man on the roster outside of Andrew Jones?  Doesn’t seem like that’ll change any time soon.  Instead of saving a scholarship for next year’s class, to bring in a big man with Taran Buie, Penn State instead drew a commitment straight out of left field from Ohio swingman Bill Edwards, who, despite being named the Senior of the Year in the state of Ohio, didn’t have a single offer from a major conference.  After Penn State, Edwards only held offers from UCF, Miami of Ohio, UMass, and Dayton.  Still, it’s tough to be down on this move.  First of all, he’s got a great pedigree (his dad played in the NBA), second, he was extraordinarily productive in high school, averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds, and third, he’s got a strong body, at 6’6, 240.  And even though he only gets 3 Stars from Rivals (and wasn’t rated by Scout), ESPN sure likes the kid, giving him an 85 grade and gushing:

This lefty has a nice set of skills beginning with his ballhandling…He utilized his pull-up jumper in the lane as he attacked the basket. What really stood out is that he shot the ball well from the beyond the arc — he also knocked down a few 3s in transition. If he sees a smaller defender on him, he will post him up and score…Defensively, he has an understanding of help-side defense and will step in and take the charge

• Sticking with the basketball theme, fellow 2009 recruit Tim Frazier also won himself a nice little award: Houston-area player of the year.  We’ve talked about Frazier before, but in case you forgot anything, here’s something for you.  The fun starts at 0:21.  He’s #23.

So yeah, pretty impressive, right?  Frazier is definitely going to have some big shoes to fill, as he’ll be getting a lot of playing time early on.  Still, it looks like he’s got, at the very least, the most raw athletic talent we’ve seen from a Penn State baller in a long time.  I can’t wait to see him in the BJC.  This recruiting class has the chance to be the best one we’ve ever had, with the Ohio Senior player of the year, the Houston area player of the year, a 6’9 forward who put up some great stats, and Jermaine Marshall who we know little about except that he’s got great athleticism.  Kudos to Ed DeChellis, who is at least bringing in the right sort of players to give Penn State a chance to compete with the big boys.

• Remember how they found weed in the Nittany Apartments, and we might have implicated Daryll Clark and other football players?  Yeah, our bad.  Turns out Ronald Bridges is the only guy who faces charges from Marijuana-gate, V2.0.  If that name doesn’t sound familiar, don’t worry.  Bridges is from Delaware and was only visiting the players.  I have no information, but I’d say I’m about 82% sure he was visiting Devon Still, who’s from Wilmington himself.  I’m not sure whether that’s the real story, but I will say this.  Ronald Bridges is a man who should never have to pay for a meal in State College again.

• With all the winter sports tabulated, Penn State ranks 5th in the Director’s Cup standings.  Stanford, who seems to win every year (and have, since 1994) currently leads, with two other Big Ten schools ahead of the Nittany Lions, in #2 Minnesota and #4 Michigan.  Penn State got big pointage from winning the NCAA fencing championships and high marks in gymnastics and track and field.  This would be Penn State’s 5th top-5 finish in the 16 year history of the Cup, having last acheived the feat in the 2002-03 season.

• As part of an ongoing series over at his Big Ten Blog at tWWL, Adam Rittenberg ranked Stefen Wisniewski as the 27th best player in the Big Ten.  Little Wiz is certainly making a name for himself at Penn State, which is that much harder when you consider just how great his dad and uncle were.  He’s been starting since his freshman year, and I think we all hope he stays for a fourth.

In 2007, Wisniewski was one of only two true freshmen to see the field and became the first freshman offensive lineman to start a game for Penn State since Joe Iorio in 1999. An extremely intelligent player with good size, Wisniewski earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the league’s coaches last season.

• Penn State’s women’s volleyball team held up their end of the repeat bid, but the men couldn’t do the same, dropping a 4-set semifinal to USC, who is climbing up the list of schools I hate.  Penn State looked really bad against USC, making some critical errors in their serving and failing to connect on their smashes.  I blame jet lag-the tournament was in Provo, Utah.

Now, for the Lightning Round:

• SI.com says that Penn State coaching is really good.  How good is it?

Penn State has a tradition of producing dependable-quality players, which also had a downside: Nittany Lions were coached so well that often they were at or near their ceilings already. With apologies to Kerry Collins, whose reputation is owning as much to staying power as to spectacular skills, when Penn Staters leave Happy Valley they simply have often been close to as good as they were going to be.

• Penn State puts the “student” in student-athlete, according to the NCAA Academic Performance Rate metrics. 23 of the schools varsity teams exceed APR averages, and 6 rank in the top 20% for their sport, including football (tops in the Big Ten) and men’s basketball (3rd).  Overall, Nittany Lions graduated at an 89% clip.  Pretty good, compared to the national 78% average.
• Does it surprise anyone that Deon Butler is turning heads at the NFL level already?

I had the chance to interview WR Deon Butler…He’s a real nice kid. Bright. Engaging. And small. When he lines up, he looks like a junior high flanker, thin legs, short stature (5-foot-10, 182). But he is fast. After 10 yards or so, he managed consistent separation from the DBs. Good hands, too. He may be a gem.

Until next time, that’s all.  We have some real fun stuff planned for this summer, so be sure to keep checking NittanyWhiteOut for all your Penn State blogging needs.

Releated Posts:

1. Counting Down the Lions: #6
2. 44 for 44: Steve Wisniewski
3. Counting Down the Lions: #5
4. Shawn Oakman Commits to Penn State
5. The Penn State All-Decade Team: Guards

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