Pat Chambers had Penn State playing as well as Penn State has ever looked on a basketball floor at the end of last year. We had 3 real signature moments as a program last year that are part of Pat's story, part of Penn State's basketball story.
Firing Chambers now ends the story of a coach who could ultimately have an incredible story if we give him more time. Ending his story right now to go after the next mid major whatever with no ties to Penn State in my opinion would be a colossal mistake. End Pat's story to get a mid major whoever who is pretty much guaranteed to fail if you look at the history of Penn State basketball and understand the competition we are up against?
Fire Chambers for Coach K? Fire Chambers for Jay Wright? Fire Chambers for a Fred Hoisberg? Sure.
End Pat's story to hire some guy the casual Penn State fan has never heard of? No way.
SIGNATURE MOMENT 1
We beat Ohio State on their floor at the buzzer from half court, humiliated them in our building in front of the best crowd I have seen at the BJC in quite some time and then beat them at the buzzer on Friday night in MSG with an incredible sequence of plays. Shep's clutch steal, a a senior playing his ass off. Then you have Gus Johnson making the kind of call he dreams about having. The Philly kid Carr is schoolyard faking out his man and hits a cutting Reaves for a dunk to win. Beating an Ohio State that was ranked in the top at one point 3 times in one season, and to do it the way we did, it's one of the great things Penn State has ever done as a basketball program, and it was done with the constant hype of "PHILLY PLAYERS."
SIGNATURE MOMENT 2
Getting to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament the year it was at Madison Square Garden. Chambers had been through a lot for 7 years, career is at stake, a potential NCAA bid had pretty much slipped away, the team had lost 3 in a row and Watkins was done for the year. With where he was in his career, with where his team was physically and mentally heading into the Big Ten Tournament when it's your ONE shot to play this tournament at Madison Square Garden, what Chambers and the team accomplished was absolutely a signature moment for the program and for Pat Chambers. It would have shocked no one if Penn State lost quietly in the first round to Scott Collins and Northwestern. Our one shot in MSG, 1 and done. Penn State took care of Northwestern without Watkins. Then we get a primetime game with Ohio State Friday night against an Ohio State team that likely wanted to win no game all year more than that game. They couldn't have been more motivated for revenge and it's New Work City at primetime and the Big Ten is the only major conference playing its tournament so the game was on everywhere if you wanted to watch college basketball. To win that game, against the team we beat, in the building we beat them in, in the style that we did, absolute signature moment for Penn State basketball and Pat Chambers. It's part of his story and it's not even a year old
SIGNATURE 3
Winning the NIT. Barely escape Temple when Carr played like he had checked out, but Garner comes up with huge shots late. We play like we care and play well at Notre Dame and win. Then we go play a Marquette who barely missed the NCAA's in their bandbox gym and play a really high level game. The way we executed on the road in that packed tiny gym against a good team was as impressive a performance as we had all year. Then we go back to MSG where we just had one of the signature moments in Penn State basketball history and embarrass Ben Howland and Mississippi State in the semifinals and embarrass Utah and Larry Krystkowiak. You know who likes Larry Krystkowiak? Sandy Barbour. Sandy saw a coach she respects get embarrassed by Pat Chambers. I don't want to hear it was the NIT.
Fran Dunphy NCAA TOURNAMENT COACH
Mike Brey NCAA TOURNAMENT COACH
Steve Wojciechowski NCAA TOURNAMENT COACH AND RISING STAR
Ben Howland NCAA TOURNAMENT COACH
Larry Krystkowiak NCAA TOURNAMENT COACH
How many NCAA Tournament appearances and NCAA Tournament games coached between those coaches? Pat won 5 in a row against that group. 2 on the road and 2 at MSG. Woj is a rising star and the other 4 are as respected in coaching for getting the most out of their talent and winning as any guys in college basketball. How does a guy who can't coach who lost his stud big man beat those 5 coaches in a couple week tournament with only one game played at home? Penn State will never beat a list of coaches that good in a tournament ever again and I'm being told Pat Chambers isn't a good coach? This tournament also brought a ton of exposure to the success the "PHILLY" kids were having.
How long Pat Chambers has been at Penn State is becoming a bigger story. Many can't believe it. With the attention that is now getting with the still realistic chance to win next year and in the future with what is returning and coming in, there isn't a chance in hell I'm going in a different direction.
