Penn State Men's Basketball
Head Coach Patrick Chamber Press Conference
Vs. Illinois – March 10, 2019
Patrick Chambers | Head Coach
Opening Statement:
I want to talk about the seniors and what Josh Reaves means to this program. He took a chance on us, he really did. What he's done over his career and how he fills the stat sheet. He's made for "attitude club". He represents us in a way that you want to be represented, that Penn Staters love. His character, his integrity, the way he played today in a critical game that had the tournament feel. Nobody was going to give up an inch. Man, did he show up in a way that I haven't seen. Obviously, he scored the most points in his career today, which is unbelievable. I have never seen a senior do that. I'm so thankful for Josh Reaves and his family. Deivis Zemgulis, I told this story to Steve Jones and I'll tell it to you really quickly. I usually start the seniors. I've been doing it for years. He came to me the other day and said, "Coach you can't start me." I said, why is that? He said, "We're playing too well we need to win this game." Two guys who are completely selfless, that don't need the headlines, that embody Penn State University and Penn State Basketball. It's really special to those two and our program. I don't want to forget the managers [Dominic] Prete and Andy [Wrobel]. They're behind the scenes, they never get any credit. They show up at 6 AM tape the floor for us, grab us water, grab us towels, pack up for road trips. What these managers do is amazing, they're going to be super successful in life. As far as the game, Brad [Underwood] did a great job. We were ready for the 3-2 [zone] but we didn't think he would play it for the whole half or 30 minutes of the game. Give Brad credit, give Illinois credit for what they did. They kept us off balance, they slowed the pace down, which they haven't done all year. They were winning at halftime, but our guys picked up the pace in the second half, some shots started to fall for us. Josh played great, Lamar hit some timely shots and we got enough stops. That's what it came down to, our identity. I'm all about improvement and identity and I think you saw that in the second half when we were face a bit of challenge and adversity. Couldn't be prouder of a group. I don't know if you remember this but we were 0-10. We were 0-10. We just got ourselves a bye. That's a credit to the leadership of the players and to the staff. To stay the course, stick together, and minimize the noise from the outside.
Q: In the first four minutes it looked like Josh came out super amped. Scoring, rebounding, and turnovers. Did he have to turn it down a little bit from being that amped? What point did you see things smooth out?
A: When he hit his first three, I thought okay. Because when you're that amped up you're nuking them, so jacked up to play the game. There was a lot riding on this game. It was also senior night, which I like having it afterwards because they're just thinking about winning or playing the game. He calmed down after one or two threes, and then he had a turnover like you just said. He was our go-to guy there. If he wasn't scoring we were in big trouble but we got good looks. Give Brad credit, they packed it in, they wouldn't let Lamar get any space. He dared other guys to beat them and Josh Reaves really stepped up.
Q: What did it mean to you to have him finish this way? I know you're happy for him, but what did it mean to you to see him go out in this sort of fashion?
A: This is the way you want all of your seniors to go out. Having their best game and filling the stat sheet. You know we're going to talk about his 26 points. Just so you know, he had 11 rebounds. He had four steals. It's pretty amazing what this kid did. I couldn't be happier for him. To put this team on his shoulders and lead us to victory the way he did today in a critical game in order to get a bye.
Q: Obviously from a basketball perspective getting a bye was huge but at the same time, starting 0-10, is it emotionally a bit of a vindication to get that bye and prove that you're not what you're record said you were?
A: I said that all year long, I said the record is not a reflection or indication of how hard we were playing, how hard we were competing. We were so close in so many games and easily could've been flipped, 13-7 instead of 7-13. Again, the credit goes to the players and the staff they did an amazing job of showing up every day and getting better. That was our two things, improvement and identity. Let's just improve a little bit each day and let's focus on our identity which was defending and rebounding.
'Q: You and Sandy Barbour shared a big hug at the end of the game today. What does the support of the administration mean to you and this program, especially during winning drought this season?
A: Sandy's support, Lynn's [Holleran] support, The President's [Barron] support is critical when you're 0 and 10. I never felt differently. We've met, we've communicated a ton, nothing but "Stay the course, you guys are so close." When you have that type of support from your administration, specifically Sandy, you feel good. You have a clear head going into practice. You're just working on getting better. You're not thinking about anything else, but your team and gettin your team better and developing your staff. You know, that's part of being a team leader. That's why there was such a big embrace. You know, she believed me and I appreciate that and that type of support.
Q: How important has Josh Reaves meant to you and this program throughout his time at Penn State?
A: Huge. In so many ways than just basketball. I'll talk basketball. He opens up the DMV to us. We get into Team Takeover, and Oak Hill [Academy], and PVI, big time powerhouses in high school basketball and AAU basketball. Because of him, Myles Dread is here. You know, that helps. Again, I go back to DMV, Rasir [Bolton] is here. You know what I mean? Your footprint grows because of a guy like Josh Reaves saying "yes". He definitely did not take a path of least resistance. He took the difficult road. He knew that we didn't go to the NCAA tournament and he still came here. He still committed. That's huge. I give a lot of credit to his mom and his family, and then being here. I said it in the beginning, what he means to this program, what he does for us every single day, what a great ambassador for Penn State and Penn State basketball and we got a lot more games to go here.
Q: Were you able to enjoy the last minute Deivis [Zemgulis] sequence he performed at the end of the game?
A: Yeah and I typically don't want to do that. I got great respect for Brad [Underwood] and Illinois, what he's done this year and how he changed that program. Obviously, he's a senior and wanted to make a shot and I thought he missed it. I thought it was game over, then I turned around and he made it so, I was happy for Deivis.
Q: What has it been like you for seeing Josh Reaves grow on and off the court, even though he has been the same kind of player since he started here at Penn State?
A: You know, I'm going to say he really developed though I think. He put on some weight, he put on 20 pounds, maybe 25. His three was 0.002 maybe as a freshman. He had a few three's tonight, so it was nice to see six to be exact. I think Josh really developed and really bought into Penn State basketball. No one is better in the community. Anytime we have anything to do with children, THON type of stuff, reading, being out there and helping out, he is one of the first people. I'll tell you a quick story about Josh Reaves. He is the guy that at the end of practice, where everybody is walking out, he will go and help the managers pick up the tape. Just shows you about his character. Totally selfless.
Q: When you started to see Josh making those three's today, did you see that open up the zone a little bit for you guys on the offensive end?
A: Yeah, he had to do something. He went to a triangle to a two, then went back to man because of Josh making three's. Typically, it's Ra [Rasir Bolton] and Myles [Dread] but those guys didn't have their best games shooting but they did a lot of other good things. That's why I was so happy for Josh. To have a career night for his senior night. Pretty magical.
Q: Can you talk more about Jamari Wheeler's performance today?
A: I thought he was fantastic. Defensively, when he picks up one, I have to take him out for a little bit because I don't want him to get two back to back which he is capable of doing. So I took him out for a few minutes and you could see our defensive intensity just wasn't the same. So I had to get him back in there and he was smart enough not to pick up a second foul, but he did some great things for us. I know he had five turnovers, but you have to look at what he does and what he means as far as pacing tempo, as far as defense, as far as setting the table with nine assists, he did a great job. He's becoming a big time leader for us, especially over these last 60 days.