lO The Daily Collegian Lions By VITO FORLENZA Collegian Staff Writer , Penn State is No. 10 in the first ever Bowl Championship Series frankings, and coach Joe Paterno is [acting as if he doesn’t have a clue •that the inaugural standings were [even released. ; “I don’t even know what is going ■on with the poll,” Paterno said at [yesterday’s weekly press confer ence. “I really don’t pay much .attention to any of that stuff. My ■feeling has been that we should not have preseason polls, and we shouldn’t have polls until we play five or six games. Is this the poll that they are going to eventually use to pick the No. 1 and No. 2 team?” Paterno, echoing the majority of WNBA impacting college programs By DONNIE COLLINS Collegian Staff Writer Two years ago, the Women’s National Basketball Association made its presence known in the sports world. With its catchy “We got next!” slogan and a handful of bona fide star players like Houston’s Sheryl Swoopes and Los Angeles’ Lisa Leslie, the WNBA set out on its maiden voyage after the NBA Finals in the summer of 1996. Although it is still a new league on the block, women’s professional basketball has made significant strides over the past couple of years. Competing in a nation where men’s sports dominate the atten tion of the common sports fan, both the WNBA and American Basket ball League (ABL) have been able to steal a great portion of the spot light and garner notable popularity for the women’s game. Before the days of the WNBA and ABL, there was no lack of women’s leagues. However, they were all located overseas. As the notoriety of professional women’s leagues in the United States increases, most American born players have set their sites not on playing professionally abroad, but staying at home. Because of this, many coaches in the Big Ten said high school play ers are looking less at education, tradition and environment when they look for the right university at which to play. Now that playing in the pros and doing it close to home is not only feasible, but probable for the most talented of college players, the col lege coach’s role as a recruiter has taken on some noticeable changes. Penn State coach Rene Portland said the desire for high school players to go to a program that will get them to the WNBA crept up on her last season. During her recruiting trips this year, Portland hasn’t found any less interest from young players who want to end up in one of the pro leagues. “Last year was quite a surprise, and this year’s recruiting class asked the same question, ‘Can you get us to the pro league,’ ” Portland said. “We have some players in there already, and it’s helped us out.” Darling to guide backcourt into new lady eager season Editor's Note: This is the first in a three-part series previewing the women's basketball team. The story features the guards. By WILLIAM KALEC Collegian Staff Writer When point guard Helen Darling walked off the floor of the Ferrell Center last March following the Penn State women’s basketball team’s 59-56 victory over Bay lor, she had done more than contribute to the Lady Lions’ first ever Women’s Nation al Invitation Tournament crown. She also proved an age-old adage wrong. In front 10,057 loud and ravenous Baylor basketball fanatics, Darling was able to No. 10 in first BCS standings itjf Ha ter no's f P¥35 k,y conference college football coaches, later said he is willing to give the BCS sys tem a chance, but that support still hasn’t deterred him from advocat ing a playoff system The BCS rankings, released Mon day night, resulted ‘"inn a com bined effort b\ ’ .■ ■■■■-natives of the NCAA. nball’s six major conference • and Notre Dame. The rankings are an attempt to crown a national champion witiiin tory Among Big Ten • ciiools. only lowa can boast nv-r-. players com peting professionally in the WNBA and ABL than Portland’s Lady Lions. Former Lions y Masley and Angie Pothoff are enjoying suc cessful ABL careers with the Col orado Xplosion and Columbus Quest, respective!;, . But the S.iur v biggest impact .11 •. leagues is Su, lirst-tearn hon ors, as well as the league's New comer of the Year a; d v'ortsman ship awards. Portland sani Mot <■ '.ell Serin’s accomplishrr.cn' • . television exposure helped of potential rec State program. “Suzie did wonderful things for us this summer,” Portland said. “Every time they talked about Suzie, they talked about her being a mom, as well as being a Penn State point guard. (WNHA commentator and Connecticut coach) Geno Auriemma did a v.nnderful job of always talking about Penn State when he talked about Suzie." The WNBA is no; ;.!y having an effect on high school seniors and juniors. It is reacting a much younger audience At her instructional camps, Michigan coach Sue Guevara said girls preparing to enter high school already have hopes of playing in the WNBA. “At your crip ud n year olds are wearing rro uniforms.” Guevara said tions you are always a.stxd is. 'How many players do you have in pro leagues?' I think it’s been great.” Coaches like Portland, Guevara and Minnesota's Chi. ,-yl I.ittlesjhn all use the WNBA a - recruiting tool. It’s an especially useful tool for Littlejohn, who stresses to recruits that Minnesota received a WNBA franc) lise whid, begins play next summer Littlejohn said, b. a e ver, that it isn’t the collegiate program that Please see WNBA, Page 18. keep her poise She didn’t let the crowd noise bother her - as she continued directing traffic from the point guard petition she was the one running the show. And when till was said and done, Darling disproved the saying “Great leaders are born, not made." “The postseason did a lot for our confi dence and leadership,” coach Rene Port land said. “You saw Helen, who gives peo ple fits at point guard, but still a growing point guard, start to understand what lead ership is And she was only a sophomore.” Now 7 a year older and wiser, Darling will be the focal point of this year's Lady Lion backcourt that is as deep with talent as any in the Big Ten Her exploits in the postsea she present bowl system as opposed to shaping a playoff for mat. The Nittany Lions (5-1, 2-1 Big 1 en) are still three wins away from qualifying for any of the BCS par ticipants (the Rose, Sugar and Orange Bowls and the Fiesta Bowl ■— site of this year’s national cham pionship), but meet the alliance’s second condition, a top-12 ranking. A second-place finish in the Big Fen wouldn’t guarantee the Lions in alliance bid. If No. 1 Ohio State finishes atop Nne polls and plays for the national itle, the second place Big Ten earn does not get an automatic invitation