The recruiting is better on paper. Doesn’t always translate on the floor. And Chambers is so far below the line on game day it might not matter who he brings in here. If Penn State was serious about hoops Chambers would be gone by now. Year 8 or something and apologists still defend this guy.
The recruiting is better. We have to give credit where due. I have been watching this program for 25 years and it has never had players as talented as in the last three seasons. In fact, it has never really been that close.
But the outcome isn't any better than in the days when our recruits' only other offers were Richmond and Kent State.
Every coach has had their own traits.
Under Dunn, fundamentals and shooting tended to be very good. A Dunn team would not have gone 11-26 at the line. He had other weaknesses. He was a bad recruiter but able to develop players once they got here. But probably the best of our last three coaches if we are being honest.
DeChellis was, IMO, a ridiculous choice and I still cannot believe he got hired. He was, however, able to figure things out and eventually was out-coaching a number of his B1G peers. His recruiting was OK, but he basically gave up on key geographic areas. The fundamentals were not as good as under Dunn.
With Chambers, the strengths are recruiting and his pressure defenses. The fundamentals aren't good. The in-game coaching is not good.
So, in terms of fundamentals, we have Dunn > DeChellis > Chambers. Let' s look at what each did in 8 years:
Chambers - 1 NIT (champion)
DeChellis - 2 NITs (1 1st rd, 1 champion), 1 NCAA (1st rd)
Dunn - 2 NITs (2 NIT final 4), 2 NCAAs (1st rd, S16)
Remember when everyone wanted to run Dunn out of town for two NCAAs in eight years? Now we are 16 years on and we have gotten worse.
The answer is a coach who really teaches the game. Bo Ryan at Wisconsin was the model of what PSU should do.