Chambers bat signal up...
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Very raw, limited mid major offers. Super athletic. Has tons of upside. We got in early and hopefully it pays off. He’s got a very sturdy build already.
From 247, no reported other P5 offers....... at this point Pat has 2 commits that together add up to zero stars according to 247.
PSU basketball scores Camaroonian commit for Class of 2019
ByMARK BRENNAN 21 minutes ago
Penn State basketball is trusting a process with its latest verbal commitment. On Tuesday night, the Nittany Lions received a pledge from Class of 2019 forward Abdou Tsimbila of St. Maria Goretti High in Hagerstown, Md.
Tsimbila is a 6-foot-8, 225-pounder who played his first season in the United States last year. Prior to that, his only experience was in his native Cameroon. The African nation, of course, has gained a measure of notoriety among American basketball fans because it is the home of Philadelphia 76ers’ superstar Joel Embiid, aka “The Process.”
While nobody is expecting Embiid-like things for Tsimbila — his other most notable offers as of this writing were from George Mason, South Alabama and Coppin State — Pat Chambers and his staff made their offer in early May no doubt attempting to beat a rush that may come when summer-league ball really heats up this month.
"I am committing to this school because they have everything I need and I’m really happy to (join) a big family and I want to say thank you to Coach Chambers and Coach (Keith) Urgo for giving me the opportunity,” Tsimbila said via Twitter.
Tsimbila is said to still be adjusting to the American game, and is thought to have a significant upside. He is considered a physical post presence who can block shots, rebound well and score close to the bucket. He reportedly has a solid hook shot. His game (to this point, at least) as been compared to that of a young Mike Watkins.
Prep Hoops contributor Adam Ayalew posted a short video of Tsimbila in recent action at The Hoops Group Team Camp.
In a story from HagerstownSports.com last season, high school teammate RJ Blakney raved about Tsimbila, saying, “He’s a big dude. He goes hard every moment. He’s the big difference in our team from last year.”
In the same piece, Goretti coach Matt Miller said, “When I first met him, I was like, ‘Man, this kid is huge.’ He eats up a lot of space. You see high school kids 6-8, 6-9, 6-10. They don’t look like him. He may be that wide.”
But he is also reportedly very raw — again, owing to his limited time playing ball in the United States. Nevertheless, Penn State brought him in for a visit in the spring and was said to be so impressed by what it saw of Tsimbila as an athlete and person that it offered.
Tuesday night, he took the Nittany Lions up on the offer.
Tsimbila is the second member of Chambers’ Class of 2019, joining Virginia small forward Patrick Kelly. Kelly committed to the Lions in February over offers from UNLV, Providence and others.
Penn State is coming off a season where it went 26-13 and won the NIT. The Nittany Lions went 9-9 in the Big Ten and advanced to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
Not long after the season, Chambers, who took over the program in 2011, was rewarded with a contract extension through the 2021-22 season. That extension became official May 3, or two days before Tsimbila scored his offer.
PSU basketball scores Camaroonian commit for Class of 2019
ByMARK BRENNAN 21 minutes ago
Penn State basketball is trusting a process with its latest verbal commitment. On Tuesday night, the Nittany Lions received a pledge from Class of 2019 forward Abdou Tsimbila of St. Maria Goretti High in Hagerstown, Md.
Tsimbila is a 6-foot-8, 225-pounder who played his first season in the United States last year. Prior to that, his only experience was in his native Cameroon. The African nation, of course, has gained a measure of notoriety among American basketball fans because it is the home of Philadelphia 76ers’ superstar Joel Embiid, aka “The Process.”
While nobody is expecting Embiid-like things for Tsimbila — his other most notable offers as of this writing were from George Mason, South Alabama and Coppin State — Pat Chambers and his staff made their offer in early May no doubt attempting to beat a rush that may come when summer-league ball really heats up this month.
"I am committing to this school because they have everything I need and I’m really happy to (join) a big family and I want to say thank you to Coach Chambers and Coach (Keith) Urgo for giving me the opportunity,” Tsimbila said via Twitter.
