Blue White Illustrated

passed 100 rebounds last season – for- wards Mike Watkins and Lamar Stevens, guards Tony Carr and Josh Reaves – are back, and all but Reaves will have soph- omore eligibility. Also back are two ex- perienced seniors in Shep Garner and Julian Moore. And seeing action for the first time will be center Satchel Pierce, a Virginia Tech transfer who sat out last year, and true freshmen Jamari Wheeler, Trent Buttrick and John Harrar. Chambers recently took the time to discuss the upcoming season with Blue White Illustrated website editor Nate Bauer. Here's what he had to say: BWI As a program, did you feel like you lost your defensive identity last year? CHAMBERS Yeah. And I take full re- sponsibility for that. I was so fired up about the talent that we had on the team and the skill and the speed and athleti- cism that I really wanted to put in this new offense and really get the ball out, push and put pressure on the defense be- fore they get set up. I just felt like it would give us more opportunities to have uncontested shots. But I needed to get back to defending and rebounding, and that's what we've done this off-season. It's all been about changing our bodies, getting in better shape and then obvi- ously the experiences from last year truly help. But I think they understand that we've got to defend and rebound, espe- cially when you're not making shots. BWI The new guys have offensive skill. Is the defensive side of the game a men- tality? CHAMBERS I just think it's whatever your emphasis is. Those kids are ab- solutely talented and so gifted, but we need to be able to point out that this is our identity: We defend and rebound. We can all say, "Hey, you've got to get tougher." But you and I both know you don't get tougher until you get older and more mature and you have more experi- ences – unfortunately, some successes and failures – that you're able to learn from to get tougher mentally and physi- cally. BWI How do you expect last year to pay dividends this year? CHAMBERS We understand now what it takes. The guys understand what it takes to win in the Big Ten. You've got to be consistent and you've got to be at your best every single night, and if you're not at your best you're going to get beat. So we have to be our best and then beat the best teams in this league, which we showed we can do. We beat a very good Maryland team, a very good Michigan State team, a very good Minnesota team. We beat some really good teams [and had some] other close games. So I think those experiences, the off- season that we had – we had a great summer in the weight room, our guys were here both summer sessions – the 10 practices, the pros coming back, the couple of games, I think that puts us ahead. And to gain our identity back, we've got to focus on that defensive side. But so many things that we learned from last year can help us. You learn from fail- ure, right? So we're going to learn from failure and we're going to utilize it to our [advantage] this year. BWI Physical conditioning seemed to be an area that Tony Carr really focused on this off-season. CHAMBERS He absolutely changed his body. His mindset toward the weight room was outstanding. He came to both summer sessions. The whole team did. To me, that says a lot about this group that they sacrificed their summer and spent it up here at Penn State. Because then you got 10 practices, too, and then we went on a foreign tour. We were to- gether all summer – good news, bad news. For me, it was good news. But they sacrificed, so that was one. Two is, [Carr's] leadership. I'd like to see that take the next step in the process of him going from a freshman to a sophomore and carrying the torch of what we think he should do this year. The leadership is going to be critical. BWI How close is he to that? CHAMBERS He's right where he needs to be. Going through this summer, going through last year, going through [the Nike Basketball Academy], I think he's advanced for sure. But there's still a lot of room for growth. And then he's got to be a guy who is going to score, he's got to make everybody better around him, take care of the ball, and he's going to have to guard. He's really going to have to guard, defend and rebound. He almost had five rebounds per game last year, and if he can duplicate that, I think you've got a big-time player. I'd like to see him get some double-doubles this year. BWI Shep came off the bench in the Ba- hamas. Is that a role he'll settle into, or was that a matter of circumstance? CHAMBERS It's a matter of everything. Shep's a senior and he's got to take care of business now. He's our senior and he needs to be one of our leaders who shows these guys the way: "I've been here, I've done it, I've been on the road in the Big Ten, I've been in close games." Now he can learn from all those experi- ences and step up. So that's one. Two, academically I need him to do a better job. For me, it's everything. It's all-inclusive. It's basketball, it's weight room, it's sandpits, it's academics, it's study hall hours, it's everything. So that's why he came off the bench. He's going to battle for that starting spot, there's no doubt about it, but now that he has a feel of playing with these guys and we're moving him more, they're looking for him more, he made 15 threes in two games. I'm not going to say that he's going to do it every night, but with defenses now focusing on Tony and Lamar and Mike a little bit more, he should have some space out there. BWI Did you feel like the message was received? CHAMBERS I truly do. I think Shep is going to have a big-time year. I really do, just because he's growing up, he's ma- turing. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer than for others. BWI It seems like he was a differentiat- ing factor between wins and losses last year. Maybe that's too much pressure to put on one guy's shoulders, but do you feel like you're counting on him this year? CHAMBERS That's a lot of pressure to put on one kid. I think he had to fit into the role that he was asked to do last year, and then I think he's more recep-

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