If Pat Chambers does get this going with the returning talent the fact that he's been at Penn State for 10 years becomes something he can leverage big time in recruiting. He'll have an amazing story to sell and tell recruits starting with the Jerry Sandusky debacle 5 months into the job for him. He's recruiting in areas where we have never had success and going into gyms, he's completely unproven and even unknown to some, he's representing a school with no winning tradition in basketball and has now become famous for having a creepy old man use the football facility to molest children. That was his reality. You think the Sandusky thing helped recruiting when he's already behind the 8 ball with the seniors, juniors and even sophomores in high school because of the timing of getting the job? That has a major impact on the won/loss record obviously which is why Franklin lives and breathes recruiting.
I'm not blowing up Pat's potential story which took forever to get to this point, blow up what could be a very good roster/team moving forward, blow up the connection to getting us going in Philly and the DMV, throwing away the signature moments and achievements of the 17'-18' team. You break the chain to that team and what led up to building that team, you take away some of the significance of what they achieved and how it can be leveraged. The new coach is a stranger and the roster likely looks completely different.
Penn State is not going to break the bank for a basketball coach and that doesn't always guarantee results. Whatever could be gained or is likely to be gained with a coaching change this far into the process with Pat with the pieces that will be in the program and Pat having proven last year he can come up big on the floor with a 26 win season and NIT Championship is not worth blowing up what can be gained by staying patient. Pat and Penn State can leverage stability and preach family and success. With Penn State's history and what is likely to happen with a coaching change, in a zillion years I'm not removing Pat Chambers when getting over the hump in the next few years could be leveraged in so many ways by Pat Chambers and the program. It's hard to get to your 10th year at a program and the coaches that do get lots of attention and respect in the media.
For Penn State to be able to say Pat Chambers is in his 15th year on the bench is what I honestly believe Penn State needs if it's ever going to become relevant in the Big Ten consistently. We need our Boeheim or Calhoun. I'm talking about on court success only.
We've gotten this far down the path with Pat Chambers and we have good pieces that are getting great experiences this year. We have good recruits coming.
No coach we could possibly bring in in my opinion justifies terminating the Pat Chambers story at Penn State and the Philly story he has brought to the program which is turning into the DMV story as well. Getting Pat to a 10th year, that stability, that chain to Newbill and Frazier, Carr getting drafted, Shep becoming the all time leading 3 point shooter in school history, all that stuff would be big for Penn State and it's story on the college basketball scene.
The longer he stays the bigger the potential bust out if he's successful. It takes too long to get a coach to a 10th year and I believe a program like Penn State with its reputation and place in college basketball history needs that coach who was there for 20 years. That can bring some lasting change.
Firing Chambers now ends the story of a coach who could ultimately have an incredible story if we give him more time. Ending his story right now to go after the next mid major whatever with no ties to Penn State in my opinion would be a colossal mistake. End Pat's story to get a mid major whoever who is pretty much guaranteed to fail if you look at the history of Penn State basketball and understand the competition we are up against?
Fire Chambers for Coach K? Fire Chambers for Jay Wright? Fire Chambers for a Fred Hoisberg? Sure.
End Pat's story to hire some guy the casual Penn State fan has never heard of? No way.
SIGNATURE MOMENT 1
We beat Ohio State on their floor at the buzzer from half court, humiliated them in our building in front of the best crowd I have seen at the BJC in quite some time and then beat them at the buzzer on Friday night in MSG with an incredible sequence of plays. Shep's clutch steal, a a senior playing his ass off. Then you have Gus Johnson making the kind of call he dreams about having. The Philly kid Carr is schoolyard faking out his man and hits a cutting Reaves for a dunk to win. Beating an Ohio State that was ranked in the top at one point 3 times in one season, and to do it the way we did, it's one of the great things Penn State has ever done as a basketball program, and it was done with the constant hype of "PHILLY PLAYERS."
SIGNATURE MOMENT 2
Getting to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament the year it was at Madison Square Garden. Chambers had been through a lot for 7 years, career is at stake, a potential NCAA bid had pretty much slipped away, the team had lost 3 in a row and Watkins was done for the year. With where he was in his career, with where his team was physically and mentally heading into the Big Ten Tournament when it's your ONE shot to play this tournament at Madison Square Garden, what Chambers and the team accomplished was absolutely a signature moment for the program and for Pat Chambers. It would have shocked no one if Penn State lost quietly in the first round to Scott Collins and Northwestern. Our one shot in MSG, 1 and done. Penn State took care of Northwestern without Watkins. Then we get a primetime game with Ohio State Friday night against an Ohio State team that likely wanted to win no game all year more than that game. They couldn't have been more motivated for revenge and it's New Work City at primetime and the Big Ten is the only major conference playing its tournament so the game was on everywhere if you wanted to watch college basketball. To win that game, against the team we beat, in the building we beat them in, in the style that we did, absolute signature moment for Penn State basketball and Pat Chambers. It's part of his story and it's not even a year old
SIGNATURE 3
Winning the NIT. Barely escape Temple when Carr played like he had checked out, but Garner comes up with huge shots late. We play like we care and play well at Notre Dame and win. Then we go play a Marquette who barely missed the NCAA's in their bandbox gym and play a really high level game. The way we executed on the road in that packed tiny gym against a good team was as impressive a performance as we had all year. Then we go back to MSG where we just had one of the signature moments in Penn State basketball history and embarrass Ben Howland and Mississippi State in the semifinals and embarrass Utah and Larry Krystkowiak. You know who likes Larry Krystkowiak? Sandy Barbour. Sandy saw a coach she respects get embarrassed by Pat Chambers. I don't want to hear it was the NIT.
