Tim Frazier is on his way out after 2012-13. Who'll be his heir? (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images North America)
Yesterday marked the first day of two 10-day evaluation periods for all college basketball head coaches. If you don’t know what that means, basically these periods are the only time in the offseason for coaches to witness prospects play in-person, easily making this the biggest month in the recruiting year. It is during this time where all the dirtiness of AAU coaches, agents, shoe affiliates, etc. in the sport really shine. But let’s just turn a blind-eye to how all of these players are paying travel/boarding/registration fees for the 230+ NCAA-certified events that will be happening this month and focus on where we can expect to find Pat Chambers and his new staff out on the road.
First, a roster breakdown of the team going into the recruiting grind. Currently there is 1 available scholarship in each of the 2012 & 2013 classes, but I’d expect 1 or 2 more to open up before it’s all said and done. And no, just because Tre Bowman has already been given a wake-up call, doesn’t mean I think he’s gone. But here’s what the team has for the 2012 roster (if everyone stays):
Point Guards (2) : Tim Frazier, Trey Lewis
Shooting Guards (4): Jermaine Marshall, Matt Glover, Tre Bowman, Akosa Maduegbunam
Small Forwards (2): Ross Travis, Billy Oliver
Power Forwards (2): Jonathan Graham, Sasa Borovnjak
Centers (2): Peter Alexis, Pat Ackerman
Those last two scholarships have to go to a PG and a SF/PF if you ask me. Frazier is gone after the 12-13 season, and it’s imperative this team has a capable backup in place for the heir-apparent, Trey Lewis. I was surprised Akosa Maduegbunam was offered, not because of his lackluster ranking, but because he doesn’t seem to fill an immediate need on this roster. Speaking of Chambers’ first commit, this July period will offer Akosa a great chance to get evaluated against elite competition, as well.
Below is a list of events that Penn State likely will be seen at over the next week:
Reebok Breakout Challenge – July 5-9th Philadelphia University
Not surprised to see Chambers spotted here today at his alma-mater, although this is a camp for ‘under the radar’ prospects looking to ‘breakout’ against each other. Doesn’t make much sense to me, but still quality competition, nonetheless.
Good group of coaches here at Reebok Camp. Head coaches I've spotted Cuonzo Martin, Pat Chambers, Eric Reveno, Steve Masiello, Fran Dunphy
Attendees: Akosa Maduegbunam, Dallas Anglin, Charles Cooke, Jerome Frink, Donovan Jack, Tariq Carey, Miles Overton
Adidas Invitational – July 6-9 Indianapolis, IN
Attendees: Devin Thomas, Mike Zangari, Terrence Samuel, Devin Williams, Tony Farmer
Hoop Group Elite Session 1 – July 5-8 Reading, PA
Attendees: Geno Thorpe, Davon Reed, Jeremiah Worthem, Kethan Savage, Marcus Gilbert, Ja’Quan Newton (2014)
Lebron James Skills Academy – July 5-8 Akron, OH
Lebron’s academy is for the top 80 high school prospects in the nation. Penn State has a very small chance right now being in the picture for any of these guys, but I hope Chambers makes a PSU presence at the high-profile event. Amile Jefferson and Rondae Jefferson are the top uncommitted PA prospects at the camp.
I look forward to scouring twitter for Penn State’s whereabouts on the July circuit. More to come this month as PSU’s recruiting efforts hopefully become more focused.
Threw in that ‘basketball’ at the end, so you fools don’t get it twisted. No, this is not another unrated, ‘no-name’ football player who will spark more petty e-drama. Patrick Chambers got his first commitment to the program in just three and a half weeks. Akosa Maduegbunam (pronounced Mah-do-way-boo-nam) from Boston, MA committed on Tuesday, likely while he was still on campus. The 6’3″ combo guard is a 2012 prospect, who will occupy one of the two open scholarships remaining for the 2012-2013 season (plug: all of your scholarship inquiries about the team can be answered with the scholarship table listed on the front page of LBU).
