atrick Chambers' positivity is, at
this point in his career, a given. He's
been preaching its power from the
moment he was named Penn State's head
coach, and at no point during his tenure
with the Nittany Lions has the message
seemed to wane.
That was true even a.er the Lions went
4-14 in the Big Ten last season. The con-
ference record had been a disappointment,
but the Lions went 3-1 in their last four
games, topping Nebraska and Iowa at the
Big Ten tournament before falling in the
quarter-nal round to Purdue, an invig-
orating late-season run.
"The way we -nished the season has
really resurrected these kids and maybe
even this program," Chambers said at his
postseason news conference 10 days later.
"It put us all in a better light, made us all
feel pretty good about ourselves. I think
that's why they're so excited to get back
to work.
"We know what the vision is. We know
what the goals are. Let's start it as soon
as possible."
Chambers' con-dence might have ap-
peared misplaced. The Lions had lost D.J.
Newbill and Tim Frazier to graduation in
back-to-back years, and the personnel
that remained didn't inspire the same
sentiment among Nittany Lion fans.
Newbill had averaged 20.7 points per
TAYLOR
MADE
P
MEN'S BASKETBALL
DRIVE
TIME
Through 19
games, Taylor
was leading the
Nittany Lions in
scoring with an
average of 16.4
points per game.
Photo by Mark
Selders/Penn
State Athletics
New attitude helps
forward Brandon Taylor
make impact as senior
