Blue White Illustrated

M EN'S B A S K ETB A LL Philly guard commits to Lions Roman Catholic's Shep Garner ranked 123rd nationally in Class of 2014 E ven though he was recovering from a sprained knee ligament, Shep Garner accompanied his Philadelphia Roman Catholic teammates to the Penn State Basketball Team Camp recently. The camp, which took place at the Bryce Jordan Center on the weekend of June 15-16, offered Garner an opportunity to build camaraderie with his teammates. But for the 6-foot-2, 182pound combo guard, it served another purpose as well. In the weeks leading up to the camp, Garner had decided that GARNER he wanted to verbally commit to Penn State. But when he told his parents that he was thinking about calling Nittany Lion coach Patrick Chambers with his decision, they weren't so sure it was the right move. "They weren't cool with it at first because they said, 'Well, maybe you need to wait a little bit.' My mom wanted to see the campus and talk to the coaches face-to-face and everything like that," Garner said. "We went up there and saw the campus, and my mom fell in love. I talked to her that Saturday morning, June 15, and she said she was in love with the school. I asked her if she was ready to make the commitment and she said yeah, she was ready. So we made the commitment." A three-star prospect as rated by Rivals.com, Garner is the 123rd-ranked player for the Class of 2014 following a junior season in which he averaged 17 points, six assists and four rebounds. Playing alongside other premier Division I prospects for Team Final, a notable Philadelphia-area AAU team, Garner has developed into a versatile guard who can score and distribute. As a Nittany Lion, he said he will embrace whatever role Chambers envisions for him. "From my high school and previous years, I've been playing positions where I have to score the ball a lot. That's cool, that's well and good, but I'm more of a point guard," he said. "When I play AAU, I play the point. That's where Coach Pat has seen me most. "I don't have a preference. Whatever you need me to do, I can do it." Garner visited Penn State unofficially in September 2012 for a football game. During that trip, he developed a level of familiarity and trust with Penn State, the program and its coaching staff. Courted by the likes of Florida, Arizona, Maryland and Temple, among other top programs, Garner said he intends to officially end his recruitment in November during the early signing period. Unofficially, he's already finished. "I'm done. It's all over. Recruiting is over for me," he said. "I just feel like it's a big weight [that has been] lifted off my shoulders. I don't have to worry about anything. All the recruiting is over, so I don't have to go out there and try to super-impress anybody. All I have to do is go out there and win ballgames. That's it." As a senior at Roman Catholic, Garner will be looking to help lead the Cahillites past the first round of the PIAA playoffs. His junior season ended abruptly with a 79-66 first-round loss to Norristown. Garner said he has a special relationship with his high school teammates, adding that it played a role in Penn State's emergence as the leader for his services. "I see why they call it Happy Valley," he said. "Everybody is so happy and smiling. Everybody loves their school, and that's where I come from. That's the type of family I come from. The team and coaches are very familyoriented, and that's all you can ask for." I Commitments, transfers bolster PSU's future The Lions have also lined up some frontcourt help in the form of 7-0, 240-pound center Jordan Dickerson of Brooklyn, N.Y. Dickerson decided to transfer to Penn State from Larry Brown's Southern Methodist University program following his freshman season. After sitting out the 2013-14 season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules, he will have three years of eligibility remaining. "Jordan brings tremendous size, athleticism and a great work ethic to our program," coach Patrick Chambers said in a news release. "He'll have a redshirt season this coming year in which he will make significant strides in his development and will help prepare our team for the upcoming season." Additionally, 6-3, 214-pound guard Shep Garner's recent verbal commitment wasn't the only piece of Nittany Lion personnel news to make headlines in June. There have been other developments as well, starting with Mike Watkins' commitment. A 6-foot-8, 225-pound power forward from Philadelphia, Watkins is set to begin his junior season at Imotep Charter and will be part of Penn State's Class of 2015. He's unranked by Rivals.com but is considered one of the city's rising stars.

• Cover