Everybody knows recruiting is the greatest determinant of any collegiate athletic program’s success. So how has Penn State recruited under Ed DeChellis? Well, let’s just say it hasn’t been great, and it is reason #1 this program has had very little success under this coaching regime. Inspired by my ADD in a lecture one day, I have decided to look back and analyze/grade each recruiting class this staff has hauled in (which, if you ask me, is a much more productive and concrete idea than say, projecting college prospects and how they will do in the future). This is the first installment of this series that will look into Ed’s first full recruiting class – the class of 2004.
The Grading System will be based on this 4.0 scale, 3 credits per player
| Grade | Points | Caliber |
|---|---|---|
| A | 4.0 | All Big-Ten |
| A- | 3.67 | |
| B+ | 3.33 | Big Ten Starter |
| B | 3.0 | |
| B- | 2.67 | |
| C+ | 2.33 | Big Ten Bench Player |
| C | 2.0 | |
| D | 1.0 | Mid-Major Player |
| F | 0.0 | Are you serious? |
*A sidenote before I begin, DeChellis was hired in April 2003 and actually pulled in his first recruit in the 2003 Spring signing period. That player was Marlon Smith – a guard who hailed from New York. Marlon was an unfortunate sacrificial lamb for Ed DeChellis’ first year. A depleted roster during the transfer years left coach D with just 2 scholarship guards – Smith and Ben Luber. Smith actually had a decent year that year, considering the circumstances (playing 90.1% of the team’s total minutes). He averaged 13.1 PPG and shot 34% from 3. However, midway through his sophomore year, he was diagnosed with some condition. I forget what happened, but I wanna say he passed out during practice, and it was found that he had some sort of blockage with his bloodflow to his brain. Basically, the condition ended his career at Penn State, so his grade is incomplete and isn’t worth factoring in.
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