Blue White Illustrated

At his year-end news conference on March 23, Penn State coach Patrick Chambers announced that plans were in the works for a new basketball 4lm room. Two days later, Penn State de- tailed those e5orts, announcing a gi7 from Peter and Ann Tombros that will "propel the $1.1 million project" for- ward. "We are grateful to Peter and Ann for their 4nancial gi7, as well as their con- tinued support of the basketball pro- gram and all Penn State sports," Cham- bers said via news release. "We are com- mitted to providing the best possible ex- perience for our players, and gi7s like this make it possible. I think the entire team is looking forward to taking advan- tage of these new resources next sea- son." Expected to be installed before No- vember, the 4lm room renovations and training table improvements will include a new server and eating area for players, coaches and support sta5, as well as ad- ditional storage. The Tombroses have made a number of contributions to Penn State over the years. They funded the Tombros Varsity Golf Clubhouse, home to the universi- ty's men's and women's golf programs and also made major commitments to the Knowledge Commons at the Univer- sity Library and For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. The For the Future campaign raised $2.2 bil- lion for scholarships and other programs aimed at helping enhance the student experience at Penn State. Additionally, Chambers said that "phase two" of the updates to the Bryce Jordan Center is planned to take place this summer following the university's graduation ceremonies in May. "Those nice pink and yellow banners, they might be coming down, or at least some stu5 up near the portals," he said, citing some cosmetic issues inside the BJC that are expected to be addressed. Chambers added that he is looking to sit down with athletics director Sandy Bar- bour "and discuss some things we can do for the in-game experience, things of that nature to really get the most home- court advantage we can." Having signed arguably the best class in the program's history in November, Chambers said the ongoing renovations have the potential to impact future re- cruiting e5orts. Now in his fourth year with the program, Chambers said that the improvements can help shape per- ceptions of the program. "I think in today's day and age, they are important," he said. "[Recruits] want to see a big weight room, they want to see a state-of-the-art training room, they want to see a big practice facility, they want to see their faces on murals. "They want to see that stu5, and I think that's attractive to certain guys. That's the stu5 we're going to have to do to attract high-level players." – N.B. Gift to help fund basketball improvements blueprint for Penn State going forward. While Newbill won't be a part of the Lions' future, the other three are returning, and the youthful supporting cast will also be called on to play major roles as Chambers works to build a more balanced o5ense. "The freshman and sophomore group, they grew up," he said. "I'd like to see us play like that. I'd like to see really good production. "Now, do I want to see the disparity be- tween the leading scorer and the second- leading scorer? No, I don't. If we can get it to 15, 14, 12, 11, 10, 10, that's going to make us a very di6cult team to guard. We've got to do a better job of 4guring that out faster, sooner. We've all got to be on the same page." Chambers said the team's late-season progress helped reinvigorate the returning players. He gave them a week o5 a7er the end of the Big Ten tournament, but he said they were eager to start preparing for the 2015-16 season. "They want to get back in the gym, they want to get better, they want to change their bodies, they want to work on their weaknesses," he said. "The way we 4nished the season has really resurrected these kids, and maybe even this program." ■

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