Meet the Big Ten: Penn State

Coach Jerry Dunn had his work cut out for him last season with only one senior on the Penn State roster. A youth movement was necessary, and Dunn's freshmen and sophomores logged nearly two-thirds of the Nittany Lion's minutes. \nThat translated into a last place finish in the Big Ten (3-13) and an abysmal overall record (7-21).\nThe team will again be one of the youngest in the conference but, coming off its third-worst campaign in school history, Dunn said it will be better.\n"I think we're a stronger, more physical team, and obviously a deeper team. And with us it's going to start with defense," he said. "It's going to start with the mindset that we need to stop people and do a better job on the boards and then we'll go from there."\nSophomore forward Jan Jagla is expected to be a big part of the aggressive mentality. He became a starter early last season and led all Big Ten freshmen in rebounding (5.8) and blocks (1.29).\nThe starting backcourt will consist of senior Brandon Watkins and junior Sharif Chambliss, who averaged 13.3 and 14.6 points per game, respectively.\nThe Nittany Lions have a difficult pre-conference schedule, which includes games against Pittsburgh, North Carolina and Temple. Dunn said the schedule will give him a chance to evaluate how far along his young team has come. \n"I certainly think we're going to find out very quickly where we are and what we need to do," he said. "I often think playing too many teams that are not of (high) caliber, you don't really get a good gauge as to where you are and the things you need to improve upon before you get to the Big Ten"