March 2, 2012
By Tony Mancuso
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sunday's men's basketball regular season finale is not going to play out as Billy Oliver and Cammeron Woodyard had envisioned their final home game would.
Both players waited their turn to play a big role for the Nittany Lions on the hardwood. After a star-studded senior class graduated following the NCAA Tournament run last season, Oliver and Woodyard were ready to step into the spotlight under first-year head coach Patrick Chambers. This was to be their year to lead the program.
By all accounts, both players played the best basketball of their careers this season. From minutes to points to rebounds, Oliver and Woodyard averaged career-bests in virtually every statistical category this winter.
However, the sometimes-cruel reality of major college sports will force both players to watch their Senior Day game against Michigan from the bench on Sunday.
For Oliver, he announced the end of his playing career following Penn State's win over Nebraska on Feb. 11 because of recurring symptoms from concussions. He continues to dress for practice and games, and he also participates in shooting drills and layup lines, but Oliver can no longer play.
"It still kills me to have had to make the decision to stop playing," Oliver said. "Gamedays are especially tough. But I am not focused on myself. I am focused on the team and being a part of something bigger than myself."
It was a very difficult decision for Oliver to make, but he handled the situation with dignity and class. He will continue to play a role in helping the team in whatever manner necessary next season.
"You grow to love this place. You grow to love these guys," Oliver said. "It is unfortunate that I am not playing, but I am playing for Penn State, and Penn State is not playing for me. I will do what I can to help Penn State, and that is what I plan to do in the future."
Woodyard started 18 games this season, including his last 10 contests, but he too will not play in the final home game of his career because of an unfortunate injury.
On Wednesday, while moving around a screen at shootaround practice inside Mackey Arena on the morning prior to Penn State's game at Purdue, Woodyard felt something pop in his right foot.
He immediately started limping before an x-ray at Mackey Arena revealed a fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot, which will cause Woodyard to miss the remainder of his senior season.
Prior to the injury, Woodyard was averaging 8.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. His senior season included a career-high 22 tallies against Minnesota. He also led Penn State with 17 points in its 54-52 upset victory over No. 22 Illinois on Jan. 19.
For two players who have given the Penn State men's hoops program countless hours of dedication, they will not get to end their careers in the manner they deserve. Oliver and Woodyard will walk onto the floor against Michigan, but will not be able to be compete with their teammates one final time in the BJC.
But in a true definition of teamwork, both players will cheer on the Lions from the bench, as they did at Mackey Arena on Wednesday, and continue to help the team in any manner possible. Both Oliver and Woodyard have faced their fair share of adversity at Penn State, including playing for two different coaching staffs during their time as Nittany Lions. Nevertheless, head coach Patrick Chambers could not be prouder of the way the seniors carried themselves in his first season as coach.
"I thought they did a phenomenal job adapting to a new system, a new style," Coach Chambers said.
Oliver, a Chatham, N.J., native, is a model student-athlete with a great work ethic on and off the court. After a standout high school career, he knew that Penn State was the right place for him.
"One morning I just woke and said, I am going to Penn State," Oliver said. "I went downstairs and told my parents. They were kind of surprised because I had been weighing three schools. It just came to me, though. Penn State was just the place for me."
Oliver averaged 6.8 points per game this season, but the highlight came on Jan. 5 when the New Jersey sharpshooter poured in seven 3-pointers to help lead the Lions in a 65-45 win over Purdue. Oliver's seven 3-pointers were the second most in a single game by a Nittany Lion in program history.
Off the court, Oliver made the most of his Penn State experience, as he will leave Happy Valley with two degrees - one in finance and one in economics.
"I can never be disappointed about leaving here with two degrees," Oliver said.
Teammates are brothers for Oliver and Woodyard. Neither player would call their peers on the team anything less than that.
"The relationship with these guys, and not just this past year, has been incredible," Oliver said. "Thinking back to Danny Morrissey and Jamelle Cornley to my freshman year, and on up to this year, those relationships are things that I will have forever."
Woodyard agreed.
"We are always together," Woodyard said. "We are on the court together. Off the court, we go to the movies together. We spend a lot of time with one another. In a lot of ways, the team is all I have up here, and that is why they are so important."
"I think the practices are the biggest things that I will take away from my experience here," Woodyard said. "Getting to see the guys every day on the court. During the offseason, we saw each other every day in the weight room."
Like Oliver, Woodyard felt a connection with the University Park campus from the moment he stepped onto it during his recruiting visit.
"When I came up on my visit, it was a great family atmosphere, and it was like I already went to school here," Woodyard said. "The guys who I met with on the team made me feel like I was at home. I knew Penn State was a good academic school, and I could tell the athletics were important, as well."
"I am a student-athlete," said Woodyard. "Both parts of that word mean something special. Penn State is a great place to go to school, and it has been great on the basketball court for me too."
With the graduation of four senior starters from last year's team, Coach Chambers told Woodyard from day one that he would be a leader on this year's team. A leadership role was something completely unfamiliar to the Westminster, Md., native. He accepted the challenge and played until exhaustion every time he stepped onto the floor.
"I am pretty proud of how I accepted that challenge," said Woodyard. I think I responded very well. You can always improve, but I think it has gone pretty well. Going out there and competing the way that I did on the court is one thing I am proud of."
"Being a leader was a challenge that I was ready to take on," Woodyard said. "I had Tim (Frazier) and Billy (Oliver) there helping me, but it was a challenge. Helping others is really what it was all about."
While Oliver and Woodyard faced the challenge of playing their final season in a completely new system under Coach Chambers, both seniors were quick to point out the immediate impact he had on their careers.
"I could have never gone through this year without Coach Chambers," Oliver said. "He has been nothing but supportive of me. He has had my best interest at heart throughout the year. He has helped me finish my degrees. When I was on the floor, the way I see the game has been completely different, thanks to him."
"Coach Chambers had an immediate impact on my life," Woodyard said. "He changed my view on things. He always played a huge role in motivating not just me but the team."
Woodyard went on to talk about the one-on-one meetings Coach Chambers often has with every player on the roster in his office at the Bryce Jordan Center.
"There was one time where I went in and he was eating, and he asked me if I wanted something to eat," Woodyard said. "I had just eaten so I said no, but he immediately asked me what I ate. So, we were in there just talking about what we had been eating. He always asked what we were up to at the apartment or how classes were going. He could ask me how my mom is doing. Any little thing, he asks about."
Woodyard is on schedule to graduate in May with a degree in communication arts and sciences. He and Oliver may not get to compete on senior day, but do not discount the impact they have had on the program, both on and off the court.
For what the senior duo has gone through during its time at Penn State, and how Oliver and Woodyard have handled the adversity, it speaks volumes about the character both student-athletes have.
"Senior Day is going to be the final checkpoint of my basketball career," Oliver said. "As great as it will be to look back on my career that day, it will be sad to see my playing career officially end. But I will be happy to be out there one last time."
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