MAD ANT FEVER...CATCH IT

Former Penn State basketball standout Jamelle Cornley has been drafted by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Developmental League with the 42nd overall pick. Cornley, who reportedly tinkered with the idea of transitioning to the gridiron after leading the Nittany Lions to an NIT Championship last spring, played briefly with a professional basketball team in the Ukraine before returning to the U.S. last summer.

The three-time MVP of the Nittany Lions basketball team opted to have surgery on his injured shoulder following the 2009 season, limiting his ability to showcase his talent to scouts and coaches in the NBA after a successful college career.

Cornley is one of 17 players who will vie for a spot on the ten-man roster when the NBDL's season begins on November 27th. The Mad Ants will play a preseason game on November 20th in Meadville, PA against the Erie Bayhawks.

CORNLEY TO DECIDE ON FOOTBALL FUTURE NEXT MONTH

Greg Paulus isn't the only former college basketball star rumored to be making a move to the gridiron. Penn State basketball great Jamelle Cornley has been mulling over a career change to football, a sport that might give him a greater chance for success at the professional level.

The Nittany Lion senior, who's certainly got the physical build for life on the defensive line, plans to meet with Penn State football assistant coaches and team doctors soon to discuss his potential future with the pigskin. Teammate Talor Battle was quoted in The Daily Collegian as saying that he thinks Cornley should stick with his first love, basketball.

"He just loves it way too much to just try to go do the football thing, because that would just mean -- honestly, in my eyes -- is more for a money standpoint," the point guard said. "But I think he's really good and hopefully he gets a shot to play professionally in the NBA, and if not, I'm sure he'll have a great career in the overseas somewhere."

The article, published in Friday's paper, goes on to state that Cornley has received interest from professional basketball teams in Europe, but that he's taking time to make the best decision for himself, a decision that should come some time next month.

CORNLEY'S #2 BELONGS IN THE RAFTERS

Driving the two hours back to my apartment last night after watching Penn State capture the NIT Championship in New York City, I couldn't help but start thinking about what was going through Jamelle Cornley's as he made his own trip back home. He had just finished his career by winning one of, if not the most, important games in his school's history and got to stand at center court of the world's most famous arena while holding an MVP trophy over his head to the adoration of thousands of screaming fans. This picture-perfect ending to his career was a lot different than the beginning, but his four-year contribution has brought about a renaissance in Penn State basketball and has put the program in good hands for years to come.

There was no hiding what Penn State basketball was when Cornley signed in the fall of 2004. The former Ohio Mr. Basketball and high school state champion was walking into college basketball quicksand and he wasn't flinching. Penn State had won just 30 total games in the four seasons prior to his arrival on campus and the rabid following that Penn State football benefitted from was nowhere to be seen in the empty blue seats of the Bryce Jordan Center. Still, Cornley brought his infectious enthusiasm to the team and helped lead it to a berth in the NIT tournament on his way to becoming the first Lion to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. That flash of accomplishment was followed by back-to-back losing seasons before the breakout campaign of 2008, but through the ups and downs Cornley stayed focused, adding three-point shooting to his offensive arsenal and welcoming the role of team leader.

Cornley, to me, always appeared to be an athlete that "got it." Too often players have the habit of looking at sports through their own eyepiece and not the perspective of the fans. Fans are, by their very nature, fickle. They will love you and then leave you, and all the while expecting you to do nothing but your best to earn their affection. Cornley understood that, right or wrong, Penn State basketball was never going to become relevant without wins. It's not a coincidence that many of the traditions associated with football - white outs, zombie nation, Paternoville - took hold in the year the team went 11-1 and took home the Big Ten and Orange Bowl championship trophies. Winning breeds excitement and creates a mutualistic relationship between fans and team that has no substitute.

The athletics and marketing department tried its best to spark interest by giving the basketball cheering section it's own name, handing out free T-Shirts and even trying to bribe students to show up with free tickets - it wasn't going to work. The one thing they couldn't manufacture was wins and that was the missing ingredient to the potential chemistry between fans and the program. To his credit, Cornley always moderated his frustration with the lack of support, stopping short of calling fans out like so many athletes do, and thus further alientating himself. He simply went to work at doing the only thing he could to lift the program up; win.