The rising senior will be transferring from Charlestown High School this upcoming season to play at Winchendon Prep in the loaded NEPSAC. Winchendon will be his third high school, as he transferred to Charlestown from Cushing Academy after his freshman year. While at Charlestown for 2 seasons, he averaged 20 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and was an All-City selection twice. He is taking his talents to the NEPSAC at the urging of his Charlestown coach next season.
Akosa chose Penn State over offers from Temple, Drexel, New Hampshire, and Iona. He has an 82, 2-star rating at ESPN.com. As of right now, Maduegbunam certainly doesn’t seem to be much of a high-profile prospect, but what needs to be kept in mind is that he’s been playing in the recruiting shadows of the NEPSAC, and his AAU club, Expressions Elite, doesn’t appear at many of the high-profile AAU events. He will have his chance to make his mark in the NEPSAC next season when he’s at Winchendon. What we do know is that Maduegbunam and Coach Chambers share an unbreakable bond. From ESPN:
“I would say Coach Chambers is probably one of the best recruiters ever,” Maduegbunam said this afternoon by phone. “He just makes you feel really welcome, really wanted. I tried to evaluate coaches as to where they’ll be down the road. Somewhere along the line of life, I’ll stop playing basketball, and Coach Chambers is a guy who would be there at my wedding. He is more than just a college coach. It’s more than just basketball for him, it’s about character and personality. He found that in me, and I found that in him.”
Akosa’s been described as an athletic player who can attack the rim in transition and can shoot from range in the half-court. The one site out there who has followed Maduegbuna is Adam Finkelstein’s New England Basketball Recruiting Report. Many observations of Akosa’s performances have been logged at NERR in his profile page
“I always knew I wanted to go out of state,” Maduegbunam told the New England Recruiting Report, “so I almost thought it was a miracle when I heard that Pat Chambers was moving to Penn State.”
“I liked being under the radar,” Maduegbunam said. “I always knew I was a high-major kid and Pat Chambers knew it too.”
Akosa’s family hails from Nigeria, but he was born and raised in Boston, MA. You can get to know Akosa a little better from this piece from the Boston Globe.
Welcome, Akosa Maduegbunam, to the Penn State family! Your name is awesome, but I’m confident it will be no challenge to the Great Steve Jones.
If you paid any attention to Pat Chamber’s opening press conference and interviews, he has consistently reiterated the need for Penn State to improve its recruiting efforts and attract big time players to Penn State. I don’t think anyone’s disagreeing. If PSU ever wants to be a consistent presence in the top half of the Big Ten, they need to start bringing in prime-time ball players year after year.
Chambers’ history with the basketball scene in Philadelphia has been well-documented since news broke he would become the next head coach. Philly has been a hotbed of basketball talent that Penn State hasn’t been able to infiltrate, consistently losing out to the Big East, ACC, and Big Five for these highly-sought recruits. Many have already speculated that Chambers’ success here will directly be influenced by his ability to pull players out of Philadelphia.
After doing some brief research on Chamber’s lone stint as a head coach at Boston University, his Philadelphia connections are no joke. He inherited a very experienced team comprised of 9 listed seniors for the 2009-2010 season. This was basically the opposite situation that he’s inherited here, since he had many scholarships opening up for his first full recruiting class (2010). What Pat did with those scholarships was pretty remarkable. As you might’ve heard, Pat’s team last year had 10 new players: 7 freshmen and 3 transfers. Most, if not all of these players were committed prior to the start of Pat’s first season, or less than 7 months after he was hired. Of those 10 new players, 7 had a Philadelphia connection:
Player
Status
Connection
Matt Griffin
Transfer - Rider
From Narberth, attended St. Joseph's Prep HS
Darryl Partin
Transfer - La Salle
Played College Ball in Philadelphia
Mike Terry, Jr.
