State College, Pa. - June 12, 2003 - Ed DeChellis, who was appointed Penn State's 11th men's basketball coach in April, has had an eventful start as the mentor of the Nittany Lion program. The Monaca, Pa., native has hired three outstanding new assistant coaches, signed one top recruit from New York City, and traveled the length of the country on the recruiting trail.

DeChellis' staff began to take shape just a week after his hiring when he lured Hilliary Scott, a member of his staff at East Tennessee State, to Happy Valley. Shortly after that, James Johnson, a former assistant at the College of Charleston, joined the Penn State staff. DeChellis rounded out his assistants when Jeff Bower, a former assistant at Penn State under Bruce Parkhill, left his post as General Manager of the NBA's New Orleans Hornets to return to Penn State as an assistant coach.

While his coaching staff took shape, DeChellis was on the road looking to snare a top recruit and landed one in Marlon Smith, a native of the Bronx, N.Y. Smith was an All-League player at Archbishop Molloy High School, one of the most well known schools in the country.

DeChellis has also been very active in setting the foundation for future recruiting classes as well. He has crossed the country with stops in Texas, Louisiana, New York, Washington, California and Washington, D.C., just to name a few.

In addition to his duties as Penn State's new coach, DeChellis has been present at many local functions and has already taken on a leadership role with one local charity. DeChellis has attended or spoken at a number of events, including the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, the Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Outing and the opening of the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center. He was the guest speaker at a Penn State Psychology class, speaking on the topic of "Accountability and Commitment to a Common Goal." DeChellis was also recognized at a recent Altoona Curve baseball game.

The next two weeks will have DeChellis attending a Nittany Lion Club function in York, Pa., on June 13; serving as guest speaker at a Tailback Club event in State College on June 18; and taking part in the Second Mile Golf Tournament on June 20. He will also tape a segment of WPSX-TV's "15 Minutes" with Steve Jones later this month.

DeChellis' involvement in the Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Outing helped the local chapter of the national organization raise at least $ 70,000, with the final receipts still being tallied.