Tsimbila is said to still be adjusting to the American game, and is thought to have a significant upside. He is considered a physical post presence who can block shots, rebound well and score close to the bucket. He reportedly has a solid hook shot. His game (to this point, at least) as been compared to that of a young Mike Watkins.
Prep Hoops contributor Adam Ayalew posted a short video of Tsimbila in recent action at The Hoops Group Team Camp.
In a story from HagerstownSports.com last season, high school teammate RJ Blakney raved about Tsimbila, saying, “He’s a big dude. He goes hard every moment. He’s the big difference in our team from last year.”
In the same piece, Goretti coach Matt Miller said, “When I first met him, I was like, ‘Man, this kid is huge.’ He eats up a lot of space. You see high school kids 6-8, 6-9, 6-10. They don’t look like him. He may be that wide.”
But he is also reportedly very raw — again, owing to his limited time playing ball in the United States. Nevertheless, Penn State brought him in for a visit in the spring and was said to be so impressed by what it saw of Tsimbila as an athlete and person that it offered.
Tuesday night, he took the Nittany Lions up on the offer.
Tsimbila is the second member of Chambers’ Class of 2019, joining Virginia small forward Patrick Kelly. Kelly committed to the Lions in February over offers from UNLV, Providence and others.
Penn State is coming off a season where it went 26-13 and won the NIT. The Nittany Lions went 9-9 in the Big Ten and advanced to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
Not long after the season, Chambers, who took over the program in 2011, was rewarded with a contract extension through the 2021-22 season. That extension became official May 3, or two days before Tsimbila scored his offer.
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What happened to the great recruiting? Did the Philadelphia pipeline dry up already? I have been a Pat supporter for a long time where my belief was to give him time provided: 1) team continues to improve and 2) recruitment continues to improve. If PSU play drops off in 2019, then it will be hard to back this guy. Hoping for the best that these kids are diamonds in the ruff.
I know that there aren't many individuals who refer to our school as the "University of Penn State", but Pat has found one of them.
Goretti plays in the BCL vs Mt St Joes, John Carroll, ST Frances and other top basketball programs in Baltimore. He plays tough competition and held his own against Jalen 'Sticks' Smith who is a top 25 player who made Mickey D game. Had 17 and 12 I believe in the conference tourney this spring. No offensive game other than 5 feet and in but he plays hard.
Yeah, I think Coach Franklin would look twice at this guy, based on this description and the pic from the front page of this site.
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The kid is a Penn Stater now. Welcome to the family.
This makes sense if the staff sees themselves as no longer being in contention for Oscar Tshiebwe from Kennedy Catholic. He was probably at the top of the staff’s 2019 board, but his recruitment looks like a WVU/Pitt battle at this point.
We’ll see how the summer plays out for Tsimbila (it’s not uncommon for guys to shoot up in the rankings during these summer circuits), but I’d rather take a raw, athletic big than a more polished big who doesn’t have the athleticism to play at this level.
We’ll see how the summer plays out for Tsimbila (it’s not uncommon for guys to shoot up in the rankings during these summer circuits), but I’d rather take a raw, athletic big than a more polished big who doesn’t have the athleticism to play at this level.
They have some real studs coming in in this class, although none are low post guys. If guys like this are going to blow up, it’s during the summer league AAU season before their senior year. This is when Chambers can get guys with upside and high end physical ability. If he waited until the fall, he’d be competing against programs with much greater history and sizzle. This is a good recruit that we should be happy about.
Jones, Dread and Bolton might become our best backcourt ever. They are all really good. Obviously a long way to go but the potential is there.
Yep, Pat has been pretty good at recruiting guards. But if he can't recruit bigs after his best season, winning the NIT, then is there any hope that he will ever be able to regularly compete for the 3 and 4 star big men necessary to compete for league championship and regular NCAA bids?
He probably did that on purpose when he saw that Mark Brennan couldn't spell "Cameroonian."
College hoops is all about guards now, so is the NBA. Don't need some dominant big. Sure would be nice to have some talented 6'8 plus guys as wing men or PF though.
my recollection is that Jay Wright struggled for a while to recruit big men .... I recall years where he was playing 4 guards. Then he started to get the good, bigger wings and big men. Hopefully we get there soon.
