Penn State basketball opens its second season under head coach Patrick Chambers Friday night against Saint Francis at 7 p.m.
The Nittany Lions are looking to improve on last season’s 12-20 record and are poised to do so with the addition of talented sophomore guard DJ Newbill and the return of preseason All-Big Ten senior guard Tim Frazier.
“What we are shooting for is creating the best habits we can every single day and being as consistent as we can with our effort and our attitude,” Chambers said earlier in the week.
“I do think this team is more talented [than last year]. I think we can get more. Does that mean more wins? I hope so. It better. For my sake. For Tim Fraizer and for all these seniors. We just need habits, attitude, keep laying the foundation, keep coming out every single night and give ourselves a chance to win.”
Sophomore forwards Jon Graham and Ross Travis along with junior guard Jermaine Marshall will look to add depth to Penn State’s scoring arsenal, but Frazier and Newbill will likely be the main attraction on the offensive side of the ball.
Frazier returns after a junior season that saw him lead the Big Ten in assists (6.2) and finishing second in scoring (18.8) and steals (2.4). Frazier was also the only Division I player to average at least 17 points and six assists per game and set a Penn State season assist record with 198. He is currently 30 points shy of being the 30th Nittany Lion to break the 1,000 point mark and 157 assists from breaking the Nittany Lion career assist mark.
Even so, the unnaturally athletic senior will take all the help he can get.
“[Travis] is one of the most valuable players on the team,” Chambers said. “He can play the three and the four, especially the three, he is critical to a lot of things that we are trying to do here. He can play at a very high level. He is going to be really big for us. I feel as if he is going to have a breakout year.”
Penn State is 8-2 all-time against Saint Francis and will need to learn all it can from Friday night’s contest before heading to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off next week for a two-day tournament that will begin with a matchup against No. 6 N.C. State.
The Nittany Lions will then return home for seven of the next eight games before starting Big Ten play in Madison against the Badgers.
“There are a lot of great teams, a lot of good early competition and it will let us know exactly where we are and what we have to work on and prepare for the Big Ten.’
Saint Francis is coached by first-year head coach Rob Krimmel. He is a 1996 graduate of State College Area High School and his father, Bob, was assistant athletic director from 1998-2005.
Frazier, Newbill, Marshall, Travis, and Graham will constitute the projected starting lineup for the Nittany Lions following a season that saw more than 20 different starting combinations at tip.
Penn State has won its last seven season openers and is embarking on the 117th year of the program.
