Blue White Illustrated

September 2017

Penn State Sports Magazine

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BWI How important to you was Penn State's prior relationship with Team Loaded? BOLTON It's great because they helped me connect with Penn State and helped Penn State connect with me. So Team Loaded definitely helped out a lot. Knowing my Team Loaded family trusts them, too, it really made it easy for me to trust in everybody. We trust each other. BWI Can you describe your game? BOLTON I'm an up-tempo kind of guard. I like to play in transition, use ball screens. I can score it, I can pass, I just really can get my teammates to play with me and believe no matter what situation we're in that we're always winning the game. I'm a point guard. I can play the two, but my primary position is point guard. BWI So you're the next in line after Tony Carr. BOLTON They are big shoes to fill, but I'm ready to step in and fight with those guys that he's there with now. Just come in, take his role and just continue to lead them as he does. BWI Did Penn State being an up-and- coming program attract you? BOLTON They are. They're coming up. They're on the edge, and if they're on the edge, then Coach Chambers is bringing me in to really take them over the edge and take them off. If they're up-and-coming, that means everybody is working hard, trying to earn some- thing and nothing is given to them. So if you want it, you've got to go take it. That's the mindset we have, so I'm ready to be a part of that. BWI What's next for you? With your decision done, what stands between you and your enrollment at Penn State next summer? BOLTON Just working, really. In the gym, in the weight room, doing every- thing I can to be ready to come in and play and lead the team. BWI What role do you think you'll play in helping Penn State round out its Class of 2018? BOLTON I'll definitely take a big role in that because I'll be the point guard, so I'll need that guy to play with me and be able to fight with me. So I'll have to go out there and find a guy who is willing to do that who I think will help me. BWI If you could say anything to Penn State fans today, what would it be? BOLTON I would tell them I'm coming in and I'm planning for them to love me and I plan to love them back. So I'm just excited to get up there and to meet all of them personally and get to know them. ■ R ivals.com three-star guard Myles Dread surprised some people when he committed to Penn State in July 2016. Coaches at Division I schools who had lightly recruited the Washington, D.C., area prospect got back in touch to find out what had happened. He hadn't yet begun his junior year at Gon- zaga College High School, and plenty of time remained before he would be able to sign a letter of intent. But Dread had a simple an- swer for those who wondered why he wanted to end his re- cruitment so early. "I chose the school that not only wanted me, but needed me," Dread said. "I have a great respect for Pat Chambers, for the way that he recruited me and was honest with me and told me how I would fit into his system and how much he needed me. I appreciated that." Dread was back on Penn State's campus this summer to take in the program's Elite Camp, although he didn't participate due to a minor toe injury. Reflecting on his decision, he said he continues to see an opportunity to be an integral part of something special with the Nittany Lions. "I have confidence in my own game. I think that's probably one of the reasons why I was so happy about coming here. I didn't want to go to a school where, say we won a national championship or a league championship and I was just an- other one of those guys on that team 10 years ago," Dread said. "At Penn State, they haven't really had that yet, so I wanted to go somewhere where I could make a name for myself. My goal is to just come in and make as much noise as pos- sible. With the guys that they've brought in and the guys that I'm trying to recruit coming into the future with me, I feel like we can develop enough power to make that move." Dread, who stands 6-foot-4, 207 pounds, is coming off a stellar junior sea- son in which he helped lead the Eagles to a Washington Catholic Athletic Confer- ence championship. He scored 19 points in a semifinal victory against St. John's and another 15 points in the champi- onship game vs. Paul VI. For his efforts, Dread was named to the second-team WCAC All-Conference squad, as teammates Chris Lykes and Prentiss Hubb pulled down first-team honors. Calling it the best season he's had as a high school player, Dread noted the areas in which he saw improvement in his game. "I could always shoot, but this year I re- ally, really shot the ball well. I shot like 46 percent from the 3. I was really, really happy with that," he said. "I'm more spot up, but I can create my own shot if I have to. I like shooting. Not to compare myself to Klay Thompson, but coming off screens, catching and shooting, making Although still a year away, Dread eager to begin PSU career | DREAD

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