Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/88420
MEN 'S BASKETBAL L Patrick Chambers raises expectations in his second season as coach TOUGH LOVE | LOOKING AHEAD Frazier earned All-Big Ten honors last season, but Chambers said there's still room to grow. P enn State point guard Tim Frazier recently checked in at No. 54 on CBS Sports' annual preseason list of the top 100 college basket- ball players. Ohio State junior point guard Aaron Craft, meanwhile, ranked No. 12 overall on the list, leaving the Nittany Lions' 6-foot-1 senior with plenty to prove. "He still has room to get better, and we know that," second-year head coach Patrick Chambers said. "His shooting can get better, and it has, so I'm excited about that, because he's going to be even tougher to defend. His decision- making can get better and his leader- ship can get better." Coming off a second-team All-Big Ten nod by the media last season – a season in which he finished as the Nittany Lions' top scorer in 25 of 32 games – Frazier has inspired high ex- pectations. His 18.8 points per game and No. 14 national ranking in both assists (6.2 per game) and steals (2.38) were keys to the squad's success last year, but Chambers is looking for more. Specifically, he wants to see improved leadership. Chambers has honed in on body language. The coach said he's been showing Frazier tapes taken from some of last year's most frustrating losses. In some of those tapes, Frazier's exasperation is plainly evident. "He's mad that he lost," Chambers said. "He's so competitive that he channels it incorrectly. But he's come so far." After winning six of eight games to open the 2011-12 campaign, Penn State finished 12-20 overall, including a 4-14 mark in Big Ten play. It ended the season on a five-game losing streak. Of course, Chambers knew what he Tim Owen was getting into when he took the job. Faced with a bare cupboard following Ed DeChellis's sudden departure, his