After abrupt end to season, Penn State basketball’s Pat Chambers is looking forward to 2020-21
Penn State basketball coach Pat Chambers was still grieving the abrupt end to his team’s 2019-2020 season when he spoke to the media via teleconference on March 20. The Nittany Lions didn’t get an opportunity to play in the postseason after the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, brought the college basketball world to a halt.
With his ninth year at the helm of the program now in the books, Chambers doesn’t have much choice but to look ahead once his grieving process is complete. Despite the loss of program-changing senior Lamar Stevens, Chambers believes fans will still have plenty to look forward to next season.
The Nittany Lions return four players who started 14 games, including guards Myreon Jones and Jamari Wheeler, who would’ve started next to each other in every game if not for Jones’ illness in February. The pair are essentially locked in as starters for next season, but they aren’t the only Nittany Lions Chambers is excited about.
“John Harrar was probably one of our best developments of any big man we’ve ever had,” Chambers said on the teleconference. “Then you’ve got Myles Dread who’s only going to get better, and Izaiah Brockington who’s only going to get better ... And Seth Lundy is only going to get better.
“We have a great incoming class that fits really well into who we are now as a high-powered offensive team. I think we’re going to be in the top half of the league. I think we’re going to be fighting again for a double bye (in the Big Ten Tournament) and hopefully a Big Ten championship.”
Jones and Wheeler’s returns next year will provide the Nittany Lions with diverse skill sets in the backcourt. Jones, who will be a junior, can score at all three levels and fills it up with the best shooters in the country from beyond the arc. Wheeler is a pest as a defender and one of the best on-ball defenders in the conference. He brings the energy the team needs and looks to be a clear leader for the Nittany Lions in his senior season.
The Nittany Lions will bring plenty of players back, but are likely to be without guard Kyle McCloskey, who entered the transfer portal, according to 247Sports. The reserve guard played 27 minutes this season.
After Wheeler and Jones, the rest of the starting lineup gets a little bit murky. Dread and Lundy both started at least 15 games this year and could start together along the wing if Penn State intends on playing two guards, two wings, and one big man. The fifth spot, at center, is likely to go to Harrar who will be a senior next season.
That starting five is missing the scoring punch provided by Stevens. The senior forward gave the Nittany Lions a fallback option to try to earn free throws if their offense needed a jolt late in games.
His departure leaves a void in that area and it’s a void that will be difficult to fill.
Chambers’ team will need to find someone on the outside to fill that role next season and plans to do so by combing through the transfer portal.
“Lamar gets to the free throw line,” Chambers said. “Who’s that next guy that’s going to get us to the free throw line?”
That void might be the most important one for Penn State to fill, but it’s not the only one. The Nittany Lions plan on searching for several types of players in the transfer portal.
“You’ve got to bring the right person in that’s going to buy right in,” Chambers said. “We’re across the spectrum trying to fill some voids or some weaknesses that we think can keep us at the top and (help) fight for Big Ten championships.”
One player who could fill those needs is Kevin Marfo, a forward from Quinnipiac who led the country in rebounding last season with 13.3 boards per game. Marfo is already in the portal and recently put the Nittany Lions in the group of 16 schools he’s considering, according to Rivals.
The potential transfer will be a redshirt senior in 2020-21 and will gain immediate eligibility as a graduate transfer.
Whether the Nittany Lions add Marfo or a different transfer, they have several holes to fill for next season.
Because of the ongoing pandemic, Chambers and his staff will have to turn their attention to those needs much sooner than they originally hoped.
The Nittany Lions were well on their way this season to their first NCAA Tournament berth in Chambers’ tenure. Instead, they’ll be turning the calendar to next season much sooner than they planned, with the same goal in sight: Chambers’ first appearance in the Big Dance at Penn State.
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 5:28 PM.
