'Grateful to be part of it': Dan Conlan carrying on family legacy, this time with Penn State hoops

For the first time in 12 years, the Penn State Nittany Lions are going dancing, and Dan Conlan can’t wait to experience it.

They’ll be dancing, of course, in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, commonly known as “March Madness.”

“Honestly, it’s surreal,” said Conlan, a 2019 Quaker Valley High School graduate who’s been a member of Penn State’s team the past two seasons.

Yes, it is surreal that Penn State will be in Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa on Thursday night playing Texas A&M in a first-round game of the Midwest Regional.

After all, just one month ago, the Lions weren’t even on the proverbial bubble. They were 14-11 overall, 5-9 in the Big Ten standings and slumping with a four-game losing streak. At that stage of the season, PSU didn’t even look like it would earn a spot in the National Invitational Tournament.

But then it won five of its last six regular-season games. Then in the Big Ten Tournament, it won three thrillers – 79-76 over Illinois, 67-65 over Northwestern and 77-73 over Indiana -- before losing in the championship game, 67-65 to Purdue, which landed a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance.

In the Midwest Regional, the 10th-seeded Lions (22-13) are 2.5-point underdogs against the seventh-seeded Aggies (25-9). But as several national media analysts have suggested, no one in the field should take Penn State lightly.

“I can’t wait to get to Iowa,” said Conlan, a 6-foot-4 senior guard who joined the team as a preferred walk-on two years ago.

After an outstanding career at Quaker Valley – he helped the Quakers make it to three straight WPIAL finals and graduated as QV’s fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,252 points – Conlan started his college career at Dickinson College.

At Dickinson, an NCAA Division III program located in Carlisle, PA, Conlan appeared in 21 games as a freshman and averaged 6.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 17.8 minutes of playing time per game.

But as it turns out, Conlan didn’t last long at Dickinson.

Due primarily to restrictions on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, Conlan thought about transferring, probably to Penn State.

“(Dickinson) announced that we weren’t going back to school and that classes were going to be remote my sophomore year, at least for the first semester, so I was pretty frustrated about that,” he said. “A lot of schools were having classes in-person, and I wanted to have a full college experience, so I was really struggling with that.”

At Penn State, wearing face masks and social distancing were required for all students and employees in classrooms. But classes were in-person.

So Conlan transferred to Penn State where he’s a legacy.

His father, Shane Conlan, was an all-star linebacker for the Nittany Lions. He played on national championship teams in 1982 and 1986 and went on to play nine years in the NFL (six with the Buffalo Bills, three with the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams). In 2014, Shane Conlan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

“My dad’s ties with Penn State had an impact on my decision to go there,” Dan Conlan said. “I was comfortable with the place, and I already knew a lot about it. Just from visiting a lot of my friends from home who had gone here.

“Obviously, my dad wanted me to do what was best for my interests. But he was happy with the change. I wanted to keep that legacy going a little bit.”

After transferring to Penn State, Dan Conlan contacted Nick Colella, a New Castle native who’s now chief of staff for Penn State’s basketball team. At the time of Conlan’s transfer, Colella’s duties had included on-campus recruiting.

At that time, Penn State was transitioning from the regime of former coach Patrick Chambers to Micah Shrewsberry, the new coach.

On Sept. 14, 2021, Penn State welcomed three walk-ons to its roster, Conlan among them.

“I was able to keep in contact with (Colella) through the coaching staff change, and when Coach Shrewsberry came in, he wanted to take on three more roster spots,” Conlan said. “I was lucky to get one of them.”

On Thursday when Penn State plays Texas A&M, chances are that Conlan won’t play.

As a walk-on, he’s only played briefly in six games this season, and hasn’t gotten into a game since Jan. 29 when Penn State routed Michigan, 83-61.

But he still plays an important role for the Nittany Lions. He’s on the scout team that plays against the five starters every day at practice, including fifth-year guard Jalen Pickett, who was recently named a second-team All-American by The Sporting News.

“When the guys in the rotation are on offense (at practice), I play defense,” Conlan said. “When they play defense, I play offense.

“I do what I can to make sure these guys are ready, and at the same time, I’m making sure I get better because I do have one more year left.”

Even though Conlan will earn his undergraduate degree in Labor Human Resources this summer, he does plan on playing basketball again next season.

A Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, he’ll work on his Master’s degree in Real Estate Analysis and Development next school year.

“I’ve always had that expectation of myself,” Conlan said of his success in the classroom. “I’ve always wanted to put school first.”

That being said, it’s basketball that’s his focus right now.

After all, this is March Madness and Penn State is part of the madness.

“This experience has been awesome,” Conlan said of the Nittany Lions’ season so far. “I’m just grateful to be part of it.”

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: 'Grateful to be part of it': Dan Conlan carrying on family legacy, this time with Penn State hoops