We’ve edited this post, because we concluded it’s original lede (a scene from a crowded train in Tokyo) led discussion in the wrong direction — whether there will be too many players on the 2010 squad.
That discussion reminded us of a great scene from the movie “Amadeus,” featuring this exchange between Mozart and the Emperor Joseph II, in which the Emperor gives his opinion about a Mozart composition that has just been performed for the court:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCud8H7z7vU[/youtube]
Emperor Joseph II:
“An excellent effort. You have shown us something . . . quite new tonight. It’s just that, occasionally it seems to have . . . too many notes.”
Mozart: “There are just as many notes, Majesty, as I require, neither more nor less.”
Emperor Joseph II: “Your work is ingenious. It’s quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that’s all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.”
Mozart: “Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?”
The analogy isn’t perfect, but in some ways, a coach is like a composer. She or he assembles players (the “notes”) to create a team (the “composition”). If the coach does a good job — chooses the right players, puts them in the right positions at the right times, and coaches them effectively throughout the season — the result is music to our ears (wins and cheers).
Russ Rose is one of the greatest volleyball coaches of all time. He didn’t assemble these players randomly or by accident. He chose to recruit each one of them, because he and his staff concluded that they would add something to the overall team.
We think the same holds true for the players. They came to Penn State for a variety of reasons — the chance to play for a truly great coach and staff, the opportunity to compete at the highest level, the chance to play with other highly talented and motivated players, as well as academic opportunities and love of the area. But they came in knowing the score, so to speak.
So, our guess is that suggestions from fans that there are “too many players” on the 2010 Penn State unofficial roster would be met by Russ Rose with something akin to Mozart’s “There are just as many notes as I require, your Majesty, neither more nor less.”
That’s not to say that all the players will win significant playing time, or be totally satisfied with their roles. But Coach Rose will shape a team from these players. We believe the result will great fun to watch over the course of the season. And quite musical indeed.
A disclaimer: we are completely disinterested in discussing who is on scholarship and who is not. There are so many reasons a player might not receive a scholarship that have nothing to do with her talent, on the court or academic performance, or character. That discussion may be inevitable, but for us, the only relevant questions are who will contribute, and how much.
In many ways, delving into the question of who is on scholarship is, for us, like walking up to someone at a party and asking them how much money they earn in a year. Might be interesting to know, but most people wouldn’t do it. So we won’t feature that information on this site (except to the extent Penn State releases information on the subject).
Note that the Table is sortable by name, position, eligibility, height, etc., that each player’s name contains either a link to their official biography from gopsusports.com (if they are a returning player from 2009) or a link to an article about them (if they are one of the incoming freshmen), and that some of the hometowns contain links to our “Hometowns” series, with information and videos about the towns.
