Blue White Illustrated

going to defend the best player. He's going to make great plays for others as well," Chambers said. "It was very close. I would put Shep in there, too. I wasn't to- tally sold on Shep not being the point guard. So there are many combinations that I've gone through to get to this point." In the team's preseason scrimmage against Seton Hall at the Palestra, Carr put up nine points, seven rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes. And although he converted on only 2 of 10 shots from the floor, he didn't have any turnovers and showed he was headed in the right di- rection. Lamar Stevens, Carr's teammate at Roman Catholic who is also starting as the Nittany Lions open their season, has seen that for himself. Playing with Carr as the Cahillites won a second PIAA title last season, Stevens said the qualities that carried the point guard through high school have translated to the collegiate level. "He's always just been really composed and ready to step up into any moment," Stevens said. "He's just going about it the same way. He hasn't changed at all. Everything he does is just slow, it's com- posed. He knows what he's going to do on every play. That's never changed." The improvements at the position have been welcomed by the Nittany Lions. Short on options last season, Chambers called upon Garner to lead the team at point guard. Then a sophomore, Garner finished as Penn State's second-leading scorer, aver- aging 14.8 points per game behind Bran- don Taylor. He led the Nittany Lions with 109 assists and 42 steals, limiting his turnovers to 65 in 32 games. Among the Big Ten's leaders in scoring, assists, steals, made 3-point field goals and min- utes played, Garner blossomed down the stretch. He's likely to continue seeing time at the point, but the influx of talent at the position has allowed him to spend more time as a shooting guard. "You have three guys who can play the point, and Josh Reaves plays it in a pinch," Chambers said. "I played the three point guards together in practice. I'll tell you what, we're really quick and we make good decisions and we're taking care of the ball. Don't think that's not a lineup. I might go to it." In the Nittany Lions' exhibition opener against Lock Haven, Chambers did ex- actly that. Carr led the team with 30 min- utes, while Garner played 25 and Samuel 23. The three players shared the point guard responsibilities and at one point played alongside each other. The Lions' newfound depth at the posi- tion has given them more flexibility than they had in the past, creating options that Chambers is eager to deploy. "It's such a luxury to have three guys who can run your offense and break pres- sure and just let everybody know where they need to be and have some leadership out there. It's been nice," Chambers said. "To have three point guards on this team, it's something that my staff and I are going to talk about a lot more often to make sure that we continue to put our- selves in this position to have that type of talent on and off the floor." ■ NO NAME POS YR HT WT HOME SCHOOL 0 Payton Banks F Jr. 6-6 223 Orange, Calif. Lutheran 1 Deividas Zemgulis F So. 6-6 220 Kaunas, Lithuania St. Mary Ryken (Md.) 4 Nazeer Bostick G Fr. 6-4 187 Philadelphia, Pa. Roman Catholic 5 Terrence Samuel G Jr. 6-3 208 Brooklyn, N.Y. Victory Collegiate 10 Tony Carr G Fr. 6-3 198 Philadelphia, Pa. Roman Catholic 11 Lamar Stevens F Fr. 6-7 218 Jenkintown, Pa. Roman Catholic 20 Alex Zhao F So. 6-6 220 Shenyang, China Bishop O'Dowd (Calif.) 21 Isaiah Washington G So. 6-2 163 Williamsport, Pa. Williamsport 22 Grant Hazle F Fr. 6-5 192 Kingwood, Texas Westbury Christian 23 Josh Reaves G So. 6-4 210 Fairfax, Va. Oak Hill Academy (Va.) 24 Mike Watkins F R-Fr. 6-9 246 Philadelphia, Pa. Phelps School 32 Satchel Pierce F Jr. 7-0 258 Barberton, Ohio Kiski School (Pa.) 33 Shep Garner G Jr. 6-2 187 Chester, Pa. Roman Catholic 44 Julian Moore F Jr. 6-10 235 Philadelphia, Pa. Germantown Academy 2 0 1 6 - 1 7 R O S T E R

• Cover