Coach Patrick Chambers hoping Penn State’s inside game propels it over DePaul

Throughout the preseason, Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said his team’s offense will run through the post.

The Nittany Lions capitalized in the paint against an undersized Virginia Military Institute team in the season opener, but Chambers has questions about how his team will execute in its second game against DePaul.

“This team’s gonna be a little bit bigger,” Chambers said at his press conference Monday, “so how are we gonna put pressure on the paint? Is it going to be drive and space? Are we still gonna put it in there? It’s going to be interesting to see how we react to their size and strength.”

Chambers will get the chance to learn more about his team early in the season when Penn State (1-0) hosts the Blue Demons (1-0) at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Bryce Jordan Center. With 6-foot-11 center Tommy Hamilton, 6-foot-9 forward Rashaun Stimage, 6-foot-6 forward Myke Henry, 6-foot-6 guard Billy Garrett Jr. and 6-foot-4 guard Erten Gazi in the starting lineup, DePaul holds a slight height advantage over Penn State’s starters.

The Nittany Lions — with a starting lineup of 7-foot-1 center Jordan Dickerson, 6-foot-6 forward Brandon Taylor, 6-foot-6 forward Payton Banks, 6-foot-4 guard Josh Reaves and 6-foot-1 guard Shep Garner — had little trouble establishing position inside against VMI.

But Chambers said his team’s identity has yet to take shape.

“It’s gonna take this nonconference, I’m sure, to really find who we’re gonna be and how we’re really gonna attack opposing teams,” Chambers said.

Taylor proved to be the most effective option down low against the smaller Keydets in the season opener.

The Penn State forward finished just 4 for 14 from the field, but he got good looks throughout the game. And at times, the Nittany Lions went to him repeatedly as he received the ball on the block on the first three possessions of the second half.

He was called for a charge, finished a baseline drive and missed a turnaround bank shot.

“That’s what I’ve been working on all offseason,” Taylor said of his post game. “I’ve been a shooter since I came in here.”

Chambers was pleased with the offensive execution on a day when the Nittany Lions shot 5 for 19 (26.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

“I felt good about, ‘alright, we didn’t makes 3s and we still were pretty effective, and we still were able to score inside,” Chambers said. “… I’d like to see us get to the free-throw line a lot more, but I felt like we didn’t live and die by the 3.”

Chambers said he thought Banks attacked the basket well against VMI. Garner drove the lane as well, and the coach said he wants to see Reaves look to get to the rim more.

And the big men could contribute more to getting to the line.

Taylor went 5 for 8 from the line.

But Dickerson didn’t attempt a field goal in 18 minutes. Forwards Donovon Jack and Julian Moore were efficient from the field, combining to go 4 for 5 from the field, but they combined for just one free-throw attempt.

“I’d like to see our post players be a little bit more aggressive instead of going away from contact and just go to the basket, go strong, make confident moves and try to get us to the free-throw line,” Chambers said.

That will be part of the challenge for Penn State against a DePaul team with a first-year head coach in Dave Leitao.

Leitao is in his second stint leading the Blue Demons.

Leitao coached the Blue Demons from 2002-05 before taking the head-coaching job at Virginia. He served as an assistant at Missouri and Tulsa during the last three seasons.

This early in the year, Chambers has film of a scrimmage and DePaul’s season-opening win over Western Michigan to prepare for the matchup.

“You don’t really see their cards of what they’re gonna do and who they’re gonna be and how they’re gonna approach you,” Chambers said.

Penn State is still figuring out who it will be after one game.

But Garner said after the season-opening win that the Nittany Lions plan to continue to look inside.

“This year, we’re gonna play inside-out,” Garner said. “That’s just what we’re gonna do.”

Notes: Tuesday’s game between Penn State and DePaul is part of the inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games. The series features eight games between Big Ten and Big East teams in honor of Big East founder Dave Gavitt. … Billy Garrett led DePaul with 18 points in the team’s 69-63 win over Western Michigan. Garrett went 10 for 11 from the foul line. … The Blue Demons trailed 35-24 at halftime of the win over Western Michigan.

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Coach Patrick Chambers hoping Penn State’s inside game propels it over DePaul."