Posts filed under ‘Nittany Lion basketball’
Mr. O’Brien Goes to Washington
He signed 21 autographs. He posed for 68 photos. He shook 101 hands.
That was the tally—part of it, anyway—for Bill O’Brien Tuesday night in Washington D.C., on the fourth stop of the Penn State Coaches Caravan. For about 40 minutes—from the time he entered the ballroom at the Washington Hilton until the time he excused himself to make his way up to the stage—I watched O’Brien stand at the front an impromptu receiving line and greet Penn State alumni and fans. For those 40 minutes, I tracked every interaction O’Brien had.
Washington seemed the right place to document the most campaign-like aspect of the caravan, and O’Brien’s role in it. I joked before I stepped onto the bus Monday morning that I felt a bit like a reporter embedding with a presidential candidate; seeing O’Brien address the handshake line for the fourth time in two days—knowing how many more hands he’ll shake, pictures he’ll take, and autographs he’ll sign in the coming days and weeks—only reinforced the analogy. (more…)
The Bill & Patrick Show
I’m back on the bus now between Baltimore and Washington, en route from the third to the fourth stop on the Penn State Coaches Caravan. As has been the case for every leg of our trip so far, Bill O’Brien and Patrick Chambers are posted up in the back of the bus, each habitually working their phones. They’ve been on those phones quite a bit over the past day and a half, but they’ve also spent a lot of time trading stories and banter. Watching and listening to them interact has been a blast.
Anyone who’s paid attention to Chambers since his arrival 11 months ago knows what the Nittany Lion basketball coach is all about: energy, intensity, and passion. O’Brien’s public personality isn’t quite as obvious; he’s intense, certainly, but not the non-stop salesman that Chambers (literally, a salesman before he was a coach) has shown himself to be. But these guys have enough obviously in common that it wasn’t hard to guess they’d get along.
Do they ever.
What I’ve been fortunate to see on the bus, alumni and fans have gotten a taste of at the three caravan stops so far. O’Brien and Chambers play off each other perfectly, riffing on each other’s roots in provincial East Coast sports towns (greater Boston for O’Brien, the Philly burbs for Chambers), their similar no-nonsense haircuts, and their insistence on being not just colleagues but teammates at Penn State.
That last part is worth talking more about. These men are similar in age (O’Brien is 42, Chambers 41) and experience. Both have young children. Most important, both have been on campus less than a year. As the football coach at Penn State, O’Brien will always be the focus of greater public attention, but in all the ways that matter to these guys, they genuinely seem to see each other as equals, and men who can contribute to each other’s success.
On the stage Tuesday in Baltimore, O’Brien joked about bringing the football team to watch basketball games next season “whether they like it or not” and opening up the revamped Nittany Lion weight room to other student-athletes. Chambers mentioned a burly incoming basketball recruit who “looks like a defensive end,” then glanced back at O’Brien as he warned the coach off his soon-to-be player. It goes on and on. There’s a natural vibe between these two—fellow jocks, to be sure, but not dumb ones. It’s been great watching it develop.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
On the Road with the Penn State Coaches Caravan
It’s a beautiful morning for a bus trip. And the bus isn’t too shabby, either.
I’m one of a dozen or so people on this impressively customized Fullington Trailways bus en route to Philadelphia for the first stop on the Penn State Coaches Caravan. Bill O’Brien and Patrick Chambers are on board, and more coaches are set to join us over the next two and a half days; you can find all the details here. I’ll be posting throughout the first leg of the trip, so keep an eye out for photos, video, and conversations with the coaches. And if you’re on Twitter, search #psucaravan for updates.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
A Sad Week for the Nittany Lion Hoops Family
Late Monday we got word that former Penn State basketball coach Dick Harter had died of cancer. Harter coached the Nittany Lions for just five seasons, from 1978–79 until 1982–83, but he posted a 79-61 record in that span and set the table for some of the more successful teams in Penn State history. Harter also worked as head coach at Oregon, Rider, and Penn before becoming a long-time NBA assistant. He was 81.
On Wednesday, rumors we’d been hearing since the weekend were confirmed: Monroe “Monnie” Brown ’92, a standout on the Lions’ early ’90s teams, was dead at 41. Brown starred for Bruce Parkhill’s squads that posted four straight 20-win seasons, a run highlighted by a trip to the 1991 NCAA tournament, where the Lions posted an unforgettable first-round upset of UCLA. Brown, who also spent a season as an assistant to Jerry Dunn in 1995-96, had battled drug problems through much of his life; Dave Jones of the Harrisburg Patriot-News wrote a compelling remembrance of Brown, whom he covered on those great teams.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
For Billy Oliver, a Reluctant Goodbye
Billy Oliver’s best night as a Penn State basketball player came at the Jordan Center five weeks ago, when he scored a career-high 21 points in the Nittany Lions’ blowout win over Purdue. The game was memorable for being coach Patrick Chambers’ first Big Ten victory, but more so for Oliver’s stunning shooting display: all his points came on three-pointers, on which he shot 7 for 11 on the night.
Oliver won’t have any more big nights for Penn State. After the Lions’ 67-51 win Saturday over Nebraska, the redshirt junior forward announced his playing days were over. Still bothered by lingering effects from multiple concussions suffered during preseason workouts his freshman year, Oliver was emotional but certain Saturday when he told reporters he was retiring from basketball.
“It seems right for me, and more importantly, for the team,” Oliver said. “It’s selfish for me if I am not going to be able to go out there and give 100 percent with the history of my head, and I am worried about problems with that. I don’t want to do that to the team, because I know they give 100 percent. So, I am not continuing basketball.”
