Penn State Men's Basketball
Coach Patrick Chambers Press Conference
Media Day – October 7, 2019
Opening Statement: I want to start with the Cooper family. Maureen Cooper, our baseball coach's wife, starts treatment today. I just want to make sure she and the Cooper family know that she is not doing this alone and that we got her back. A shout out to football and James Franklin. They have been so exciting and so fun to watch, continued success to them.
For us, experienced team coming back for the first time in my tenure, and what a powerful statement Lamar Stevens made by coming back. He and his family, to make that decision, and how much they value and education and to get his degree, and his belief in those guys in the locker room, and his belief in the staff and everybody here at Penn State. He is joined by Mike Watkins, who had a great summer. He looks healthier than he ever has. His knee looks better, he's in better shape, his second jump is back, so I am excited for what those two in the frontcourt can do for us nationally. Mike is still day-to-day.
Also joining those guys is John Harrar who has played a lot of minutes and Jamari Wheeler who has played a lot of minutes, and I see Trent Buttrick's minutes increasing, and then we have added some much needed fire power with Curtis Jones and Izaiah Brockington so we definitely have some depth to go along with some sophomores that played critical minutes for us last year in Myles Dread, who was one three away from the freshman record at Penn State, and MJ [Myreon Jones] who we all know can really score the basketball, and had 18 against Virginia Tech and Kyle McCloskey who played critical minutes for us in a bunch of games. Joining them too are Seth Lundy and Patrick Kelly. Seth Lundy is every bit of 6'7, probably 218 or 219. He is a big boy for a freshman. Patrick Kelly is 6'9 and he can really shoot the basketball. I said this to a few of you guys that have interviewed me in the offseason here, I think we have more answers than questions. We have some depth at the guard, we have some depth up front. Right now, we could play 10 or 11 guys. That's today.
I still haven't landed on a starting lineup. Normally, it's pretty clear who the starting lineup for me in my tenure, and now there is some great battles at the point guard spot, and the wing spot, even at the center spot. The schedule that we have is another difficult schedule, it creates a lot of opportunities for us to get better again to be the best team we can be by the end of the year. We look forward to the challenges that are ahead for us, and I would be remised if I didn't thank Penn State and the donors out there who invested in us. We are going to have a new locker room, new training room, and a new weight facility coming up in April 2020. We really appreciate what they are doing for us and their belief in us.
Q: Where is Mike Watkins player-wise compared to where he was a couple of years ago when he was an All Big Ten defensive type player, and how important is his production to where you guys want to get?
A: He is almost to the level he was a couple of years ago before the injury. His second jump is back and it is great to see. The skill development he was able to receive over the summer and past summers, he has gotten better. He is playing at a very high level. With Mike, it is day-to-day on how he takes care of things off the court. Right now, his attitude has been good on the court he is working on being a great teammate. As long as he continues on that path, I think we have an all-defensive player, and then I think we may have one of the best bigs in the Big Ten, when healthy. I think we have a kid who could be an All-Big Ten-type player this year for us.
Q: What are your expectations for Seth Lundy this season as a true freshman, and what kind of role do you think he can take?
A: I think Seth Lundy is in an awesome position. In years past, we would have to start Seth and now Seth we can bring along slowly and be patient with him as he follows guys like Lamar Stevens. What an excellent leader he has become, and Jamari Wheeler and John Harrar. I'll throw in Curtis Jones because of the experiences that he was able to have at Indiana and Oklahoma State. To learn from those guys can only help Seth Lundy, and now Seth can play the guard spot, Seth can play the small forward spot. So that is a luxury for us to have. We are going to be patient with him, but he is really playing good basketball.
Q: Jamari [Wheeler] seemed kind of locked in and on another level the last five or six games last year. Where is he offensively, not from a ballhandler standpoint, but from finding the basket and understanding what his scoring can be and what he's best at?
A: I thought he was the difference in February and March. I think pace of play and tempo was dictated by him. I thought he was more confident at attacking the basket, and shooting at a very good clip from a few feet but still none the less making those. Opportunities count, and I thought is leadership was great, and he is setting the table right now. We had a mini scrimmage on Saturday, and he only had one turnover in 20 minutes. That is good basketball. He is getting everybody around him better, but also taking advantage of when it is his turn, so there is a fine line between that and he is doing a really good job.
Q: Where do you feel like these guys are at now to start the season as opposed to the end of last year or the middle of last year?
A: I would say the end of last year, I think we were one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten if not the country, and I hope to take that momentum, and bring it in. We brought it this summer for sure, and we need to bring it in to non-conference play. I really believe by Lamar coming back there was just more belief and even more confidence that we can do something special. With Lamar, and Jamari [Wheeler] and John [Harrar] the way they lead by showing up every single day in February and March when most teams might have mailed it in, they didn't. There is a very amazing connection in the locker room, and a strong belief in one another.
Q: Just nine losses by two baskets, which to fix that doesn't mean you have to reinvent the wheel…How do you go about improving something where you are that close to maybe you don't have to improve anything you just have to do it better? How do you get over that two-basket hump?
A: One is experience. Unfortunately, we are on the other end of that experience, but I think we learned from that, we grow from that, Specifically with the guys we had last year, but also adding in a [Izaiah] Brockington, adding in a Curtis Jones, that that should really help us. Basketball-wise, I think we just need to be a little bit more disciplined. One less turnover here, one good block out there, and we need to become a better free throw shooting team. I think Lamar [Stevens] took good shoots. We made good plays. I always good back to Wisconsin, where we were going back and forth and we just couldn't get the ball in the basket to upset Wisconsin at Kohl [Center]. When we did go to the free throw line we have to maximize those opportunities, so we have to shoot better from the free-throw line.
Q: You talked a lot about Izaiah [Brockington] last year in terms of his athleticism, what can he bring this year and what role can he fulfill? How did you seem him benefit from taking the year off last year cause of NCAA rules?
A: I think he jump shot has really improved. Right now he is one of the guys that is shooting at a very high clip in practice from three, which is really encouraging. That shows he put the work in in his time not playing in games. I think he can be the next guy that is a defensive stopper for us. He's probably more offensive minded than Josh Reeves, and he has an incredible body and probably jumps a little bit higher, but you know what Josh Reeves meant to this program. You know what he has done for us. I think Izaiah could be that type of player for us, defensive stopper, but who can also get you 12 or 14 points on any given night.