Freshman
From Philadelphia, attended Northeast Catholic HS
D.J. Irving
Freshman
From Chester, attended Archbishop Carroll HS
Travis Robinson
Freshman
From Philadelphia, attended Friends Central School
Dom Morris
Freshman
From Philadelphia, attended Friends Central School
Henry Gaskins
Freshman
From Philadelphia, attended Friends Central School
Almost all of them were big contributors to BU’s America East championship this past season. Henry Gaskins only logged 2 minutes all year and is not on next year’s roster, but the rest of the Philadelphians were in the regular rotation. Irving, Morris, and Partin started all season long, while Terry, Robinson, and Griffin appeared in at least 28 games. Pretty impressive recruiting haul by Chambers to turn these guys into champions (although it doesn’t hurt when you inherit someone as good as John Holland).
But as mentioned earlier, Chambers does not have plentiful scholarships at his disposable. The only casualty so far from the regime change was Dayton transfer Juwan Staten, who is moving on to West Virginia. The current and incoming players have all expressed the desire to remain on board with the program. Whether they’ll last their full eligibility remains to be seen, but for the time being, here’s what Chambers is working with:
2 scholarships for the 2012 class
1 scholarship for the 2013 class
5 scholarships for the 2014 class
A look into PA’s class of 2012 yields mixed results. The class is very strong, but Villanova already has a stranglehold on the situation. They’ve received commitments from Philadelphia-area players Dan Ochefu, Ryan Arcidiacono, and Savon Goodman, giving them the #2 recruiting class so far. DeChellis went after all of these guys to no avail, even though Goodman visited campus multiple times and Arcidiacono’s whole family went/goes to Penn State (except for his Villanova grad father). However, there’s still one gem in the City of Brotherly Love that is still uncommitted.
Meet Amile Jefferson.
If you follow basketball recruiting, you know him already. Amile has been on the radar for his elite skills for quite some time. ESPN has him at #26, Rivals at #34, and Scout at #21 overall for the class of 2012. There’s a solid chance he’ll be a McDonald’s All-American.
If you watch the video, you get a sense that Amile is a well-spoken, humble kid. The previous regime tried recruiting him hard, so he no doubt fits the ‘Penn State mold’. It’s certainly intriguing to hear him hint at an interest in business. With Chambers’ marketing degree and sales background along with SMEAL, PSU could seemingly have an edge in academics. But what’s most exciting about Jefferson is that he’s still ‘wide-open’ in the recruiting process, so it’s not like Chambers is already facing an uphill battle with his recruitment. The 6’8″, 195 lb PF/SF prospect has listed Villanova, Pitt, Syracuse, Wake Forest, NC State, Maryland, Georgetown, Ohio State, among many others, but insists he has yet to make a list.
Photo: Rivals.com
This is where Chambers’ Philly connections will play a factor. Amile Jefferson plays high school ball at Friends’ Central and hits the AAU circuit with Team Philly. Chambers already snagged 3 of Jefferson’s former teammates at Friends’ Central in his first class at BU. He also had a hand in Maalik Wayns’ recruitment to Villanova and brought Matt Griffin to BU, both former Team Philly AAU players. Chambers knows Jefferson and Jefferson likely knows Chambers, or at least many people that will vouch for him. When Pat’s been talking about hitting Philly hard, Amile Jefferson presumably is his target.
I don’t think one kid’s recruitment will determine Pat’s success as a recruiter in Philadelphia, but if he wants to make a statement early, Jefferson is his man. I expect Penn State to become a serious player in his recruitment in the coming summer months.
According to Robin Washut of Huskersonline, Nebraska’s Rivals affiliate, Junior College player Matt Glover will sign with Penn State today. Washut broke the news on twitter. The 6’4″ combo guard will have picked Penn State over Nebraska, Iowa, Utah State, and Iona. The California native will come to PSU from Sheridan CC in Sheridan, Wyoming where he averaged 11.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 3.8 APG in his freshman season.
