Blue White Illustrated

Dread's confidence pays dividends for Nittany Lions M yles Dread had no doubt. Meeting with the media following Penn State's 58-49 loss to Wisconsin on Jan. 11 at the Bryce Jordan Center, a game in which he missed all five of his field goal attempts, Dread's eyes were bloodshot and worn. That the sophomore guard stepped up to the podium to take questions in such a challenging circum- stance was a story in itself. Calm and com- posed, he made no ex- cuses for his disap- pointing performance or his team's sec- ond loss in as many games. But, Dread as- sured the room full of reporters and anyone else willing to listen, his faith had not been shaken. "My confidence isn't going to go any- where," he said. "I'm going to continue to shoot the ball, because that's my job. I'm going to continue to do my job." At that moment, though, Dread's best intentions weren't enough to upend a particularly cold shooting spell. Begin- ning with an 0-of-6 showing against Cornell to close out the nonconference slate in December, he went without a field goal in four of five games. His struggles were particularly acute from long range, as he hit only 2 of 23 3-point attempts during that span, including an 0-for-2 performance in a loss at Min- nesota in which he also lost his starting position. At the time, Dread was shooting just 28 percent for the season (30 of 107), prompting coach Patrick Chambers to offer a blunt assessment of his critical importance to the team. "When Myles is going, he's making threes, and he's making great plays for everybody. He did that in the last four minutes of Iowa [on Jan. 4]. He had four assists to lead us to victory there," Cham- bers said. "But he's got to make some threes, there's no doubt about it. We need him to do that, because he'll space the floor. And that way our drivers have more space out there, which we had early on. That's why we were scoring at such a high clip. We were making some shots and guys were spaced. Back to the drawing board. We'll keep working hard. I know he will." Exactly one month later, Dread's perse- verance was on full display in an 88-76 win at Purdue. With the team's second- leading scorer, sophomore guard Myreon Jones, out of action due to an illness, Dread's 4-of-5 shooting performance from beyond the arc helped Penn State win at Mackey Arena for only the third time ever. His makes that evening in West Lafayette could not have been more im- pactful. Hitting his first 3-point attempt in the game's opening minutes, Dread helped fulfill one of Chambers' primary objectives for the road trip: getting off to a good start in a hostile venue where early difficulties can easily snowball. Then, with Lamar Stevens on the bench because of foul trouble, Dread hit another 3 in the final minute of the first half, giving the Lions their largest lead to that point in the game, 42-28. The second-half story was similar, as Dread scored again with just over 14 min- utes left, extending the Nittany Lions' lead to 24, their largest of the game. And he hit his final 3 of the night with 7 min- utes, 34 seconds to play, stifling an 11-2 Purdue run. Dread finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists, a performance that reflected the confi- DREAD room after [losses]. That is progress. That is progress, man, especially from the leader. "Let's keep it transparent here: Some games you're going into, you look at your team and you're like, whoa, let's hang on here. No. These guys truly be- lieve and are invested that they can win every [time] that they step on the floor. That's outstanding." On a roster that loses only Lamar Stevens, Mike Watkins and Curtis Jones Jr. after this season, it's also sustainable. Next season, the Nittany Lions will re- turn second-leading scorer Myreon Jones, 3-point specialist Myles Dread, sixth man Izaiah Brockington and true freshman Seth Lundy. The most critical returning components will be the sen- iors-to-be, John Harrar and Jamari Wheeler. Harrar is a workhorse, while Wheeler may be the best on-ball de- fender in the Big Ten. After the current season ends, those players will take over as the team's leaders. In some ways, their ascent could turn out to be Stevens' most lasting legacy. "When I decided to come back, I didn't want just this year to be something spe- cial. I wanted to come back and help show these guys and help with the fu- ture leaders of this program to continue, because I think we are capable," Stevens said. "Any time I sub out of the game, those guys are playing at an extremely high level and they're still extremely confident. So I think this program is definitely in great hands." It's been a long and trying process, and it has demanded more patience than anyone inside or outside the program may have wanted. But the end result – a program that can withstand the loss of key players and remain competitive – is one that should be embraced. ■ |

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