This kid and Kelly will be rated and very solid kids for 2019. Need to close with 2 high profile guys, though.
I don't understand the optimism that exists with this program....also, I keep waiting to see Chambers actually recruit well in Philly other than 3-4 guys. Hopefully the kid works out but it's a gamble early in the process.
If you have to ask why it takes so long for Chambers to recruit well in Philly then you know nothing of the SouthEast PA Boy's Basketball Machine. It's like interscholastic Tammany Hall.
I was told he was the only the coach that we can get that can get Philly players...he's still not doing that. Clearly we should give him another 15 years to start. I understand the issues that exist. Chambers isn't a good enough coach that we should be keeping him if he can't land Philly kids
History seems to indicate he’s recruiting better than those before him ever did. If you expect every kid he signs to be top 100, you’re kidding yourself about reality
Even with Carr gone, next year’s team should be one of the 3 best PSU teams in 25 years.
I’m not saying this is amazing, but, 6 months ago people wanted Pat out because Ed DeChellis won the NIT in his 6th season and went to the NCAA in his 8th. They said Pat couldn’t even match that. Well, now Pat has won the NIT in his 7th season and may go to the NCAA in his 8th. And, he has had one player drafted into the NBA. I think Pat has done fine with the program. I also thought Ed did OK and Dunn did fine. It is pretty clear at this point that it is not an easy job
Who said anything about top 100? I expect us to land Philly kids on a regular basis. Not yearly but far more often than we are.
First off, I disagree about next year's team but time will tell. I want Pat out because he still hasn't made an NCAA tournament. "May go" to the NCAA in his 8th isn't good enough. I think we refuse to spend to build the program. Our non-conference schedule next year is going to make it very difficult for us to make the NCAAs with less than 12 conference wins--it was released today.
If "we refuse to spend to build the program" and you want Pat out-who so you think is going to make it better? Because if we refuse to spend then no one good will be willing to take over and improve.
I want to actually spend money on a competent coach that can recruit. We know what Chambers is and it's not good enough. Would someone come here if we actually paid them? Who knows but there's only one way to find out...keeping Chambers while hoping for mediocrity isn't the answer. Are you seriously happy/content with 2019 recruiting thus far/
We landed 3 from Philly in 2016, and Harrar and Brockington are from philly last year, so clearly you are referring to top 100 rather than just being from Philly.
Our non-con for 2018-2019 is significantly stronger than last year’s. I expect that we’d be very competitive for a bid with a .500 conference record.
Morelli may have as well, but I also remember DW saying UPenn State during his Espn announcement.
Just to expand on this a little, the OOC slate presents three very realistic chances for quadrant one wins between Virginia Tech, NC State (neutral), and Alabama (road), along with a number of opportunities for potential quadrant two wins. Last year had A&M, NC State, and pretty much entirely Q3s and Q4s after that.
Well I think we are probably in agreement that he should be gone if he misses the NCAA next season. And, I am almost certain that he will be gone if he misses the NCAA next season. We disagree, perhaps, about the likelihood of him making the dance. I think it is quite likely, despite the loss of Carr.
PSU held onto both Ed and Dunn for 8 years each. Ed did not make the NCAA until year 8 and, in general, people were expecting him to be around for at least one more year after that.
Also I'm not really sure what throwing money at this program would do. Some people think it is the answer and we would land a top-tier coach. I doubt we would, and, even if we did, we'd be looking at two to three horrible years before things got better, at which point the coach may move on anyway. The answer is longevity, although results are needed. It was extremely disappointing that Pat could not make the NCAA with either DJ Newbill or Tony Carr. However, Pat did improve the program by increasing our presence in logical recruiting areas. The last two coaches were not good at that
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He won't be gone. Schools don't sign extensions and then fire the coach the following year. He's got at least two more years.
I haven't seen one poster say every kid he signs should be top 100.
But is it unreasonable to believe he should be getting 3 star big men after a successful season, with all his Philly ties and other relationships he has been building for 8 recruiting classes??
Or unreasonable to expect that after getting 2 commits for the 2019 class, at least one of them should have at least 1 star??
If this is Pat's reality, it really is time to try another coach.
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