Glover attended Tustin High School in Orange, CA prior to Sheridan and averaged 18.6 PPG, along with 6.1 APG and 7.5 RPG while leading his team to a 20-7 record. He was a non-qualifier coming out of HS, hence the path to Sheridan. He has been cleared by the NCAA and has 3 years of eligibility remaining.
Penn State got involved late with Glover’s recruitment, but closed on the sophomore after an official visit this weekend. Matt presumably must’ve given the staff a verbal before left or made his decision on his plane ride back home. Glover’s commitment grows PSU’s 2011 class to 5, along with Trey Lewis, Ross Travis, Peter Alexis, and Pat Ackerman.
There’s a lot of unknowns with Glover that will hopefully be discovered in the coming interviews after his signing. Many publications have listed Glover’s game as a point guard capable of playing on the wing. This would seem to contradict the staff’s current intentions of a coveted wing scorer. Is Glover primarily coming in as a PG (which would leave the Lions with 4 PGs)? Will Penn State continue to pursue Markus Crider and LaDontae Henton, despite theoretically having no scholarships to give?
It is unlikely we will find out any answers until an official release from the university. And that could come whenever. So for now: Welcome, Matt, to Penn State!
This is an unprecedented development in Nittany Lion hoops. I know I’ve never seen anything quite like this since I’ve been following the team the last decade. Penn State, for once, is actually adding a D-1 transfer and he is significantly better than Andrew Ott. In fact, he might be one of the most talented players the Lions ever had.
Meet Juwan Staten:
Mr. Staten, nicknamed ‘The Blur’, obviously has been blessed with some great athletic gifts. The 5’11″ 190 lb PG just wrapped up his freshman season at the University of Dayton where he averaged 8.5 PPG and 5.4 APG in 29.1 MPG. He finished with the 10th highest assist rate in the land (39.8%). For the record, Tim Frazier’s was a solid 33.3%, good for 43rd in the country.
If Juwan committed to Penn State coming out of high school, he would’ve been by far this program’s highest rated recruit ever, or at least since Pete Lisicky and definitely the highest since the rise of internet recruit rankings. He was a sure-fire top-100 prospect, coming in at #79 in RSCI’s class of 2010. Taran Buie, the man who unofficially held the aforementioned title, didn’t come close to cracking the top 100.
Now at this point you might be saying, come the hell on, what’s the catch? If this kid is so good, why was he at Dayton? And then why did he leave and come here?
I’ve been trying to find all of this out myself when I first heard he was visiting for Blue-White weekend. All I came across was a bunch of rambling bitterness across Dayton message boards. Clearly The Blur and his decision to transfer was a touchy subject to these people. But in my search for the story, I came across a great Dayton basketball blog written by Tom Blackburn called the Blackburn Review. When Staten’s transfer became official, I reached out to him to get his take on the controversy. Here’s what he had to say:
LBU: Juwan was very highly rated coming out of high school. Why did he choose Dayton and does his game match the hype?
BR: Location, location, location. I believe, and Staten’s recent comments back this up, that he was enamored with being a local hero. As you may know, Staten committed to UD at the end of his sophomore of high school. A verbal commitment from a sophomore in high school is about as firm as your grandmother’s ass. So, there was a bit of trepidation surrounding his true intentions. Staten attended Oak Hill for his senior year and that seemed to lend some credence to the fact that his commitment to Dayton was wavering (or he was at least open to hearing pitches from other schools again – why else transfer to Oak Hill for your senior season?). However, to my surprise, he faxed in his signature on Signing Day and Dayton had bagged its biggest commitment in recent memory. The rest is checkered history.
As far as his performance over his one season in Dayton, it was sort of up and down. Clearly the kid is talented; he has all the tools to be a successful college point guard. His perimeter shooting is a work in progress but was much improved over the second half of the season. He struggles guarding physical opposition, but it’s certainly not a major hindrance by any means. His biggest asset is his ability to penetrate and find the open man – he led the team with 5.4 assists per game.
