Jan. 15, 2008
You will not often see the numbers 13, 14 and 41 on the Bryce Jordan Center floor or in a Nittany Lion box score, but if you do take note. You are witnessing a brief moment of individual glory in a career otherwise dedicated to the glory of the whole and the pure love of the game.
"I'll tell you if you didn't love basketball, you wouldn't be a walk-on. That's for sure," says freshman Steve Kirkpatrick as he gets his ankles taped before practice.
Kirkpatrick (41), junior Will Leiner (13) and redshirt freshman Adam Highberger (14) make up the Nittany Lions' walk-on players. All were standouts, multiple-year starters and award winners during high school careers in which they led their respective teams to great success. Their numbers and faces are out of the limelight now, yet their dedication to the team and the game is unwavering.
"I think what drives me is just loving the game of basketball and the team building portion of it is just amazing," says Leiner who has played in 20 games in his Penn State career and is the only walk-on to have entered the scoring column with six career tallies. "Making friends that you're going to have for the rest of your life, being part of a team and building these relationships. These guys are like family."
"It's just for the passion of the game and I think a respect for the guys and coaches," adds Highberger who suffered a torn ACL over the summer and is redshirting this season as he rehabs the injury.
All had opportunities to continue their playing careers at other places where they would have likely found more playing time, but chose instead the challenge of playing at Penn State and in the Big Ten.
"I felt like I have it in me.," says Highberger, who tallied 2,096 career points at Blairsville High School. "I felt like if I didn't at least try to play here, I'd always be wondering if I could."
"I wanted the experience of playing against the best competition, being at the level that's right beneath the pros," says Kirkpatrick, who was an all Mid-Penn pick at Cumberland Valley High School. "These guys are the guys that are going to the next league."
Kirkpatrick and Highberger were both invited walk-ons who, while not receiving scholarship money, were assured a place on the roster. Leiner, on the other hand, came to Penn State with no assurances.
"I chose Penn State because I've always wanted to come here," says Leiner, who was a three-year starter at Whitehall High School leading them to a 55-8 record his last two years. "I honestly thought after high school that basketball was over for me because I chose Penn State. Not because I didn't have confidence in myself making the team, but it's a tough thing to do as an unrecruited walk-on."
Leiner, who had offers from several Division III schools, made it through the tryout process displaying the same fearlessness and fighter's instincts that earned him the team's "Scrappiest Player" honor last season. "Going hard, that's what I do," he says.
Three years later he has become a leader on the team helping orchestrate the "Scout Team" that runs all the opposing team's plays and works to make sure the Nittany Lions who regularly see the floor on game day are prepared.
"I think that my knowledge after being here for three years is very beneficial in helping some of the new guys out, especially the guys on the scout team who are kind of like my teammates within the team," Leiner says. "I think just being kind of an older guy with the presence of mind to know what's going on and how things work and the way they work and where everyone is supposed to be is almost like being a leader."
Kirkpatrick and Highberger share his pride in being able to contribute to the team in ways that are unseen by the average fan.
"I get a lot of gratification seeing if I'm working hard in the post and say Drew (Andrew Jones) sees that and he works harder," Kirkpatrick says. "That's where I get satisfaction."
Still it must be difficult to dedicate the time, the year-around conditioning, the weight training and hours and hours of practice knowing that the odds are stacked against you seeing playing time.
"You always dream big and there is always that opportunity of achieving something and getting some playing time, but it is more than that and bigger than that," says Highberger, who has plans to follow his father into dentistry. "Penn State is a great place to get an education and the atmosphere they create around here is very attractive to anybody. I'm not discontent at all because of the atmosphere the coaches and players create, it's neat to be around."
"It's been easy, because I knew that was going to be the situation," says Kirkpatrick whose days as a gym rat began with the use of gym keys from his father, Steve, the principal at Cumberland Valley. "I was prepared for it and I know what my role is, making the other guys better.
"I didn't want to come here and be a regular student. I wanted to be part of something. Even when we have days off now, I don't know what to do with myself. It's a huge time commitment, but without it, I'd be bored."
The experience has also paid dividends in other ways for the trio. For Highberger that meant medical and rehabilitation services he calls "top-of-the-line the whole way through" after injuring his knee in a pick-up game in June. "They treat me just like I'm on scholarship. I got all the benefits. Stuff I wouldn't have gotten at home." For Leiner, that means preparation for pursuing his next challenge in the business world.
"The level of work that you do as a person in any aspect of life gets kicked up a notch when you add in something like this," the finance major and Dean's List honoree says. "The requirements on us physically, mentally and time-wise are very significant. I've been able to learn to work harder and push through different stress levels, and it's been a key talking point for me in my business interviews."
No surprise, Leiner has his sights set on a career in New York City, the finance capital of the world.
"It's almost like trying to walk-on to the team as an unrecruited player here," He says. "If I can get in there, I'm sure I'll be able to earn the scrappiest player award there as well."
For all three there is also the very real thrill of pulling on that blue and white jersey and taking the floor as a member of a Division I basketball team playing in one of the nation's premier conferences. "You get in the locker room and you see your jersey hanging there and you look over and there's Geary (Claxton) and there's Jamelle (Cornley) and you just love it," Kirkpatrick says. "I'm part of something that's bigger than me."
"It feels like a dream come true to me, despite my lack of playing time," Leiner says. "I don't know if I'm weird, but that's the way I feel about it."
"There are a lot of guys that I know that really would love to be in my position. It definitely is a satisfying feeling to be able to put on the uniform and run out there. Just to be on the floor with the guys that I am is very special."