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gritty performances that have come to de6ne his time as a Nittany Lion. But he has brought more than just swag to the program. Newbill also helped the team recruit some of the top prospects in Philadelphia in recent years, including high-three-star players Julian Moore, Shep Garner and Mike Watkins. His transfer from Southern Mississippi in 2012 was the program's 6rst big foray into the region, and with Cham- bers eager to tap into southeastern Penn- sylvania's deep talent pool, the dividends only 6gure to continue. A more immediate impact can be seen in Newbill's leadership. Taking his cap- tainship to heart, he's been a close mentor to Garner, a true freshman guard who has shown immediate potential this sea- son. "What he's doing for the younger guys – his approach and his work ethic to the game of basketball, to his academics, to the community service, to being the face of the program – it's kind of trickled down to the next leaders," Chambers said. "He's le8 his jersey in a really good place, and he's going to leave this program in an even better place because of what he's meant to us. And maybe we won't see all the bene6ts this year, but this program will de6nitely see the bene6ts for years to come." ■ SENIOR CLASS AWARD INFO An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their athletic platforms to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The 6nalists were chosen by national media from the list of 30 men's candi- dates and 30 women's candidates an- nounced in October. Nationwide fan voting is under way to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to sub- mit votes online at the Senior CLASS Award website through March 23. Fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to de- termine the winners. The Senior CLASS Award recipients will be announced dur- ing the 2015 NCAA Men's Final Four and NCAA Women's Final Four. As of mid-February, Penn State's D.J. Newbill was third with 12.4 percent of the fan vote. Butler's Alex Barlow was the leading vote-getter with 35.6 per- cent, while Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos was second with 14.4 percent. Those inter- ested in voting can do so at seniorclassaward.com/vote

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