Blue White Illustrated

so filling that offensive void became a priority in the off-season. This coming year, Travis is not simply looking to remain in the league's top five for rebounding; he also wants to be a more potent scoring threat. "I think you're going to see me take a lot more shots this year, score a little bit more, be a little bit more aggressive and look for my oppor- tunities a little bit more," he said. "A goal that I set for myself this year is a dou- ble-double – every night to strive and go for that double-double, because re- bounding is nothing but effort, and I find myself in the right spots to grab a lot of those rebounds. So I'm confident that rebounding will be there. It's just [a matter of ] me looking for my opportu- nities to score." If Patrick Chambers' assessment is any indication of what's to come, those ex- pectations might not be far off. Determined to improve through the off- season, Travis has started to shed some of the discomfort that seemed to linger through his first three seasons on campus as he tried to figure out his always-chang- ing role on the team. "I think Ross Travis, in all my years here, has had the best summer because I think he finally understands who he is and how he can be the best player and being that best player, how he can make this team better," Chambers said, noting that he has encouraged Travis to focus on knocking down midrange jumpers and take advan- tage of post-up mismatches. "He's going to dominate the boards, he's going to play fearless. A lot of his points are going to come off of our defense, filling the lanes, offensive rebounds, and we're going to move him around a little bit more this year to put him in more of a com- fortable situation." ■ Jack looks to regain offensive form As a sophomore, Donovon Jack fin- ished the season with a team-high 53 blocks. But aside from swatting down oppo- nents' shots, he struggled to find the spark that led to productive perform- ances on both ends of the floor. He started the Nittany Lions' first 27 games, but his productivity waned as the season went on, and he came off the bench in the final six. The result was a summer of recalibra- tion for Jack, a 6-foot-9, 210-pounder from Reading, Pa. One of his priorities was to improve a long-range shot that wasn't as accurate as he would have liked. He's a talented 3-point shooter, but he struggled from beyond the arc last season, hitting only 30.2 percent of his attempts. "I feel a lot better," Jack said. "I feel a lot more like a jump shooter. I feel kind of like last year I was flat-footed, but now I'm getting off my feet and shoot- ing better. It feels a lot better, and my confidence is a lot better." Jack said some of the problems with his shooting had to do with the in- creased attention he received from op- ponents after getting off to a strong start. He saw defenders flying at him more frequently, forcing him to deal with challenging shots instead of the open looks to which he'd grown accus- tomed. Said Jack, "They knew I could shoot now, so they started flying at me and I should have just pump faked and driven to the basket, or pump faked and pulled up, just to kind of mix it up. "I think at the end, I started rushing my shot instead of just shooting it the normal way I used to." After making 19 of 63 attempts, Jack has also refined his game so that he's less reliant on the 3-ball. He's looking to do more scoring in the low post and off rebounds and put-backs. All that re- mains is to get back out on the hard- wood – this time without pressure. "I think we've just got to go out and play," he said. "I try not to think about pressure. You know what you have to do. Do what you do and go play hard." – N.B. The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions A diary by Lou Prato, author of the Penn State Football Encyclopedia and four other Nittany Lion books Personalized autographed copy available through Lou Prato and Associates Call 814-692-7577 or email louprato@comcast.net Price: $19.95 plus tax and shipping

• Cover