Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/491635
tive trip to the College Basketball Invi-
tational.
"I felt like we were :nishing on a high
note. I felt like we captured Penn State
fans back, and a lot of the national media
as well. I felt like they really respected
the way we played and how we :nished
so strong," Chambers said at his year-end
press conference March 23. "It becomes
very di=cult for your sta<. The fact that
they stayed dialed-in and wanted to be
the best team that they could be by the
end of the year says a lot about them.
"Finishing [by winning] three out of
four the way we did, I felt like, You know
what, we're the best team we can be. Let's
start working on next year and let's start
working on getting better and start working
on our habits and skill development."
The Nittany Lions are losing Newbill's
20.7 points per game, as well as his senior
leadership, making those o<-season im-
provements a high priority. The team re-
turns Brandon Taylor following an up-
and-down junior season in which he av-
eraged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds and
shot 33.1 percent from 3-point range. Also
returning is senior-to-be Donovon Jack,
who averaged 3.6 points and 2.8 rebounds.
But while those two players will supply
veteran experience, much of the focus
will be on guards Shep Garner and Geno
Thorpe, big man Jordan Dickerson, and
reserves Payton Banks, Julian Moore and
Devin Foster. Their performance during
the Lions' late-season surge indicates that
the Lions will have a seriously new look
by the time the 2015-16 nonconference
season begins.
Garner started every game as a true
freshman, averaging 9.1 points and 2.3
assists as the team's primary ball-handler,
while Thorpe li>ed his scoring pro:le
dramatically as the season progressed,
all the way to 8.8 points per game by the
end of the regular season. Those players
will be joined next season by the three
members of a highly touted recruiting
class: Josh Reaves, Mike Watkins and
Davis Zemgulis.
Of course, none of the Lions' returning
players are poised to match Newbill's pro-
ductivity. But Chambers is optimistic that
a more equitable distribution of minutes
and scoring responsibilities could help
the team weather the loss of one of its
all-time great players.
"We're not going to be the same team
we were the last few years with Tim [Fra-
zier] and then D.J. There's not one guy
who is going to hold a torch," he said. "It's
going to be the :ve guys who are on the
;oor. It's going to be the 15 guys who are
on the team.
"We have to play a di