Show Chambers some love !!!

[DonnellyK]

PSU has an outstanding young coach who is working his butt off to make your program better. This year he is bringing in several high impact recruits who will help make PSU competitive in the Big Ten. But when I see your games on TV, the stands are two thirds empty. Shame on you guys for not supporting your basketball program. Believe me, as MSU can testify, a strong basketball program also helps with football recruiting. Coach Chambers deserves better, and so do the student athletes who commit to play basketball for the Lions.

 

[fairfaxlion2]

PSU has an outstanding young coach who is working his butt off to make your program better. This year he is bringing in several high impact recruits who will help make PSU competitive in the Big Ten. But when I see your games on TV, the stands are two thirds empty. Shame on you guys for not supporting your basketball program. Believe me, as MSU can testify, a strong basketball program also helps with football recruiting. Coach Chambers deserves better, and so do the student athletes who commit to play basketball for the Lions.

Interest in the program was demolished under the inept management of Tim Curley, who replaced a good coach with a mediocre one, and then another mediocre one before hiring Chambers. It was two decades of mostly being at the bottom of the conference and sometimes the entire NCAA. It takes a lot to regain interest but go back and look at film from 95-96 ( if you can find any). The fans will fill the place when they believe the program is really doing something.

 

[pap17754]

fairfaxlion2, I question who the "good coach" was. When Parkhill suddenly quit Jerry Dunne was hired. He was the man who emptied the BJC, did not recruit well and never took advantage of the brand new BJC. I was a season ticket holder from before the move to the BJC and up to two years ago. Nothing worked, Ed couldn't overcome the injuries to his key players and he had zero depth. I agree that coach Chambers will have five outstanding freshmen arriving next year, it may take a year or two to get them acclimated to B10 basketball, but let us all hope and support the effort.

 

[Paciencia]

PSU has an outstanding young coach who is working his butt off to make your program better. This year he is bringing in several high impact recruits who will help make PSU competitive in the Big Ten. But when I see your games on TV, the stands are two thirds empty. Shame on you guys for not supporting your basketball program. Believe me, as MSU can testify, a strong basketball program also helps with football recruiting. Coach Chambers deserves better, and so do the student athletes who commit to play basketball for the Lions.

It's been a very slow process, but awareness of what is going on with basketball is probably at an all time high.

A message was sent to fans for far too long that basketball didn't matter. For 30 years Parkhill and his two assistants led this program. When the program isn't exactly a national juggernaut, how can the same staff of guys run the program for 30 years? Ed Dechellis coming back wasn't exactly the same thing as UNC getting Roy Williams to come back.

The team has to have real expectations going into a season, it has to meet or exceed those expectations, and it has to sustain to sustain success for multiple years. That has never happened since joining the Big Ten, really has never happened ever depending on your definition of real success.

Chambers has had the kids competing, they are known for being a pain in the a$$ to play. Now he's getting the recruits.

People are getting excited, trust me.

 

[fairfaxlion2]

fairfaxlion2, I question who the "good coach" was. When Parkhill suddenly quit Jerry Dunne was hired. He was the man who emptied the BJC, did not recruit well and never took advantage of the brand new BJC. I was a season ticket holder from before the move to the BJC and up to two years ago. Nothing worked, Ed couldn't overcome the injuries to his key players and he had zero depth. I agree that coach Chambers will have five outstanding freshmen arriving next year, it may take a year or two to get them acclimated to B10 basketball, but let us all hope and support the effort.

Parkhill was the good coach. His two assistants, Dunn and DeChellis, were not good (although they were annoyingly just good enough to occasionally assemble a semi-OK team and hold onto their jobs for too long).

 

[AveryIsInnocent]

PS is a football school. Nobody cares!

 

[aferrelli]

PS is a football school. Nobody cares!

Why would you even say that? Basketball and football coexist very well in many programs. How can you even consider yourself a fan by saying that? It doesn't make much sense, and makes your subsequent remarks seem foolish, when you make such a remark.

 

[LAToner1]

PSU has an outstanding young coach who is working his butt off to make your program better. This year he is bringing in several high impact recruits who will help make PSU competitive in the Big Ten. But when I see your games on TV, the stands are two thirds empty. Shame on you guys for not supporting your basketball program. Believe me, as MSU can testify, a strong basketball program also helps with football recruiting. Coach Chambers deserves better, and so do the student athletes who commit to play basketball for the Lions.

