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Oct. 15, 2015
COACH CHAMBERS: Good morning. I believe our program is gaining some momentum. We're going to build off of last year, winning 3 out of our last 4. We have a nice mixture of seniors and young guys with Brandon Taylor, Donovon Jack, Devin Foster and Jordan Dickerson, with a very dynamic freshman class. So I'm excited about the potential and the possibilities of this group.
You know, there's no D.J. Newbill or no Tim Frazier. We're really going to have to share the ball. We're really going to have to work inside out. And we have momentum. I mentioned that dynamic freshman class, and then we have one following it up. So our staff has worked really hard over the last four years. It's been a long process. But we've stuck to our guns and worked hard and diligently and did things the right way. We had two really good classes, one in and one coming in.
We're playing a game -- two games in Rec Hall this year. We're playing the Gavitt Games. And we're playing a game in Madison Square Garden. So things that our program is saying, "We're here, we're here, basketball lives here." And we're ready to take those necessary steps to -- for success and something that's really built to last.
So I look forward to the upcoming season with the legendary Danny Earl and VMI on November 14th.
Q: You mentioned maybe it will be a more balanced team this year, do you think? Who do you see maybe not filling the shoes, but being the guy to --
COACH CHAMBERS: I think Brandon Taylor is ready to take that torch. He's ready to step up. He's worked really hard in the off season, changing his body, working on his versatility. Once he wants to get to the free-throw line much more. Shot very consistent down the stretch last year, making some 3s. I think Shep Garner, starting every game last year, will find some consistency in his sophomore year. Really shooting the ball extremely well. But I look forward to doing more with Jordan Dickerson and Donovon Jack. We're really big. 7-foot 1, 6'11", 6'10", 6'9, 6'8, the biggest team we've had here in a long time at Penn State, especially during my tenure. But we've really got to put the ball inside, put the ball in the paint and hope for positive results, either with dunks or lay-ups or at least getting to the free-throw line.
Q: Hi, Pat. A lot of coaches so far have been asked about the rules changes and kind of what you're expecting out of the season. I wonder, with the amount of changes and just some of the tweaks, did you do anything different to educate players or adjust practices or work on anything? Just because there were a lot of different ones, not just the shot clock.
COACH CHAMBERS: Yeah, we started in July. Usually in July, it's more skill than anything; it would be one day of skill and one day of -- started working with a really short clock. Started working with 20 seconds. Some days we worked with 10 seconds. We'll continue to do that. There will be more possessions and, unfortunately, there's going to be more bad shots. And I think the thing is, talking to a bunch of coaches throughout of the last month, you're going to need a guy who is going to need to make that shot within the last 5 seconds. And I think that's what we'll see, whether it's your post player or a guard getting a go-to a move to be successful at a short clock.
So the next thing you work on is timeouts. Coaches like to call timeouts. They love screaming. Now the players pretty much have to call those timeouts. And we've reached out to some NBA people with the arm bar. We want to make sure we're teaching it properly and doing the right thing. So there are a couple things that I'm working on. I don't think the five second ball handling is really a major factor for the game we play and some of the teams in our league. But it's definitely a point of emphasis here in the beginning of the season.
Q: Hi, Coach. You mentioned having a mixture of older guys and newer guys. What have you seen from the older guys in trying to blend those younger guys in and getting them kind of into the mix of the program?
COACH CHAMBERS: Yeah. Their leadership. Everybody is concerned about who is that one guy who's going to be your leader. Well, sometimes that's not the best thing for your team. It's better to have four or five guys. We do have a leadership council. So those guys are doing a great job of owning the locker room and teaching these guys how we do things at Penn State, how hard we have to play, your approach every single day, whether it's in the weight room, on the court, or in the classroom. These guys are making sacrifices early and often, and they're teaching young guys about, you know, setting the table for a great routine. I think if you can get into a good routine early on, your academics will thrive. You know, you'll be great in the weight room, great on the court, and you'll like the outcome.
So I've been teaching them just about the daily schedule because it is a process and, of course, we bring up the Big Ten and how difficult it is and how hard you have to play and how hard you have to compete. So everything we do is competition, and our leaders and our seniors are doing a great job.