Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/541265
UConn point guard transferring to PSU Terrence Samuel didn't need much persuasion. The former Connecticut guard had targeted Penn State as a po- tential transfer destination, and while visiting campus in late June, he made it official. "Once I announced that I was trans- ferring, I knew how much I wanted to go here," he said. "I knew how good a program it was when I was in high school. I like the coaches. They've got some great players here. It's a great program and one of the top academic schools, so what more could I want?" After announcing his transfer from the Huskies following the 2014-15 season, Samuel had plenty of options. But he was familiar with Penn State, which had recruited him coming out of South Shore High in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 2013. "I actually came here when I was younger. I came in high school when I was on a visit, but I forgot a lot about the campus," he said. "To come here again and refresh my memory, I just realized how great it was as a university and the coaching staff, too." Samuel received a three-star ranking from Rivals.com and was listed as the nation's 29th-ranked shooting guard and the 118th-ranked overall player in the Class of 2013. He backed up star point guard Shabazz Napier in 2013-14 when the Huskies won the national championship. A year later, as a sopho- more, he averaged 3.6 points, 2.5 re- bounds and 1.6 assists per game. Samuel will be required to sit out the upcoming season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. He will be eligible to play his junior and senior seasons with the Nittany Lions beginning in the fall of 2016. "The team is a great group of guys and I love the coaching staff. Everybody is nice here. I like their player development and I've seen what they did with some of their players in the past," he said. "And you know, it's one of the top academic schools in the country, and as a person, you don't want anything more than that. Good basketball in the Big Ten. I just love everything about it. "I see myself fitting in perfectly with the guys. They've got some great guys here. And I like the way they play – pick-and-roll, and they play fast. They get after it on D. That's what I'm all about, getting after it on D, pushing guys. So I feel like it's the perfect fit for me." Thorpe headed to South Florida Junior guard Geno Thorpe has left Penn State. Thorpe was granted his re- lease in June, and he subsequently land- ed at University of South Florida, where he will have two seasons of eligibility af- ter sitting out a year. "We thank Geno for his two years at Penn State and wish him well," head coach Patrick Chambers said in a pre- pared statement. Thorpe, a Pittsburgh native, saw ex- tensive playing time his two seasons in the program. He played in 32 games as a true freshman and all 34 this past sea- son, starting 17. He averaged 8.7 points per game and finished second on the team with 38 steals as a sophomore. Newbill impresses in NBA Summer League D.J. Newbill's hopes of being selected in the NBA Draft went unrealized in June. In July, he did his best to make 29 of those 30 franchises regret the decision. Signed by the Los Angeles Clippers as a rookie free agent, Newbill headed to Orlando for the start of NBA Summer League competition. Although he sat out the team's first game due to a coach's decision, he made the most of his op- portunities in games against Detroit and Oklahoma City before breaking out against Miami. In the latter game, he led the Clippers with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and backed up his scoring line with four rebounds, two assists and a steal. The fourth-leading scorer in Penn State history, Newbill capped the Clip- pers' five-game set in Orlando with an- other strong performance against Okla- homa City on July 10. Starting his third consecutive game, he finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. ■ M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L N O T E B O O K B Y N A T E B A U E R Oct. 24 at the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia. Paterno guided the Nittany Lion foot- ball program for 46 years, proceeded by 16 years as an assistant coach, and accu- mulated an NCAA Division I-record 409 victories, including five undefeated, un- tied seasons. He led Penn State to na- tional championships in 1982 and '86 and Big Ten titles in 1994, 2005 and '08. The College Football Hall of Fame mem- ber posted 23 top-10 finishes in the na- tional rankings. Fusina was a quarterback for the Nit- tany Lions from 1975-78. He was select- ed an All-American as a senior by The Associated Press, Football Writers, Foot- ball Coaches, NEA, United Press Inter- national and Walter Camp. Bahr was a place-kicker for the Nittany Lions from 1975-78. He was an All-Amer- ican choice by The Football News, NEA, The Sporting News, United Press Inter- national and Walter Camp in 1978. ■ SAMUEL