Feb. 13, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - D.J. Newbill thinks back to his first few practices with Shep Garner and can't help but laugh.
The senior captain and reigning All-Big Ten selection met the incoming freshman at the beginning of the year and expected him to be initially nervous like most first year players. Instead, he encountered a completely different type of personality and player.
"He was always confident, it was kind of annoying at first," Newbill said with a chuckle. "Sometimes you think as a freshman it's just an act, coming in and trying to prove himself. Then you realize that's really him, he's that confident."
Garner has displayed plenty of talent during his first year in the Nittany Lions lineup, yet his demeanor and attitude may be what stands out the most. Despite being a year out of high school, the 6-foot-1 point guard never looks out of place next to his veteran teammates.
With the Nittany Lions point guard position up for grabs at the beginning of the season and many thinking that Newbill might have to shift there from his natural shooting guard spot, Garner stepped up and quickly ended the debate. Now in February, the freshman joins Newbill as the only two Lions to have started every game.
Some were surprised to see him penciled into the starting lineup on opening night against Morgan State, but Garner sure wasn't. Even without any Division I experience, the freshman came into the year with the mindset that the job was his to take.
"I did expect to start," Garner said. "I put in the work, I talked a lot with coach [Patrick Chambers], I felt I earned the right to start."
Not wanting the opportunity to go to waste, Garner came out of the gates looking like anything but a freshman, scoring in double digits his first five games and averaging just under 13 points in those contests.
Since then, Garner has remained a steady presence and high-energy player for Penn State. Although he has gone through some typical first year shooting ups and downs, the guard has always bounced back and is currently third on the team in scoring (9.3 points) and double-digit scoring efforts (12).
Garner has also proven himself to be clutch in big moments. This past Saturday against Nebraska, the point guard bounced back from a scoreless first half to nail three 3-pointers in the second, including one that broke a 14-0 Cornhuskers run and gave Penn State a nine-point lead in its 56-43 win.
"If my coaches put the ball in my hands in a big-time situations and I feel like they have that much confidence in me, then I feel I have no choice but to come through for us," Garner said. "And I just put that pressure on myself and just try to make big shots like that."
Although he's young, being the go-to-guy is nothing new for the Chester, Pennsylvania, native. At Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia, Garner ran the point but was also generally the team's first scoring option, finishing his high school career with over 1,000 points and an all-state selection.
When it became time to start thinking about colleges, Garner immediately had a keen interest in playing for Chambers, who he had met in 2008 when the then-Villanova assistant was recruiting his family friend, fellow Chester native and current New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans.
Chambers wasn't able to get Evans to come to Villanova (he chose Memphis), but he did convince Garner to sign with the Nittany Lions. It didn't take long for the fourth-year coach to realize he had a player that wasn't afraid to battle with the best of the Big Ten.
"I knew he was fearless and I knew he was a winner but I didn't expect him to start right away," Chambers said. "He went out and earned it and he hasn't relinquished it. I know he's been a little up and down, but I feel really good with him out there. He makes winning plays."
As confident as Garner is, he admits that college has forced him to make his share of adjustments. Apart from learning the intricacies of running a Division I offense, the guard has put a much larger emphasis on weight lifting, increasing his weight from 180 to 192 pounds in the process.
"In high school I knew [training was important] but you could get by on your talent and in college you've got to really take advantage of your coaches, trainers because everybody is just as good as you," Garner said. "It's a big difference from high school where you can do whatever you want, you can get away with a lot lazy things then college it's no joke. Every play is important."
Now hitting the homestretch of his first season, Garner is confortable with his role of being a supporting player that is called upon to step up and score when needed. He credits his older teammates for helping his adjust, especially the Philadelphia native Newbill, who he refers to as being "like a godfather" to him.
After this year, Newbill will graduate and Penn State will be in need of another first scoring option. Though he's not thinking that far ahead, Garner knows the day may soon come when he is looked at as that guy.
"I learned so much from [D.J] and it's been quick, like five months, six months," Garner said. "I ask him any type of question under the sun, call him any time of night and he's there for me.
"It's fine with me [to be compared to previous Penn State stars], a good little comparison I guess. But I just want to win basketball games."
Nittany Lions Host Maryland on Saturday
For the second time in 10 days, Penn State (15-10, 3-9 Big Ten) will face off with Maryland (20-5, 8-4 Big Ten). The teams will square off inside the Bryce Jordan Center for the first time as members of the Big Ten at 8:30 p.m. (BTN).
Kicking off a string of four out of the next five at home, the Nittany Lions will be looking to avenge Wednesday's 73-53 setback at Ohio State. Chambers and the team have their eye on what is ahead.
"I felt like we didn't compete like a Penn State Basketball team does, and we have competed all year against some of the best teams," Chambers said. "Now, you've got to stick together, and keep rowing forward. We want to try to be the best team that we can be by the end of the year."
The Lions went toe-to-toe with the 19th-ranked Terps in College Park on Feb. 4. The first meeting was a one-point ballgame with 65 seconds to play, but Maryland scored the final five tallies of the night to win 64-58.
"For scouting purposes, it makes it a lot easier (to see a team that you played recently)," Chambers said. "I think it's going to be a battle again. It's going to come down to who wants it more and who is going to make the plays at the end of the game."
Since the first meeting, the Nittany Lions have gone 1-1 with a win over Nebraska last weekend before Wednesday's road setback at Ohio State. Maryland has also gone 1-1 since the first meeting, with a 71-55 loss at Iowa and a 68-66 home victory over Indiana on Wednesday.
Freshman Melo Trimble and senior Dez Wells continue to lead the Terps offensively. Trimble is averaging 15.5 points per game. Wells is coring at a 14.2 points per game clip. As a team, Maryland is averaging 70.6 points per game and shooting 44 percent from the field.
Saturday's game marks Penn State's first matchup against Maryland in the BJC since 2010. The Nittany Lions are 6-1 all-time against the Terps in Happy Valley.