Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/686202
;lled by players who have never seen a
minute of action for Penn State. So forgive
Chambers for not getting carried away
with the implications just yet.
"I think there's a little bit of kick in our
step," he said. "We all know what we
want to do. We all know the expectations
we have, and that's what we're going to
strive for. But we can't get ahead of our-
selves. I know you guys don't want to
hear process, but it really is."
Beginning with the arrival of 6-foot-8
forward Joe Hampton for the ;rst summer
session in May, that process is now very
much under way.
A graduate of the prestigious Oak Hill
Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., the
le>-handed Hampton missed his entire
senior season due to a knee injury. Given
an opportunity to jump start his career
as a Nittany Lion, he is already deep into
the ;rst weeks of his academic and col-
legiate playing experience.
A big man with skill in the post and
beyond the arc, Hampton is working to
chisel himself into playing shape before
the start of the season. Battling back
from his injury, he's been able to work
out, shoot and run and has bene;tted
from the higher intensity of college-level
o<-season prep. Said Chambers, "The
injury hurt him a little bit, but he's already
eating well, he's already listening to us,
he's already doing what he's supposed
to do. I look for him [in Penn State's]
Summer Session II to be 100 percent,
full force."
At that point, he'll be met by the rest
of the Class of 2016 in the form of
Philadelphia Roman Catholic's trio of
PIAA ;rst-team All-State performers.
Academically on track for a smooth ar-
rival, point guard Tony Carr, wing Nazeer
Bostick and forward Lamar Stevens are
all set to join the program in late June.
Bostick was the ;rst player to commit
to the class, announcing for Penn State
in April 2015. He brings a brand of tough-
ness that Chambers has been coveting.
Lauded by his future coach as "one of
the toughest kids" the program has ever
recruited, the 6-foot-3, 190-pounder
boasts an aggressively competitive on-
court demeanor that Chambers describes
diplomatically.
"He's a super-terri;c kid. I would say
he's competitive," Chambers said, com-
paring him to Oklahoma City's polarizing
star Russell Westbrook. "I think Naz has
that chip. He just makes winning plays.
He's going to make us so much better
because he's a ;erce competitor."
Averaging 11.6 points per game as a
senior at Roman Catholic, Bostick earned
;rst-team All-State honors in recognition
of his constant, relentless e