I wish I could say that Penn State basketball’s low point in 2010 was the 12 straight losses to start Big Ten play. I wish I could say it was the blowout loss to Minnesota in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. I wish I could say it was the news that four scholarship players, including one starter, would unexpectedly not be returning to the team.
But at this moment, I can’t. Because the day that I heard the news that Talor Battle declared for the NBA draft, I knew that the worst could be yet to come.
‘Why would he leave?’ some ask. Well, the threat of a serious injury (look at Kalin Lucas and Desean Butler) is an obvious factor, and sustaining one would without question remove him from any draft board he might be on. Add that to the current state of the Penn State basketball program, which compares to that of the New Jersey Nets except we don’t get John Wall next year, and it becomes pretty clear.
‘This is a bad year for the draft, so anything’s possible,’ CBS Sportsline college basketball writer Gregg Doyel told me via Twitter when asked what he thought Battle would do. ‘If he leaves, it’s not to run to the NBA. It’s to run away from PSU’.
It is no secret to anyone that Penn State’s tradition of futility in basketball has led to its non-existent presence in the NBA. The Lions have had just one player drafted in the past 25 years (Calvin Booth, 35th overall to 
Washington in 1999), and only one other player in the NBA in the same time span (John Amaechi signed with Cleveland after going undrafted). Both were big men who bounced around the league making very little impact.
By choosing to enter the draft and go through the workouts and interviews that come with the scouting process, at least Battle will be able to get himself the exposure that he cannot get playing for a low-profile program. Whether this exposure means a promise that he will be drafted this year or not remains to be seen, but I agree with Doyel that if Talor does sign an agent and go to the NBA it will be because of his frustration with the Penn State program more than anything else.
However, coming back for another year could benefit Talor’s draft stock for 2011 if incoming freshman guards Taran Buie and Tre Bowman turn out to be the real deal. Having other viable scoring options on the floor would allow Talor to focus more on playing point guard, the position most think he will have to play at the next level. However, this will only be possible if the players around him can develop into at least somewhat of a scoring 
threat and if Coach Ed DeChellis decides to run a system that does not rely on Battle and Battle alone in what seems like every trip down the floor offensively.
If Talor does elect not to return to Happy Valley for his senior season, the effect on the program and fan base could be devastating.
First, there is the obvious fact that Penn State would be losing its statistical leader in points, assists, rebounds, steals, and minutes from this past season. Coupled with the departure of Chris Babb, that means the Lions would be losing two of their top three scorers from a team that was ninth in the Big Ten in scoring last season.
Since I arrived on campus in 2008, the consensus among Penn State basketball fans has been that 2010-2011 would be the year to make a serious run at the NCAA Tournament. Talor Battle, obviously, would be the centerpiece of that run, and removing him from the equation dissolves any dreams of the Big Dance faster than November losses to UNC-Wilmington and Tulane.
Most fans also believe that the results of the upcoming season will determine the status of DeChellis as Penn State’s head coach, though some argue a losing season and the dismissal of DeChellis could be for the better in the long term.
The biggest storyline in this entire saga rests upon Talor’s half-brother and Penn State signee Taran Buie. Buie committed to the Lions following last year’s NIT Championship victory, shocking many by choosing Penn State over the likes of Maryland, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh. Rated as a consensus 4-star guard, Buie represents Penn State’s most decorated incoming freshman ever and hope for the future of the program.
However, Buie’s commitment to Penn State came with a catch, and that was Talor Battle’s promise that he would stick around to play with him in 2010-2011. Battle has always spoken of how close he is with his family, and it showed his sophomore season when he went into a three-game slump following a health problem involving his mother Denise Murphy. Battle’s family also moved from Albany, NY to State College shortly after Buie’s commitment (Buie played for State College for his senior season).
Battle has gone on record as saying he needs to do what’s best for himself and his family. So then, what happens to the promise he made that helped push Buie to choose a program perennially stuck in the Big Ten’s basement over offers from national powerhouses from the Big East and ACC? And, in the bigger picture, what reason does Buie have to remain at Penn State?
An interesting point to consider also rests upon Talor’s role in the locker room and his legacy as a Nittany Lion.
Following the departure of the vocal and emotional Jamelle Cornley, many assumed Battle would take over the role as the heartbeat of Penn State basketball. We, apparently, were sadly mistaken. It has been well documented that he considered quitting the team in early January in the midst of an already-disappointing season. Yes, that’s right, he considered quitting the team as the conference’s leading scorer sandwiched between an NIT Championship as a sophomore and the opportunity for a very memorable season with his half-brother as a senior.
Yes, things were as bad as bad can get during many points of the past basketball season, but Battle clearly did not step up as the leader that this team and this program sorely needed. During any season, especially during a tough one, fans want to see their star player step up in more ways than just on the stat sheet. Instead, we saw him jogging listlessly out of the locker room game after game far behind the rest of his teammates.
‘Basically, when I see Battle running out far after the team, I just become disappointed,’ says PSU freshman Jeff Lowe. ‘(Talor) following far behind is a symbol of the unorganized, dysfunctional play on the court’.
I want to see Battle return to Penn State for his senior season, but not the guy we saw wearing No. 12 last season. I want to see a player who is committed to finishing what he started and following through on a commitment to his own family. I want to see a player who knows that he can make up for his lack of size by playing with tenacity and hustle. I want to see a player who wants to play for Penn State and wants to step up and be a leader.
Obviously Talor Battle’s name will be everywhere in the Penn State basketball record books whether he leaves this year or next, but the decision he makes by May 8 will have a great impact on how he is remembered by the fans.
