Blue White Illustrated

T wo hundred days after cutting down the nets at Madison Square Garden, Penn State head coach Patrick Chambers returned to the famed venue. It had been nearly seven months since Penn State had defeated Utah in the championship game of the National In- vitational Tournament, and Chambers was back for the Big Ten's annual presea- son media day in October, offering a state-of-the-program address in which he highlighted the "great momentum" that was propelling the Nittany Lions forward in a multitude of areas. Ticket sales had improved dramatically, recruit- ing had gotten a boost, and the returning players were more confident, he said. Highlighted by the NIT's Most Out- standing Player, Lamar Stevens, along with All-Defensive Team selections Josh Reaves and Mike Watkins, and a pair of budding sophomores in John Harrar and Jamari Wheeler, the roster was looking solid, and Chambers was also welcoming a freshman class that included Rasir Bolton, Myles Dread and Myreon Jones. The Lions had lost Tony Carr, a first-team All-Big Ten guard who had been picked in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft, but they boasted a veteran frontline that Chambers believed could help ease the transition for the young guards. "If we get more consistency from our frontline and our veterans, I think the younger guys are going to follow suit," he said. "One advantage we have is… this year we have the leadership. That should pull us through, especially in tough times, especially on the road in the Big Ten, when the venues are very difficult to play in." Chambers would ultimately be proven correct, just not on the timeline he might have initially hoped for or ex- pected. Another 150 days past his preseason comments at MSG, the Nittany Lions' season ended unceremoniously in Chicago. Facing seventh-seeded Min- nesota in the second round of the Big Ten tournament March 14, Penn State wasn't able to hold an 8-point lead in the final 4 minutes, 58 seconds of regu- lation play. The Lions got 24 points from Stevens, plus a combined 39 points from Watkins, Wheeler and Reaves, but they couldn't stave off overtime and went on to suffer a 77-72 loss. In the weeks leading up to that game, the Nittany Lions had broken out of their 0-10 rut to begin Big Ten play, fin- ishing with a 7-3 mark in the second half of the conference slate. In that context, Chambers' postgame comments were insightful. He had been frustrated by the missed opportunities and hard-luck setbacks that had marred the first three months of the season but was invigor- ated by the progress the team showed over the last six weeks. "I'm really proud of my team," he said. "I'm disappointed it ended today. I felt like we were just starting to figure some things out. We were just getting better. February and March were a lot of fun for us, and we had to grow in November and December and January, one of the hard- est schedules in the country. Couldn't be more proud of a group." Chambers had good reason to be. His players had remained invested and engaged throughout an exceedingly dif- ficult stretch. A lesser team might have folded after the 70-64 loss at Nebraska, or the 65-64 loss at Minnesota nine days later, or especially after the 99-90 over- time loss to Purdue. But the Nittany Lions remained unified, and their perse- verance was eventually rewarded. Chambers said the team was a pleasure to coach even when the losses were pil- ing up. "Man, did I enjoy coaching them. I enjoyed coaching these guys when it was 0-10, 0-8, 0-5, it didn't matter," he said. "They showed up. They gave great effort in practice, and then I think that's why you saw it flip for us. And I think that's why you saw us play so well down the stretch." That stretch began with a victory at Northwestern and included wins against Michigan, Nebraska, Illinois (twice), Maryland and Rutgers. By the end of the season, even with a 14-18 overall record and a 7-13 mark against Big Ten opponents, the Nittany Lions were No. 40 in the Ken Pomeroy College M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L SOMETHING TO BUILD ON Season's final weeks o!er indication of Nittany Lions' potential in 2019-20 CO M M E N TA RY B Y N AT E B A U E R PATRICK CHAMBERS Ryan Snyder

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