Now, after captaining the team to a school-record 27-11 season and the program's only major post-season championship, he will be associated with that one thing that athletes and fans crave like no other - success. Football's top spot in Penn State's athletic hierarchy is secure and probably always will be, but thanks to Cornley, basketball has finally shed its bottom-feeder status.

Years from now, Penn State fans will always remember Derrick Williams for taking a chance on a sputtering program and famously exclaiming, "Let's take this sleeping Lion to the national championship." Now it's time reserve that same kind of special significance for Cornley, who lifted a program buried under decades of losing and has put the conference and the country on alert that Penn State basketball is awake. He's become the keystone of the basketball movement that's taking over State College, flanked by the bonified superstar Talor Battle and a young crop of post players that will have to try to collectively fill his shoes for Penn State to capitalize on the momentum this season had earned it.

The empty space in the Bryce Jordan Center rafters will have no problem accomodating the 2009 NIT Champions banner that's sure to fly there next season, so why not hang one more banner up there with it? Hang Cornley's #2 up there above the court, and punctuate this time in Penn State basketball history by honoring one of the greatest Lions to ever play.

STEPPING STONES

It's been a year of milestones for the Penn State men's basketball program. Actually milestones might not be the best word to describe them. We'll call them stepping stones as Penn State continues to build a program worthy the white and blue jerseys they wear.

Here's a brief list of the accomplishments so far:

• Just the 10th 20-win season in program history
• Finished tied for 4th in the Big Ten (best finish ever)
• Victories over four Top 25 ranked teams
• Wins over two Top 20 ranked teams on the road (first time ever)
• Ten Big Ten wins (second most ever)
• Five road wins overall (most since 2000-01 season)
• Three Big Ten road wins (ties program record)
• 15 home wins on the year (school record)
• 13,425 attendance over final three home games (highest three-game attendance average since 2000-01 season

The Lions weren't done at the end of the regular season either. Monday evening, coach Ed DeChellis was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by conference media voters. For a man who has had critics calling for his firing at the end of each season since he came to Happy Valley, this has to be a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. Although there were times this season when fans everywhere didn't think DeChellis was qualified to coach middle school girls ball, let alone Division One (CALL A FREAKING TIME OUT!), the award was certainly earned after looking at the list of accomplishments this team has achieved.

DeChellis is just the second Nittany Lion coach ever honored with a Coach of the Year award and the first since his mentor Bruce Parkhill was named the Atlantic-10 Coach of the Year in 1990. For a program that has struggled to pull in blue chip recruits for as long as you and I can remember, adding a coach of the year title to your coaching staff will definitely boost your credentials.

The Lions took a giant step in the right direction last off-season with the hiring of assistant coach Lewis Preston. Preston, who won a National Championship last season as an assistant with the Florida Gators, is a key recruiter for the Lions and known as a post-player developer (something the Lions need). Now, with a head coach with a Big Ten Coach of the Year title and an assistant with a championship ring on his hand, Happy Valley looks a little brighter in the eyes of young recruits.

In addition to DeChellis's award, you know the Big Ten awards couldn't be complete without Talor Battle and Jamelle Cornley. Battle earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from both conference coaches and media. Although this award fell short of the Big Ten Player of the Year aspirations both fans and coaches hoped for, it was certainly a feat as he's only the fifth Nittany Lion ever to hold first-team honors. For a sophomore who led the Big Ten regular season in scoring (17.3 ppg), the praise was certainly earned.

In addition to Battle, Cornley earned second-team selection from the media and third-team honors from the coaches and senior guard Stanley Pringle was an honorable-mention pick from both. Rising big-man Andrew Jones was named Penn State's sportsmanship award winner.

Let's hope the Lions can put these awards to good use as they'll face Big Ten cellar-dweller Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. The NCAA Tournament is the next stepping stone for the Lions, and they can't get there without a win on Thursday.

JAMELLE CORNLEY

Although it would have been better if it was against a top-10 team, Saturday's game was still amazing to watch. The largest crowd to watch a basketball game in the BJC since 2001 was treated to a nail-biter win against Indiana. It was fitting that on Senior Night, the last basket was a one-handed jam by none other than Captain Jamelle Cornley. Immediately after the final buzzer, Cornley grabbed a mic and saluted the crowd.