Blue White Illustrated

TIM FRAZIER BY THE NUMBERS YR G-S 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 TOTAL 31-10 34-33 29-29 94-72 FG-FGA 51-132 71-165 185-441 307-738 PCT .386 .430 .420 .416 3PT-3PTA 9-24 11-32 21-76 41-132 two-fold: There is no such award, nor is Frazier new to the scene. The hard reality is that he's unlikely to do much better than second-team All- Conference for his efforts this sea- son. Frazier has garnered some notoriety TAKING CONTROL Frazier ranks among the Big Ten leaders in scoring, assists, steals and min- utes played. He's been garnering praise from rivals, but has down- played individual accolades. "I would trade any of that stuff for us to win," he said. "I love the team and all my team- mates, and I want to win together with them." Andy Colwell W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M M A R C H 2 3 , 2 0 1 2 17 this year. Maybe not as much as Talor Battle received last season as he approached (and eventually broke) Penn State's career scoring record, but opposing players and coaches have re- peatedly saluted him for his efforts as the Nittany Lions' do-it-all offensive threat. Having played second-fiddle to Bat- tle the previous two seasons – as did everyone else on the Nittany Lions' ros- ter – Frazier said he has enjoyed the attention he's gotten. But personal ac- colades are ultimately unsatisfying; he would prefer to see them translated into victories. "You see it, and people tell you it all the time, but I would trade any of that stuff for us to win," he said. "It does- n't matter to me. As far as the recog- nition is concerned, that's great, but it's just icing on the cake. I love the team and all my teammates, and I want to win together with them. If the accolades and stuff come with it, that's fine, but it's just icing on the cake." A junior, Frazier has one more sea- son in which to accomplish some of his team goals. In the meantime, the ic- ing is pretty sweet. As of this writing, Frazier was ranked first in the conference in assists, sec- ond in scoring, steals and minutes played, seventh in free throw percent- age and 10th in assist-to-turnover ra- tio. He was even 17th in rebounding and was leading the Nittany Lions in six categories: points, minutes, re- PCT .375 .344 .276 .311 FT-FTA 43-64 61-81 150-191 254-336 PCT .672 .753 .785 .756 REB 72 132 139 343 bounds, free throws, assists and steals. His assist total is all the more remarkable given that only one other Penn State player is scoring in double figures. "Unfortunately a lot of the weight rests on Tim Frazier," Chambers said. "If he starts out slow, we're going to start out slow. He needs to be an as- sassin. When we show up at the are- na, he needs to have the mind-set that 'I'm ready to go. Right now.' "It's a learning curve for him. It's a learning process. But he's getting better every day. From where he was in June to where he is today is light years [apart]." In a 10-point loss to Wisconsin Feb. 19, Frazier's 20-point effort made him the first player in school history to reach 500 points, 150 assists and 50 steals in the same season. Still, those numbers are just appe- tizers, indications of Frazier's true po- tential. In a 67-51 thrashing of Nebras- ka at the Bryce Jordan Center Feb. 11, Frazier's 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists left him one assist short of his first career triple-double. Cham- bers said he expects that type of per- formance more often. "I see him in practice every day," the first-year coach said. "That's why I still think he has a lot of room to get bet- ter. He can get a lot better, which is scary." How much better? Chambers points to Kyle Lowry, a guard he coached at Villanova who is averaging more than 15 points and 7.6 assists per game for the Houston Rockets and is widely re- garded as one of the best point guards in the NBA. Since Chambers arrived last sum- mer, he and Frazier have watched film of Lowry, talked about the type of play- ASST 73 173 183 329 PTS 154 214 541 909 AVG 5.0 6.3 18.7 9.7 er he was in college and has become in the NBA, and dissected the ways in which Lowry's scrappy court demeanor put him over the top. Frazier has been transformed this season into a truly gritty player. He is fearless on defense and routinely dives for loose balls – an indication of Chambers' influence on his game. "Two years ago, I wasn't as scrappy as I am now," he said. "I probably wouldn't dive on the floor, I probably wouldn't take that charge. He's brought that to me. It's more of a scrappy attitude. That's just the atti- tude that he brings, and it's rubbed off." In fact, Chambers has been relent- less. He has hounded Frazier in practice, focusing on what he sees as the player's tendency to take a few possessions off during each game. If Chambers sometimes gives the im- pression that he is tougher on his best player than on anyone else on the team, there's a reason for that: He is tougher. "To be a great player and to be a great leader, it's constant," Chambers said. "So I stay on him like my coach- es and my brothers stayed on me and my father and my parents. I'm all over him like that. "I'm trying to instill that work ethic that you gotta compete every posses- sion. You gotta win every possession. You gotta play hard every possession. You can't have bad body language or bad facial expressions, because every- body sees it. "It's a great challenge, and I'm sure he probably doesn't want to hear it anymore. But I think the most im- portant thing is that I believe he trusts me and he knows that I care about him. When I yell at him, he

• Cover