Honestly, the sky is the limit for Staten. I’d be very excited if I were a Nittany Lion fan. He had a terrific freshman year and will only get better over the next four years.
LBU: Players with Staten’s talent don’t usually come to State College without some kind of baggage. There’s been a lot out there about his messy split from Dayton. Could you offer a brief chronological recap of his departure, and your thoughts about who was to blame?
BR: I think there is plenty of blame to go around. First and foremost, you have to question a kid with Staten’s talent and ability going to a place like Dayton in the first place. This is a program that has one NCAA tournament victory in the past twenty years – not exactly a launching pad to greatness or nationwide exposure. As I stated previously, it appears that Staten’s desire to remain close to home was the deciding factor in his college choice. He played on one of the country’s most visible AAU teams, Ohio Red, with guys like Jared Sullinger, Aaron Craft, Adreian Payne and Jordan Sibert among others. While those kids were going off to Ohio State and Michigan State, Staten was pledged to Dayton. It was a move that never made sense from my point of view. Not to say that Staten was slumming it at UD, just that a more prevalent program, one with a tacit history of developing talent, would have probably been a better fit from the outset.
The first crack in the foundation appeared at the end of January. I received a tip that Staten was considering transferring, that he wasn’t totally on board with the coaching philosophy, etc. There were rumors that some of the upperclassmen were jealous of the attention that Staten was allegedly receiving from the staff – which I assume means accusations of preferential treatment. Regardless, I think Staten saw the writing on the wall; his talents were better served at another school – and against better competition. We covered these issues in detail on our site – here and here.
Juwan Staten will have to
sit out 2011-2012.
PHOTO: Rivals.com
The most absurd result from all this was the asinine story coming out of UD’s camp after Staten announced his intent to transfer out of the program. There were actually people, and even media members, trying to convince Flyer fans that Brian Gregory had asked Staten not to return, that he was no longer welcome at UD. Which, of course, is complete and total bullshit. Staten wanted out of Dayton back in January, he didn’t need a push from Brian Gregory to convince himself that he was better off elsewhere. It was an embarrassing attempt at saving face by both the university and its fans, one that was laughed off by the more rational faction of the UD community. Brian Gregory could have begged on his hands and knees for Staten to stay and it wouldn’t have changed a thing. Staten was leaving on his accord, to indicate otherwise is disdainful at best.
A quick except from a post on the subject may sum it up succinctly:
As soon as the long-standing rumors were confirmed, the Dayton media and the university (yes, I realize those are interchangeable entities) were quick to get out in front of the story. According to reports, Brian Gregory told Staten to take a hike; his All-A10 Freshman performance and untapped potential were no longer welcome in these parts (to be fair, the Ice Trucker does point out that this particular account of events is a rather debatable point of contention – and really doesn’t change a thing about the story anyway). Which is odd considering that Staten was intent on leaving Dayton months before his fateful meeting with Gregory last week. It’s a rather hollow, not to mention callous, course of action to tell someone to leave when they already have their bags packed and are walking out the door (“Oh yeah, well I’ve been cheating on you ever since we broke up!”). But hey, it reads a lot better in the papers and you can at least wheedle some people into believing that you had the moral high ground. Middle America eats that shit up like a deep fried Twinkie.
LBU: There’s been a lot of negative talk about Juwan’s dad, Billy. What role did he play in all of this? Is he cause for concern?
BR: Not at all. Billy Staten became the strawman in this whole ordeal. Dayton fans didn’t know how to deal with Juwan’s departure and rather than place the blame on a 19 year-old kid, they shifted their sights onto Staten’s father. Reports indicated that Billy Staten was routinely attending practice and basically had an open-door policy with Brian Gregory’s office.
