Blue White Illustrated

P atrick Chambers set a unique goal for himself before the start of the Nittany Lions' 2017-18 season. Armed with arguably his best collection of talent, a roster on which each key player had a critical year of ex- perience under his belt, Chambers wasn't con- cerned with win totals or the mounting pressure surrounding his job as head coach. He was en- tering his seventh sea- son in University Park, and despite enduring a slog of a building process that at times had shrouded the program in doubt and disappointment, Chambers set his sights elsewhere. A prophet of "attitude" and the power of positive thinking throughout his tenure, the veteran coach chose to look internally. "My thing this year is joy. I'm going to find so much joy and excitement," Chambers said. "This isn't going to be a relief for me this year. Sometimes when you win it's a relief. Not me. I'm going to enjoy the successes, I'm going to enjoy the wins." Nearly three months into the season, Chambers' commitment was put to the test. For as excited as he had been in Oc- tober about the players he and his staff had assembled, their results through the nonconference portion of the schedule and eight Big Ten games were under- whelming. Losses to Texas A&M, North Carolina State and Rider left an unsatis- fying taste in December, and the start of the Big Ten season was even less fulfilling, as the Nittany Lions dropped winnable games against bottom-feeders Wiscon- sin, Minnesota and Indiana. When it lost veteran guard Josh Reaves to an academic snafu, Penn State appeared to bottom out, falling 70-61 at Northwestern, a game in which it failed to make a field goal in the final 10 minutes. Recalling his commitment to joy, con- trolling that which was within his con- trol, Chambers said he rejected the discouragement that might have other- wise torpedoed the Lions' outlook on the rest of the season. "Even when we were 3-5, I was enjoying it because I knew we had the opportunity to be really good. I knew we had the talent to compete in the Big Ten, and that's what got me so excited," he said. "I felt like we had the talent last year, but we were too youthful, and now... they're a little bit older, and with each passing game, with each passing practice, with each passing weight lift and film session, I can just see a maturity level." That maturation might have taken some time, but the results have been on full display for the Nittany Lions in recent weeks. Beginning with a remarkable 82-79 upset win at then-No. 14 Ohio State, Penn State reeled off five wins in six games as the season's homestretch ap- proached. Scoring and shooting percent- ages steadily climbed into the top half of the Big Ten's statistical categories. De- fensive intensity reached new heights, as the Nittany Lions routinely stymied op- ponents through ferocious effort. And as a result, for the first time in Chambers' Penn State tenure, the Lions reached eight conference wins in the reg- ular season. In doing so, they also earned six or more Big Ten wins in three consec- utive seasons for the first time since 1993-96. Along the way, Penn State's players have A JOY TO BEHOLD PSU's patience is rewarded, as a hot streak vaults team into postseason contention M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L | Penn State recently landed its first verbal commitment for the Class of 2019. Patrick Kelly, a 6-foot-8, 205-pound small forward out of Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Va., has made the call for the Nittany Lions. "The coaching staff believes in me, and I feel that I would be a good fit in their program athletically and academi- cally," Kelly told Blue White Illustrated. Following an unofficial visit to Penn State in late January in which he was able to tour the University Park campus and catch the Nittany Lions' 60-43 vic- tory against Rutgers, Kelly felt comfort- able with his decision. He had also been on campus last October, attending the Nittany Lion football team's game against Michigan as a basketball guest. Kelly describes himself as a "shooter that rebounds hard and does the little things well." He was receiving interest from Ohio State, Purdue, Virginia, North Carolina State, UNLV, George- town, Florida Gulf Coast and Provi- dence, among others. According to BigShots.net, the schools that had been pursuing Kelly most aggressively prior to his commitment were Penn State, Ohio State and Purdue. This season, Kelly has been averaging 14 points and nine rebounds for the Bishops and says he is working to im- prove his ball handling and strength. Kelly plays with Rasir Bolton on Team Loaded AAU. Bolton signed with Penn State as part of the Class of 2018. –N.B. Virginia forward commits to Nittany Lions CHAMBERS

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