Oliver, who had one year of remaining eligibility, played just 58 games since arriving on campus in 2008 after a terrific high school career in Chatham, N.J. He redshirted as a freshman after twice suffering concussions in the preseason, and missed all but five games in 2009-10 while suffering from exercise-induced migraines. He played only sporadically over the past month while symptoms recurred, and after consulting with doctors and his family, made the call on his career.
The good news: Oliver will remain with the team next season on a medical scholarship, and he’s scheduled to graduate in May with a degree in finance—no surprise for a guy who earned a place on the Big Ten all-academic team. By all accounts, Oliver is a smart, personable young man who should do just fine without basketball. We’ll be rooting for him.
Beyond Oliver’s announcement, it was actually a pretty good weekend for the basketball program. There was that convincing win Saturday over Nebraska, and there was the news that Brandon Austin pledged to join the Nittany Lions next fall. Austin, a 6-foot-6 junior at Philadelphia’s Imhotep Charter High School, is rated by ESPN as the 12th-best small forward in the class of 2013.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
Hoops Wins, and Kerry Collins Moving On
Both Penn State basketball teams earned nice wins Wednesday night as part of the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Lady Lions, ranked 15th or 16th depending on which poll you go by, dominated No. 13/14 North Carolina in a 103-84 win at the Bryce Jordan Center. A school-record 14 three-pointers contributed greatly to the outcome. The men were a bit more subtle in pulling off a 62-54 road win over Boston College. Great results for both teams.
Unrelated, but a story worth sharing: Kerry Collins ’94 Lib is the focus of a lengthy profile in Thursday’s New York Times. It’s a great story on the former Nittany Lion quarterback, who retired for good last month after a final, frustrating season with the Indianapolis Colts. He’s focused now on his family and a burgeoning career as a country music songwriter.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
Coaching Speculation, and Other Sports
The university’s announcement of a search committee to help choose the next head football coach has added fuel to the speculative fire for those trying to predict who that coach might be. Of course it’s all just that—speculation—but there are some educated opinions on the matter, including those at Blue White Illustrated and the Patriot News. Just who that coach will be, and whether he’ll be hired before the Nittany Lions play (as expected) in a bowl game, remains to be seen.
There’s less intrigue in most other areas of the Penn State sports world. Among the things we know:
—Devon Still is the Big Ten’s best lineman. It was obvious to anyone who watched the Nittany Lions play this season, and on Monday the league made it official. Here’s the senior defensive tackle (and probable first-round NFL draft pick next year) talking about his success:
—The women’s volleyball team is back in the NCAA tournament. The four-time defending national champs had a “down” year by their recent standards, finishing the regular season 23-7 and earning the No. 8 seed for the NCAAs. In spite of all that, something tells us they won’t be overlooked. The Lions open the tournament against Liberty University; that match is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Rec Hall.
—Hoops season is in full swing.The No. 15 Lady Lions look to improve on a 5-1 start Wednesday night when they host North Carolina at the Jordan Center; also on Wednesday, the Nittany Lions (5-2) travel to Boston College. Both games are part of the annual Big Ten-ACC Challenge.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
For One Night, Basketball Was Back in Rec Hall
It wasn’t like I remembered, back when I was an undergrad and they played actual basketball games in Rec Hall. But walking into the old gym Wednesday night for Penn State’s Hoops Madness event, I still felt something like nostalgia.
It felt pretty good.
Hoops Madness worked on a couple of levels, reminding old guys like me what a great building Rec Hall was (and might still be, someday…) for basketball, while hyping up students for the upcoming Nittany and Lady Lions seasons. Not much is expected of the men this season, but there’s plenty of excitement about new head coach Patrick Chambers and his high-energy style. The women, meanwhile, enter the 2011-12 season as favorites for the Big Ten title.
On Wednesday, the teams came together in front of a few thousand fans in Rec Hall, (more…)
A New Era Dawns for Nittany Lion Hoops
Tim Frazier was looking for an example that would fully convey his new coach’s intensity. He wasn’t lacking for options.
“Coach is pure energy, all the time,” Frazier said Tuesday. “Even in free throw drills.”
Patrick Chambers is in the middle of the action
That assessment certainly jibes with everything we’ve seen and heard from Patrick Chambers in the five months since he was named head coach of the Penn State men’s basketball program. Whether with fans, the media, or his players, Chambers seemingly is always intense—intensely positive about the program’s potential, and intensely focused on how he plans to maximize it.
Chambers and his players met the press Tuesday at the team’s preseason media day, where they explained how intensity and optimism might translate into wins.
Penn State comes into the 2011-12 season without four starters—and the overwhelming majority of its points, rebounds, and assists—from a team that last year reached the NCAA tournament. Outside consensus is that the Nittany Lions won’t be able to overcome those graduation losses—they’re a popular pick to finish dead last in the now-12-team Big 10. Frazier, a junior guard, is the only returning starter, and he knows his days as a supporting player are over.
“I don’t want to put it all on Tim Frazier,” Chambers said. “But (more…)
A Buzz-Worthy Start for Nittany Lion Hoops
Patrick Chambers made it clear when he was hired as men’s basketball that he would do all he could to generate interest in the program. The details of his first game in charge make it clear he wasn’t kidding. On Saturday, Nov. 12—the same day the Nittany Lion football team hosts Big Ten newcomer Nebraska at Beaver Stadium—Chambers’ squad will open its 2011-12 season against Hartford in the Bryce Jordan Center. And the kicker? Admission to the basketball game will be free.
Start times for both games are yet to be determined; fans should probably plan on making a day of it regardless.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
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