Blue White Illustrated

the next few days of practice, they were just resilient. We're just focusing on the present, focusing on getting better. When they do that, they're going to give them- selves a chance in every game. I'm proud." Near the forefront of that effort, Harrar offered yet another example of his impact this season. Battling with Wisconsin big man Nate Reuvers throughout, Harrar was in no way a dominating, shut-down presence, as Reuvers finished with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and added five rebounds. But in his 27 minutes, Harrar totaled 17 points and eight rebounds and was one of the keys to Penn State's com- petitive performance on the glass, as the Badgers managed a slim 39-35 rebound- ing advantage. He hit 7 of 11 free throws, added a steal and a block and committed only two personal fouls, offering more ex- amples of the kind of play that Ferry has lauded all season. "He just does anything that's needed for this team to win," Ferry said. "He's just awesome. He's a winner, and he's about winning." Already a critical ingredient to the Nit- tany Lions' success, Harrar has shown that those attributes can have an infec- tious quality within the program. Team- mates have taken their cues from the examples set by Harrar and point guard Jamari Wheeler, another senior. Redshirt junior wing Izaiah Brockington pointed to the trickle-down effect that emanates from the big man. "On the court, definitely the first thing I would say that improved is his leader- ship. He's a senior, and we all are looking to him to step up and he does that with his voice and he does that with his play," Brockington said. "He's always in the right spot, he's always making hustle plays, things that don't take talent to do. He just makes all those little plays that get us wins like that. He gets us big wins and he's always just doing the right thing, al- ways playing to win and he's the most un- selfish guy I've met." Unfailingly humble and self-deprecat- ing, Harrar has found that his attitude has brought him success in his Penn State ca- reer. Through 16 games, all of which he started, he was fifth on the team in scor- ing at 9.2 points per game while leading in rebounding at 8.8 boards per outing. Harrar's minutes, points and rebounds are all career-bests, and his rebounding average ranked fifth in the conference as of mid-February. As the Nittany Lions head into the latter stages of their Big Ten slate, Harrar is de- termined to help continue the program's upward trajectory by any means necessary. "We just play to win. Our motto is just to do whatever it takes to win, so if that means you've got to dive at someone's ankles and get the ball, that's what it takes to win, so that's what [we] are going to have to do," he said. "I'm not afraid to say it – my talent isn't like Seth Lundy. I'm not going to pull up from three. So I'm going to have to impact the game in a dif- ferent way every time I go out there." ■ The Penn State men's basketball program is in a period of transition, with coach Jim Ferry guiding the team this season following Patrick Chambers' exit in October. Ferry is coaching the Nittany Lions on an in- terim basis, but he is under consider- ation for the full-time position. Stepping in for Chambers just five weeks before the Nittany Lions' 2020-21 campaign was set to begin, Ferry had helped lead the team to a 7- 9 mark for the year, with a 4-8 record against Big Ten opponents, heading into a Feb. 14 game against visiting Nebraska. At a Jan. 26 news confer- ence, athletic director Sandy Barbour lauded his leadership under challeng- ing circumstances. "My evaluation of Coach Ferry has been outstanding," she said. "He stepped into a difficult situation. The Big Ten is an absolute beast, and you add to that COVID-19 and hav- ing to have a pause. … I think num- ber one, in terms of managing the great young men in our program, he gets stellar grades. Certainly, we had a little bit of a losing streak there, but you've got to give the guys and you've got to give Jim a lot of credit for keeping the faith, keeping the confidence. We've gotten two wins under our belt [against Rutgers and Northwestern], and certainly we're looking to see what we can continue to do." Barbour said she's been active in vetting candidates for the full-time job, developing a list and "getting ahead of the game." She said she's hoping that Penn State will be able to make its hire "immediately following the conclusion" of the season, adding that her biggest contribution to the hiring process will be to determine whether the "fit" is right. That deter- mination will encompass candidates' credentials as educators and their ability to develop talent and imple- ment their style of play. "In the end, we'll put all that to- gether and figure out who the best candidate is," Barbour said. After Chambers stepped down under pressure, Penn State players expressed their dissatisfaction in No- vember – not only with the decision itself but with what they saw as a lack of transparency. Asked about the players' reaction, Barbour declined to elaborate on the reasons for the ad- ministration's decision to part ways with Chambers. "I understand the question. And I understand the interest in the answer to that question," she said. "But I made a statement in October. I know it fell short of what [reporters] wanted. If there's any group that I would like to provide information to, it would be our students. But we've made all the comment that we're going to make and we're focusing on the season, and I think our students have done a really good job of doing that." –N.B. AD lauds Ferry's performance as coach

• Cover