Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/763662
and we have to keep growing and matur- ing." The Nittany Lions have had every op- portunity to do so thus far. Beginning the season with a home loss to Albany as part of the Hall of Fame Tip- Off Tournament, rather than originally scheduled Marist, Penn State has already faced a wide range of styles and levels of experience. Whether by topping Jim Ferry's Duquesne squad, earning a 74-68 win at George Washington, or by falling to Dave Paulsen's veteran George Mason outfit and to Pitt in the Never Forget Tribute Classic, Chambers' Nittany Lions have shown flashes of potential, but have also shown some vulnerabilities that are ripe for exploitation by opponents. Most notably, big man Mike Watkins' 17 points and 15 rebounds in the 81-73 loss to the Panthers provided Chambers with a reason for optimism. Gaining in confi- dence, the redshirt freshman nearly aver- aged a double-double through the nonconference season at 10.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, junior guard Shep Garner provided a steady scoring presence, aver- aging 14.5 points per game in 34.0 min- utes of action, while Payton Banks' 39.2 percent clip from beyond the arc was enough to lead the Nittany Lions in 3- point shooting. With his team struggling to string together back-to-back halves of consistent play, regardless of the oppo- nent, Chambers said the Nittany Lions were working to "get on the same page" with pieces that have not competed to- gether for very long. Still, given the growth he's seen, Cham- bers has been bullish about the potential impact his scheduling decisions will have as the team moves into conference play. "When we put this schedule together, we knew it was going to be hard, but we want to see growth. We want to see ma- turity. We know what our weaknesses are now. Instead of going in with a record that wasn't realistic, we're going in with a record that is very realistic," Chambers said. "We've played Top 25 teams in the country. I think Pitt will eventually be a Top 25 team, so that will be three for us, with a good Mason team and a good GW team. We know exactly what we need to work on." At present, the areas in which Penn State needs work include transition de- fense and rebounding on both ends of the floor. Through 11 games, the Nittany Lions were being out-rebounded by nearly four per game. Young players such as Lamar Stevens and Tony Carr have been given extensive minutes right out of the gates, and they have seen the effort and skill it takes at this level to body up on the boards. In the meantime, Penn State is contin- uing to work Josh Reaves back into the mix following a five-game absence to start the season due to a left leg injury. Through it all, the Lions have been working to balance the development of their young talent with the need to find combinations and substitutions that will yield the best results on the floor. Chambers has acknowledged that there were risks in putting together such a challenging nonconference schedule. With so many young players on his roster, he's had to focus on building and main- taining a sense of confidence. But he re- mains convinced that the rewards will outweigh the potential pitfalls. Those hiccups and learning experiences – both positive and negative – will pay dividends now and into the future, Chambers said. "I know a lot of people out there think I'm a little bit crazy with this nonconfer- ence [schedule] and where we're playing, and the venues we're playing in to chal- lenge this young team as early and often as I have," he said. "I just think it's only going to make us a better team in the end when it comes to late January, February and March. This team should be exactly where we need to be heading into the Big Ten tournament in March." ■ FAVORITES Cruising through their nonconference schedules, Maryland, Minnesota and Purdue had put together some of the best winning percentages in the Big Ten heading into late December. But their records were achieved against less-than-stellar competition, and none of those three teams are likely to be consid- ered the favorites as conference play gets under way at the end of the month. Instead, Indiana appears to be the team to beat, having already beaten both Kansas and North Carolina. DARK HORSES Michigan State's early-season sched- ule was so di;cult that head coach Tom Izzo felt the need to apologize. The Spartans played (and lost to) Arizona, Kentucky, Baylor and Duke. But given their battle-tested status, they should not be underestimated in the race for the conference crown. Purdue, Wisconsin and Maryland may also contend. MVP CANDIDATES Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes was named the 2016-17 preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, as voted on by media members, and the senior for- ward has been steady through the :rst half of the season. Iowa's Peter Jok leads the league in scoring, but familiar names such as Illinois' Malcolm Hill, Mary- land's Melo Trimble, and Indiana's James Blackmon Jr. will all be there when it comes time to name a conference MVP at the end of the season. PENN STATE'S OUTLOOK Head coach Patrick Chambers set up a challenging nonconference schedule and got every bit of what he bargained for. Dropping the opener to Albany, the Nittany Lions have been on a roller coaster since, as they've tried to :nd a rhythm while starting three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior. The trial by :re was intended to prep the young group for conference play, and the Lions will learn quickly whether or not they can compete in facing Northwestern and Rutgers to start the year before moving on to more challeng- ing opponents. SEASON PREVIEW B Y N AT E B A U E R