April 24, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.; April 24, 2013 - Penn State senior guard Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas) has been granted a Medical Hardship Waiver by the NCAA and one additional season of eligibility to return for the Nittany Lions' 2013-14 season.
Frazier's return will give Penn State the top three returning scorers in the Big Ten Conference for the 2013-14 season. Frazier, who was the second leading scorer in the Big Ten in 2011-12 posting 18.8 ppg in his last full season, will join guards D.J. Newbill (16.3 ppg) and Jermaine Marshall (15.3 ppg) who are the top two returning Big Ten scorers from the 2012-13 season.
"Tim has shown tremendous will, perseverance and leadership as he continues his rehabilitation from a very tough injury," Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. "He is doing very well. We are thrilled for him that he will have the opportunity to finish his career strong and again place himself among the top players in the nation."
Frazier, a 2012 first-team All-Big Ten selection, suffered a torn Achilles tendon in his left leg just minutes into Penn State's fourth game of the 2012-13 season and missed the remainder of the year. He was leading the team averaging 21.7 points and 5.0 assists per game entering the Akron game in the Puerto Rico Tipoff on Nov. 18 in which he was injured.
The 2012 preseason candidate for both the Wooden and Naismith awards is in the midst of a remarkable recovery since undergoing surgery to repair the injury in November and is now running and jumping rope. He is expected to be a full participant in Penn State's off-season conditioning and practice program by mid-summer. The three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree is slated to earn a degree in May in supply chain and information systems from the Smeal College of Business and will begin work on a second major in communications this summer.
Frazier will enter the 2013-14 season ranked 24th on Penn State's all-time scoring charts with 1,035 points and sixth with 459 career assists, just 142 shy of breaking the Nittany Lions' all-time record. He has 20 career 20-point or better outings and 43 double-digit scoring games to his credit. The only NCAA Division I player to average at least 17 points and six assists per game in 2011-12, he had a truly outstanding season that saw him lead the Big Ten in assists (6.2 apg) and finish second in the conference in scoring (18.8 ppg) and steals (2.4) while accounting for a nation's leading 58 percent of Penn State's offense and setting a school season assist record with 198. The Big Ten All-Defensive team selection was second in the Big Ten with 17 20-point games and averaged 19.6 ppg in conference play while becoming the first Lion ever to post at least 500 points, 150 assists and 50 steals in a season.
Penn State will return four of its top five scorers and rebounders as well as 80 percent or more of its points, rebounds and assists from a 2012-13 squad that posted a 10-21 record, but knocked off eventual NCAA finalist and then No. 4-ranked Michigan (84-78) in late February. Frazier will join 2013 All-Big Ten honorable-mention honorees Newbill (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Marshall (Etters, Pa.), who finished fifth (16.3 ppg) and sixth (15.3 ppg), respectively, in the Big Ten in scoring in 2012-13, to form one of the most potent backcourts in the nation. Sophomore forward Ross Travis (Chaska, Minn.), who finished fourth in the Big Ten in rebounding (7.4 rpg) and posted double-doubles in three of his last seven games, and Brandon Taylor (Tabernacle, N.J.), who made 32 threes in his freshman season, will anchor the frontcourt.
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