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Bison return to PSU's slate Penn State is getting set to MASS. EFFECT Left, Maduegbunam grew up in Boston, first playing for Charlestown High before transferring to Winchendon School. He averaged 18 points, six rebounds and four assists dur- ing his senior sea- son. Opposite page, Maduegbunam was the first player to give Patrick Cham- bers a verbal com- mitment, announc- ing for the Nittany Li- ons three weeks af- ter Chambers was hired last year. Photos courtesy of Maduegbunam family I'm gone from Penn State, and that's what I love about him. Coach Cham- bers is a real person. He's a real guy." Gina is an admirer, too. She called Chambers a "family man" who under- stands and espouses the values she has tried to instill in her son. She said she is eager to see the work that Akosa will do under his guidance. That work is exactly what Akosa said he's most looking forward to at Penn State. He's determined to become what Chambers calls a five-tool play- er and said he knows exactly what he's in for once his college career gets un- der way. "There are a lot of people who will sell you dreams. Coach Chambers doesn't sell me anything. He tells me that if I want something, I have to work for it," he said. "As a person, that's who I fell in love with, no matter what he does. I think Coach Chambers could sell wa- ter to a well." With Akosa, that's not going to be necessary. He said he has thought often about how his life might be different if his fa- ther were still alive. And, although he had never spoken to his mother about it in detail, he hoped his letter would say the things he never could. "I'll be honest. A lot of the situations and steps that I've taken after my dad W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M died would have never happened if he never died," he said. "I personally be- lieve that literally everything hap- pens for a reason and I'm in the situ- ation that I'm in because of what hap- pened in my past and how my life panned out. "Basically, I feel like my life is a movie. They say that 'everything hap- pens for a reason' is a cliche, but I feel like my family is a living proof of that. I just feel like it's tragedy to tri- umph. "I've faced a lot of adversity in my life, as young as I am, but somehow God has played a significant role in help- ing my family see a brighter day." rekindle the oldest series in the program's history this coming season, as the Nittany Lions will face Bucknell on Nov. 23 at the Bryce Jordan Center. The meeting between the Li- ons and Bison will be the first of a three-game series between the programs and will mark the 100th meeting overall. Subse- quent games will take place at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pa., in 2013-14 and at the Jor- dan Center in 2014-15. The Lions will be making their first trip to Lewisburg in more than 35 years. The first game in Penn State men's bas- ketball history occurred in Lewisburg, with the Bison claiming a 24-4 victory in 1897. "Bucknell has a terrific bas- ketball tradition and an NCAA tournament-caliber team every year," Penn State head coach Patrick Chambers said. "We look forward to the challenge as we continue one of the longest series in our program's history. Bringing back this game will generate great fan support throughout the area and the state of Pennsylvania." In other scheduling news, Penn State will compete in an eight-team field in the 2012 Puerto Rico Tip-Off Nov. 15-18 in San Juan. The Lions will be joined in the Puerto Rico field by five teams that reached the 2012 postseason and four teams that finished 2012 in the top 100 of the RPI. In the field are 2012 NCAA tournament partic- ipants North Carolina State and UNC Asheville; 2012 NIT participants Tennessee, Mas- sachusetts, and Akron; as well as Oklahoma State from the Big 12 and Providence from the Big East. A U G U S T 2 1 , 2 0 1 2 43

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