You could spin this in one of two ways: (1) Billy Staten was an overbearing father, who was determined to undermine UD basketball at every turn, or (2) Brian Gregory was complicit in allowing Staten’s father to become too much of an off-the-court distraction. Which narrative do you think your average UD fan bought into hook, line and sinker?
From my point of view, you’d be crazy not to place the onus on Gregory. I’d be hard to imagine a coach like Tom Izzo or Roy Williams opened his doors to a player’s parent and permitting them to voice concerns at their behest. Then again, there’s a reason those guys are successful coaches and Brian Gregory finished up his Dayton career with a 7-9 conference mark in the Atlantic Ten.
LBU: What system do you think Juwan is suited for best? Do you think PSU will be a good fit?
BR: Honestly, I think that Staten is a good fit for just about any kind of offense. He is extremely quick and athletic, and is almost impossible to stay in front of defensively. He would be best served playing in an offense that relies on his speed and penetration to trigger scoring opportunities. At Dayton, it seemed like his skills didn’t translate to the type of offense the Flyers were running. However, to put it in perspective, Dayton shot 43.6% from the floor – good enough (or bad enough) for 309Th best in the nation. So even with one of the worst shooting teams in the nation, Staten was still able to dish out 5.5 assists per game. This indicates what an effective and efficient player Staten was in his short time in Dayton.
I have no doubt that Staten is going to be a success at Penn State. He is a high-character and high-quality kid who is determined to get better every time he steps onto the court. It’s important to remember, Dayton fans wouldn’t be so bitter about his leaving if he couldn’t play. Staten is going to be an extremely solid player at PSU.
I have to be honest. When I was first heard the news that it was official he was coming here, I was pretty surprised. After reading rumors about the situation, I didn’t think the staff would take another chance on a kid that could potentially cause chemistry issues in the untouchable, family-on-three atmosphere Ed stresses. But after reading Tom’s perspective on his ‘baggage’, I’m very excited for Staten’s prospects in a PSU uniform. I think a year off will really help Staten mature and mesh with his future teammates, who judging by twitter interaction, he already knows. And while this might sound absolutely ridiculous, I’m impressed with how Staten conducts himself on the social media platform. It gives some credibility in my eyes to the high character, high intelligence reports.
David Jones offered his homework on Staten, too. It seems he does have an overbearing dad, but like Tom said, this is college basketball. His dad won’t be in State College, and he won’t be in Coach’s office 24/7. If somehow he is, then our coach deserves to be fired. If his dad becomes a problem, that’s the coach’s fault. Anyway, if Juwan was really that big of a risk, I don’t think Clemson, California, Louisville, West Virginia, or Michigan State would’ve been reaching out to get him.
Juwan’s arrival unofficially locks up the PG position for the next two years with Tim Frazier and Trey Lewis in the fold. The Blur will have to sit out the 2011-2012 season due to transfer rules, but will be a sophomore on the 2012-2013 squad. PSU still has 2 open scholarships, but over the next 2 years. They’ve already missed out on Anthony Hubbard and Josh Richardson, but I’d still expect them to fill one ‘ship this Spring with a ’3′ guy between:
We will get a clearer picture of what the staff will want to do with the 2012 class after this spring signing period, but some names to keep track of when AAU starts to pick up:
Matt Christiansen – 6’8″ F – visited in fall
Sean Sheldon – 6’9″ F – visited in fall, PSU at HS game in winter
Coach Nestor was unofficially the oldest DOBO ever. (Photo: PSU)
There were rumblings about this the past few days, but it is now official. Director of Basketball Operations Ernie Nestor is leaving his post at Penn State to become a member of Frank Haith’s new staff at Missouri. Quite frankly, we hardly got to know the guy as he didn’t even stay one full year, but this move shouldn’t be too surprising. DOBOs are usually stepping stone positions for young guys looking to get into the coaching profession. Ernie, however, was a former head coach and had 42 years of coaching experience before replacing former DOBO Jon Perry last year. With all due respect to coach Nestor, DOBOs aren’t suppose to be 64 years old. I would hope DeChellis didn’t expect Nestor to stay for the long term when he was hired last summer.