to the Rose Bowl. Bowls that lose teams to the championship game, the Rose Bowl ncluded, get to choose from the Cager guard takes court for first time since injury By MICHAEL LELLO Collegian Staff Writer All eyes were on Dan Earl last night as he took the floor of the Bryce Jordan Center for the first time since Dec. 7 of last year, when he and what was supposed to be his senior season came tumbling to the hardwood with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Earl, granted a sixth season by the NCAA after taking a medical redshirt last season, started last night’s annual Blue-White scrim mage and looked like the same point guard Nittany Lion fans remembered, scoring 12 points in a losing effort for the Blue team, which was outscored 68-52 bv White. Earl was not as satisfied with his performance as most of his observers were, but he admitted it felt good to return to competi tion. "I think you can say I’m fairly | rusty,” Earl said. “But it’s nice to jjj run around and go up and down (the court). I’m just a little wind ed and my leg needs to get more strength.” If Earl had any cobwebs sur rounding his offensive game, he || dusted them off early, drilling a | three-point shot at the top of the S arc on the third Blue possession i of the first half. On the next two i. Blue drives, Earl shot both times, |l nailing a shot just inside the I; three-point line and barely miss jj ing a three-point attempt that just bounced out of the basket. Earl said he didn’t favor the knee, but was aware during the game that he has not yet regained the ability to push and drive off the knee. “I got to be able to jump off it like its not even there," he said. “Maybe 1 was a little tentative, I but with repetition it’ll get ■ there.” m a :ne the pro tho interest i he Penn Coach Jerry Dunn was pleased with Earl’s 1998-99 debut, consid ering the team has just begun practices. “I think that Danny played sur prisingly well,” Dunn said. “He’s practiced three of nine days, and never the whole practice.” Earl will continue to push him self a little further every day he does practice, in hopes of not only practicing a full session but also participating in every prac tice rather than going every other day as he has been doing thus far. The team’s only senior enter ing the season in full health, cen ter Calvin Booth scored 14 points and added three blocks before leaving the game in the second half with an injured right ankle. Dunn said he twisted it slightly. A bright spot for the Lions last Please see EARL, Page 18. f the cues SpCMtS son earned her WNIT Most Valuable Play er accolades as she led all Lions by averag ing 16 points over the four tournament games. After developing a taste for champi onship play last season, Darling enters the 1998-99 campaign as hungry as ever. “Everyone is looking forward to this sea son; everyone’s real excited," Darling said. “I know I’m ready. Every time I go to the floor I try to play like I did in the tourna ment just being a leader and playing within my game.” Darling’s game is not one dimensional as she frequently displayed over the course of last season. She can generate points with her shooting as well as her remaining teams that meet BCS conditions. So while the Rose Bowl still pits the Big Ten and Pac-10 winners, it does not have to retain those con ference ties if it loses a team to the title game. When bowls lose teams for the national title game, the bowl that loses the highest-ranked team gets the first selection of the remaining teams. That scenario seems to indicate the Rose Bowl would have the top two picks, since Ohio State and the Pac-lO’s UCLA currently are ranked No. 1 and 2 in both major polls. Just one more? Last week, the NCAA Div. I Man agement Council addressed the possibility of a 12-game schedule, Earl returns Penn State point guard Dan Earl takes a jump shot during last night’s Blue-White scrimmage. This was Earl’s first game back since injuring his knee Dec. 7. which would begin by 2002. Pater no said he thinks players could handle another scheduled game, but he cautioned that many teams already play a 12-game schedule with conference championship games and preseason games, such as the Kickoff and Pigskin Clas sics. “I would hope that they would wait to see what happens with this proposed championship type of thing that somebody had asked me about earlier,” Paterno said. “If that works out, then 12 games might be fine.” Paterno added if the BCS system wasn’t successful, the NCAA again might want to consider a playoff system that would consist of play ing a 10-game regular-season schedule. uncanny ability to find the open player. Darling averaged close to five assists per game last season, while at the same con tributing to the Lions’ rebounding cause. Despite her 5-foot-7 frame, Darling led the Lions in rebounding on six different occa sions last year. Joining Darling in the backcourt will be fellow co-captain Christine Portland, now a senior, who will help fill the void left by the graduation of Jamie Parsons. Portland, who started every game last season, will now be asked to carry more of \e Lions’ offensive load and improve on her 7.4 points per game average from a year ago. The Lions have an abundance of talent Wednesday, Oct. 28, 1998 Paterno said the Lions are more banged up than he thought they would be coming off a bye week. Wide receiver Joe Nastasi, who broke his left wrist in the Lions’ 27- 17 win at Minnesota, is still out and may miss an additional three weeks. Offensive tackle Jordan Caruso, sidelined with an ankle injury, is listed as probable for Saturday’s Illinois contest. “We only practiced Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and took Friday, Saturday and Sunday off,” Paterno said of last week’s sched ule. “I was hoping we would get some people back. We have some people that are still limping around out there that hopefully will be OK by Saturday.” Collegian Photo/Christopher M. Mortensen after the two captains are spoken for, led by Big Ten all-freshman team nominee Lisa Shepherd. Although Shepherd did not start a single game last season, she still saw quality playing time and finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.3 points per game. Shepherd, along with reserve Chrissy Falcone and newcomers Katrena Carr and junior college transfer Shawnta Vanzant, will give Penn State a playing time dilem ma most teams would love to have. “Our team is very versatile at the guard position,” coach Portland said. “We’re six deep in our guards, and I’ll be able to play all six of them during the season.” Injury report