OPPONENT SPOTLIGHT: Earl of Penn State presides over attack

When Penn State junior point guard Dan Earl faces off against Penn at the Atlantic City Shoot-Out, he may be doing a little scouting. Earl's younger brother, Brian, a freshman guard at Princeton, may benefit from his older brother's report on the Quakers. "I'm already familiar with the Penn team. I work out with a lot of the guys over the summer at the Palestra," Dan Earl said. "Brian probably doesn't know the full extent of the rivalry, but he will find out soon." The Quakers will draw on their own knowledge of Earl to try and stop the Nittany Lions' unquestioned floor leader. Earl has been starting at the point since he was a freshman, and was rated the 25th best point guard in the country by College Sports earlier this year. "He's an integral part of our team," first-year Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said. "We can't initiate any of our offense if he's not on." Earl is the type of floor general most coaches would love to have. He typifies the "pass first, shoot second" mentality, as his 5.7 assists-per-game last year attests. When he does shoot, though, he has deadly accuracy from downtown, hitting 40.7 percent of his treys last year. Earl is also one of the toughest and most competitive players on the team. "Danny seldom complains about anything," Dunn said. "He always plays hurt, probably more so than we realize." The transition to the college game was not as easy as it may seem it was for Earl. He chose Penn State knowing full well what type of competition he would face in a league that includes basketball powers like Michigan, Indiana and Iowa. Despite setting the Penn State mark for assists by a freshman, Earl had a tough time adjusting to the grueling Big Ten season. "He's definitely gotten stronger," Dunn said. "He always had the skills, but he had to get tougher mentally." Earl has also grown into the role of vocal leader. According to Dunn, Earl has always tried to lead by example, but this year as captain he has assumed a more vocal role. "I'm a lot more vocal now that I'm older," Earl said. "I tried to be vocal when I was younger, but not many people listened." It is even more important for Earl to seize control of the team on the floor this season as Penn State tries to adjust to the new regime under Dunn. Former coach Bruce Parkhill resigned suddenly right before the season began, but Earl does not think the transition under Dunn will be a difficult one. "He went from a guy who suggested things to the one who actually made decisions," Earl said. "I just try to help in relaying things to the team." On the court, Earl's goal is for his team to make the NCAA Tournament. He believes the Nittany Lions were one Big Ten win away from getting a bid to the Big Dance last year. The Nittany Lions advanced to the NIT semifinals, though, and Earl was named to the all-tournament team after scoring 43 points and dishing out 12 assists in two games at Madison Square Garden. Earl believes he will have to assume more of a scoring role, as he did in New York, for his team to advance to the NCAAs. "I have to score when I have the opportunity," Earl said. "I also have to do a better job of setting up my teammates." So far, Earl has been matching his words as Penn State has rolled out to a 3-0 record. He is averaging 11.7 points per game while hitting 66.7 percent of his three-pointers in the limited action -- about 25 minutes per game -- as the Lions have blown out their three previous opponents. Earl is expecting the matchup with the Quakers in the Shoot-Out to be a little more difficult. He thinks the game will be a defensive battle, unlike the Lions' three previous games, in which they averaged 96 points. "They are a competitive team, and very well coached," Earl said. "Basically, I'm expecting a war."