A month ago it seemed like PSU could be losing Kurt Kanaskie and The Great Dan Earl, so settling for Nestor’s departure is okay with me. DOBOs are unofficial assistant coaches that are responsible for a lot of administrative bitch-work like scheduling, directing summer camps, public relations, arranging travel plans, and the like. This year’s fantastic schedule was scheduled by Jon Perry before he left, so it’s hard to say what kind of impact Nestor had here. Not trying to hate on the guy, but he just wasn’t in much of a position to have an effect, which is probably why he left.
I don’t know who will be his replacement, but one obvious candidate to me is former Nittany Lion Ben Luber. The unspectacular point guard of 03-07 has been at Rider the past two seasons, the first as their DOBO and this year as an assistant coach. Assuming the interest in the position is mutual, you’d have to think he’s the frontrunner. I don’t particularly care who it is as long as they know the intricacies of the RPI formula and can schedule like a pro.
Recruiting
I wanted to fit in some recruiting news into this post, since Blue-White coverage is dominating the scene (and Nestor’s departure isn’t stand-alone news). The spring signing period has begun and lasts the next 5 weeks. I haven’t heard too much about current prospects, but I haven’t really had the time to dig around. However, with the few targets I do know of, the staff seems to be determined to fill a scholarship with a perimeter player with some scoring abilities.
The first candidate that visited a few weeks ago was controversial JuCo wing, Anthony Hubbard. If you haven’t heard, Anthony is 25 years old because he spent 4 years in prison after being convicted of armed robbery. Despite his troubled past, many coaches have offered him a scholarship, including Penn State, Iowa, and Nebraska. All of these schools have accepted Mr. Hubbard’s transcripts, until news came down yesterday that PSU admissions denied him because of one math course. DeChellis tried to convince him to make the math credits up over the summer at his junior college, but as any normal person would, Hubbard doesn’t like school that much. Hubbard will most likely land in the conference at either Nebraska and Iowa.
I don’t care how good Hubbard is or will be, nor do I really care about his past. If the staff was willing to give him a second chance, so was I. After the headache Buie probably gave the staff this year, I would imagine they were extra careful evaluating character in prospective players. He was still offered a scholarship. The fact that other Big Ten schools accept his transcripts but Penn State didn’t is annoying. DeChellis shouldn’t have to be fighting an uphill battle within his own school. Big Tens schools have standards, or at least I would hope. It’s not like he’s running off to the lesser schools of the Big East (Pittsburgh) and SEC. This situation just brings back worries of the Omar Thomas situation of 2003. Omar, a Philadelphia native, was also rejected admissions here because of one class, so he went on to dominate at UTEP and lead the Miners to NCAA tournament appearances in both of his years there (oh, and they weren’t in the NCAA tournament 12 years prior to his arrival).
Richardson with his high-top fade seems to be the only 2011 prospect PSU is in with. PHOTO: Rivals.com
With Hubbard off the board, the only other visiting prospect I know of is 6’5″ combo guard, Josh Richardson. Penn State is fighting with Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Missouri State, Tennessee, and TCU for the Oklahoma native’s services. Richardson will visit Tennessee Friday, and then head up to Penn State for an official on Saturday and Sunday. Josh is ranked in the Rivals Top150 at 121 and is rated a 90 on ESPN. Here’s a recent video interview conducted by his local news. I would really, really like to see this guy in the Blue and White.
I’m curious to see what happens with LaDontae Henton. He de-committed from his Dayton LOI after Brian Gregory left for Ga Tech. PSU offered him a scholarship years ago, when he seemed to be a can’t miss prospect. But the guy didn’t physically develop as many hoped, so he apparently is still an undersized 4 at 6’5″ with not much of a perimeter game. Not sure if he’s what PSU is currently looking for, or if his original offer is still on the table. MSU fans seem to like him, though.
