PHILADELPHIA— Don’t look now, but Penn State may be the best college basketball team in the Commonwealth.
It took nine years, but Lions’ coach Pat Chambers has a team that can finally make a breakthrough and receive an NCAA tournament bid.
Penn State put its 21st-ranked 12-2 team on display during an 89-86 victory over Iowa in a Big Ten game played before a sellout crowd of 8,722 at the Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The scene brought back memories of the Big 5 during its glory years, with ear shattering noise that reached 11 on the Palestra decibel meter and a white out from what was essentially a home game for the Lions. It was a great experience for Penn State fans from Eastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey who seem reluctant to make the four-hour drive to State College for a home game at the Bryce Jordan Center.
“Our vision has always been to be a Top 25 team, to find success and go to the NCAA tournament consistently,’’ Chambers said.
Those goals have been a challenge at on campus Bryce Jordan, an arena that barely averaged crowds of 10,000 last season. But down the turnpike at the Palestra, the steamy gym was packed. Tickets on the secondary market were going for $150 a seat in the corners and fans arrived early to walk the concourse that serves as a hall of fame. With unseasonably warm weather, The temperatures on the court hovered between 80 and 81 degrees.
“It felt like 120,’’ Chambers said.
Just like old times.
The Big Ten is the strongest conference in college basketball this year and there are 12 teams from the league who think they have a shot to make the tournament.
This was classic game with 24 lead changes. It was also a triumphant homecoming for local recruits like 6-8 senior Lamar Stevens and 6-6 freshman Seth Lundy from Roman Catholic, 6-9, 257-pound senior center Mike Watkins from Public League power Constitution and 6-4 redshirt sophomore guard Izaiah Brockington form Archbishop Ryan. Stevens, who considered leaving for the NBA at the end of his junior year but stayed for his final year, should be an NBA draft pick. Watkins has become one of the better centers in the Big Ten. Stevens and Lundy both cut down nets in the Catholic League championship game at the Palestra. Brockington also played in Catholic League semi-finals here.
“This is my first win here,’’ Brockington said.
Brockington contributed mightily, coming off the bench after Stevens picked up early foul problems, scoring 23 points in 23 minutes. “I came in here with a little chip on my shoulder,’’ Brockington said. “Ever since I was in high school, I’ve been trying to prove I could play at the highest level.’’
Brockington averaged 30 points his senior year for Ryan but despite his play in Catholic League and the Donofrio Classic in Conshohocken, he was woefully under recruited. He committed to NJIT, spent a year at St. Bonaventure’s, then transferred to State where he has become the x-factor on a team that has nine players who can score points in a Big Ten game.
“He’s still playing like he’s trying to earn a scholarship,’’ Chambers said.
State also got 16 points from Stevens and backup guard Curtis Jones, who made four of six threes and 14 points and 7 rebounds from guard Myles Dread.
They helped all the help they could muster against a good Iowa team (10-4), which has a legitimate All- American candidate in 6-11, 260- pound senior center Luka Garza, who finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds, but missed three critical free throws in the final moments.
Chambers, a former Episcopal guard who played for Herb Magee at Philadelphia University, originally came up with the idea of playing a game his old neighborhood in 2017 when he got Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who wanted to play in this historic building, to agree to play a Penn State home game on a neutral site at the Palestra and State fans filled the building on a snowy afternoon to watch Philly natives score 55 of the team’s 72 points as the Lions defeated the Spartans for the first time since 2011. He contracted Fran McCaffrey, who was a high school star at La Salle and later played for Penn, about doing the same thing here after Stevens put a bug in his ear about playing a game in his hometown before he graduated.
“Playing in the Palestra in high school is great, but it’s nothing like coming back and playing in college,’’ Stevens said. “It’s just the environment and how loud the crowd gets. It’s mainly only Penn State fans in the gym, cheering for us.’’
It was classy decision for both teams and should help both coaches with alumni and area recruiting ties. I’ve always been surprised that other brand name programs—like Notre Dame and Maryland– who has strong alumni bases here—don’t consider playing neutral site games at this iconic landmark if they are looking for a foothold in recruiting.
Philadelphia has always been a strong basketball city but before Chambers arrived, Penn State was never able to penetrate this market in recruiting. But Penn State now has six players from the local area on its roster. The Lions might not normally be on the same level as Villanova, but they already have wins over Yale, Syracuse, Georgetown, Alabama and Wake Forest and this would be a good year to watch a neutral site game between the Lions and the young Wildcats.