There is NO doubt about it, PSU can take a HUGE step in the next couple years... I think Chambers is a very good coach, and I KNOW he's a great recruiter. I hope he can translate that into wins on the BBall floor. I'm NOT a wet blanket... just a realist. I'm hoping for the best, and waiting to see what happens. If Chambers can turn the corner over the next few years, parlay that into MULTIPLE great recruiting classes back to back, and put us in contention on the National and BiG scene... I WILL PROCLAIM FROM THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN I CAN FIND... the accolades of Pat Chambers. I just hate to get ahead of things...

 

[PSUGRAD9095]

There is NO doubt about it, PSU can take a HUGE step in the next couple years... I think Chambers is a very good coach, and I KNOW he's a great recruiter. I hope he can translate that into wins on the BBall floor. I'm NOT a wet blanket... just a realist. I'm hoping for the best, and waiting to see what happens. If Chambers can turn the corner over the next few years, parlay that into MULTIPLE great recruiting classes back to back, and put us in contention on the National and BiG scene... I WILL PROCLAIM FROM THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN I CAN FIND... the accolades of Pat Chambers. I just hate to get ahead of things...

Football guy and hoops newbie on this Board. I'm one of the 10,000 empty seats for most basketball games.

It is a sports culture issue to be sure. I live 2 hours from Happy Valley and haven't missed a home football game in 4 years . . . 14 if you take out wedding (1), funeral (1), and daughter's confirmation (1).

Have never had season tix for hoops--just don't love college hoops enough to invest in traveling to Happy Valley for the games. In some places that dynamic is reversed.

Winning won't change that. I'll catch 2-3 games a year if PSU emerges as a competitive B1G program . . . but that's it. Just not worth my 2 hour drive to see ANY hoops team.

Not bashing those of you who love hoops--but I'm not alone--the PSU fan base just doesn't 'get' basketball by and large.

Fan base at PSU values Football as #1, Wrestling as #2, and Men's Hockey as a strong #3 right now--Men's Hoops a distant 4th IMO. Can that change if Chambers' diaper dandies take the B1G by storm? Sure . . . Hoops swaps w/ Hockey. Football will always be #1, and as long as Sanderson keeps winning NCAA titles, Wrestling #2.

We ARE . . . .

 

[Ian]

JDunn got to the elite 8... Yes, with Parkhills players, but still he beat UNC then lost to Temple. Eddie D won the NIT and got to the Dance, but lost to Temple! It can be "Dunn". The question is can it be sustained????

Chambers is breaking the mold by going after studs in the key recruiting corridor that is NY-DC. No other PSU coach has ever tried. That's why it's taking time. PSU is in unchartered waters. The next five years will tell us if we are the next Duke, UConn, etc.... Yes, it can be, but. That's how it started for K and Calhoun. Same with Syracue and Boeheim. You have to get at least one elite player from that area every year.

 

[fairfaxlion2]

JDunn got to the elite 8... Yes, with Parkhills players, but still he beat UNC then lost to Temple. Eddie D won the NIT and got to the Dance, but lost to Temple! It can be "Dunn". The question is can it be sustained????

Chambers is breaking the mold by going after studs in the key recruiting corridor that is NY-DC. No other PSU coach has ever tried. That's why it's taking time. PSU is in unchartered waters. The next five years will tell us if we are the next Duke, UConn, etc.... Yes, it can be, but. That's how it started for K and Calhoun. Same with Syracue and Boeheim. You have to get at least one elite player from that area every year.

Dunn got to the Sweet 16, not the Elite 8. And it was with his own players, not Parkhill's; that season was Dunn's sixth as head coach.

The program ran for 25 years on Bruce Parkhill and his two assistants. They were all basically mediocre coaches, with Parkhill moderately better than the other two. It made no sense that they hung on to that model for two and a half decades in the Big Ten.

Chambers took on a very difficult task but seems to know exactly what he is doing. The fan interest will be there when the team is winning, especially for the Big Ten games. It was there in 1995-96, the arena was always filled.