Fran Dunphy NCAA TOURNAMENT COACH
Mike Brey NCAA TOURNAMENT COACH
Steve Wojciechowski NCAA TOURNAMENT COACH AND RISING STAR
Ben Howland NCAA TOURNAMENT COACH
Larry Krystkowiak NCAA TOURNAMENT COACH
How many NCAA Tournament appearances and NCAA Tournament games coached between those coaches? Pat won 5 in a row against that group. 2 on the road and 2 at MSG. Woj is a rising star and the other 4 are as respected in coaching for getting the most out of their talent and winning as any guys in college basketball. How does a guy who can't coach who lost his stud big man beat those 5 coaches in a couple week tournament with only one game played at home? Penn State will never beat a list of coaches that good in a tournament ever again and I'm being told Pat Chambers isn't a good coach? This tournament also brought a ton of exposure to the success the "PHILLY" kids were having.
How long Pat Chambers has been at Penn State is becoming a bigger story. Many can't believe it. With the attention that is now getting with the still realistic chance to win next year and in the future with what is returning and coming in, there isn't a chance in hell I'm going in a different direction.
If Pat Chambers does get this going with the returning talent the fact that he's been at Penn State for 10 years becomes something he can leverage big time in recruiting. He'll have an amazing story to sell and tell recruits starting with the Jerry Sandusky debacle 5 months into the job for him. He's recruiting in areas where we have never had success and going into gyms, he's completely unproven and even unknown to some, he's representing a school with no winning tradition in basketball and has now become famous for having a creepy old man use the football facility to molest children. That was his reality. You think the Sandusky thing helped recruiting when he's already behind the 8 ball with the seniors, juniors and even sophomores in high school because of the timing of getting the job? That has a major impact on the won/loss record obviously which is why Franklin lives and breathes recruiting.
I'm not blowing up Pat's potential story which took forever to get to this point, blow up what could be a very good roster/team moving forward, blow up the connection to getting us going in Philly and the DMV, throwing away the signature moments and achievements of the 17'-18' team. You break the chain to that team and what led up to building that team, you take away some of the significance of what they achieved and how it can be leveraged. The new coach is a stranger and the roster likely looks completely different.
Penn State is not going to break the bank for a basketball coach and that doesn't always guarantee results. Whatever could be gained or is likely to be gained with a coaching change this far into the process with Pat with the pieces that will be in the program and Pat having proven last year he can come up big on the floor with a 26 win season and NIT Championship is not worth blowing up what can be gained by staying patient. Pat and Penn State can leverage stability and preach family and success. With Penn State's history and what is likely to happen with a coaching change, in a zillion years I'm not removing Pat Chambers when getting over the hump in the next few years could be leveraged in so many ways by Pat Chambers and the program. It's hard to get to your 10th year at a program and the coaches that do get lots of attention and respect in the media.
For Penn State to be able to say Pat Chambers is in his 15th year on the bench is what I honestly believe Penn State needs if it's ever going to become relevant in the Big Ten consistently. We need our Boeheim or Calhoun. I'm talking about on court success only.
We've gotten this far down the path with Pat Chambers and we have good pieces that are getting great experiences this year. We have good recruits coming.
No coach we could possibly bring in in my opinion justifies terminating the Pat Chambers story at Penn State and the Philly story he has brought to the program which is turning into the DMV story as well. Getting Pat to a 10th year, that stability, that chain to Newbill and Frazier, Carr getting drafted, Shep becoming the all time leading 3 point shooter in school history, all that stuff would be big for Penn State and it's story on the college basketball scene.
The longer he stays the bigger the potential bust out if he's successful. It takes too long to get a coach to a 10th year and I believe a program like Penn State with its reputation and place in college basketball history needs that coach who was there for 20 years. That can bring some lasting change.
Last edited:
