Tag: Pat Chambers

Long time Penn State assistant signs extension with Fordham

Scratch this former Penn State assistant off the watch list for Penn State’s next head basketball coach.

With the opening for a men’s head basketball coach at Penn State the focus of the athletic department at the moment, many names have been floated on who could and should replace [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag].

Assistant coach [autotag]Adam Fisher[/autotag] has been a popular name among the former players. Recently, a report surfaced that Penn State might be eyeing Texas interim head coach Rodney Terry.

Longtime Penn State assistant [autotag]Keith Urgo[/autotag] was highlighted as someone to keep an eye on regarding the open position. Urgo was an assistant for nine years in State College, coaching under [autotag]Pat Chambers[/autotag] for the majority of the time.

In 2021, Urgo left to be the associate head coach of Fordham and was eventually named the head coach for the 2022-23 season after [autotag]Kyle Neptune[/autotag] left for Villanova.

However, rumors about him returning to State College were put to bed on Friday after he signed a long-term contract extension with the Rams that keeps him in the Bronx until at least the 2027-28 season. Urgo led Fordham to a 25-8 record, the second most wins in program history. This earned him Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year honors.

Urgo may have never been a realistic candidate for the job. Even with his past ties to Penn State, he doesn’t have a connection with the current athletic department.

Big picture, this might be a good thing for the program overall. It would have been easy for it to go back to something familiar, such as a past assistant to take over the program. That’s not a shot at Urgo. He proved he has the ability to be a great coach this past season at Fordham.

But this is an opportunity for Penn State’s athletic department to show it is actually committed to building a basketball program by devoting finances and resources to improve the current infrastructure.

This hire has to be the right one, not the easy one.

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Two Penn State basketball players enter transfer portal

A pair of Penn State basketball players have entered the transfer portal.

With the [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] decision about staying or going to Notre Dame still unknown, two Penn State players have decided to enter the transfer portal.

[autotag]Dallion Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Caleb Dorsey[/autotag] were members of the 2020 recruiting class. They’ve decided they would like to test the waters elsewhere after not seeing much playing time this past season.

Both players are former three-star recruits who were brough in by former coach [autotag]Pat Chambers[/autotag]. They had to play their freshman year under interim coach [autotag]Jim Ferry[/autotag] and then spent the next two seasons coached by Shrewsberry.

These decisions likely come on the heels of not seeing much playing time this past season. Johnson had seen a prominent role during his sophomore year, starting 14 games and averaging 14.6 minutes per game. That was reduced to 8.7 minutes this season with zero starts.

Dorsey saw more playing time this past season than he ever had before at Penn State. He started nine games and averaged 12.0 minutes of floor time. However, he didn’t see action during any of the Big Ten Tournament or NCAA Tournment.

It’s not surprising that these players would enter the transfer portal. If Shrewsberry stays, neither were recruited by him and fits what he’s looking to build. Both have two years of eligibility remaining stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic that has granted players an extra year.

The transfer portal is still in the early stages for this offseason. Programs need to see how many available scholarships they’ll have and which players are departing.

By all measures, this shouldn’t be something alarming that signals Shrewsberry is definitely leaving Penn State. We’ll know that decision soon, but right now there are no indicators one way or another.

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Former Penn State basketball coach Pat Chambers has a new job

Former Penn State basketball coach Pat Chambers has landed a new job as a head coach

For some, this is the best time of the year in college basketball with the NCAA Tournament kicking off this week. For others, the coaching carousel has officially begun around the country with a number of coaches losing their jobs, and others quickly finding new job opportunities.

Among those latching on to a new job as the spinning coaching carousel hits its stride is Pat Chambers, who was relieved of his coaching duties at Penn State prior to the 2020-21 season. Chambers has officially been introduced as the new head coach of Florida Gulf Coast University. Chambers, who accumulated a head coaching record of 148-150 in nine seasons as Penn State’s head coach, reflected on the opportunity to be a head coach again after previously being relieved of his duties at Penn State two years ago. Chambers was removed as head coach following an investigation into allegations of mishandling his treatment of players.

“The last 18 months I’ve been continuing to grow and educate and self-reflect,” Chambers said at his introductory press conference on Tuesday, according to a release from the school. “I’m confident that you, my next team, my players, my future players, you’ll be getting the best leader, best teacher and best coach because I’ve learned a lot from my past. I promise you that. I’m confident in that.”

Chambers served as an assistant at LaSalle for the 2021-22 season. Chambers previously had two seasons of head coaching experience at Boston and he served on the Villanova coaching staff under Jay Wright.

While Chambers does have a losing record at Penn State, it is unfair to neglect the results Penn State had on the court in his final season as the head coach. Penn State put together a 21-10 record in 2019-20 and were on track for a spot in the NCAA Tournament for just the fourth time since joining the Big Ten in 1993. But that season was cut short prematurely as the NCAA shut down the tournament before it even got started amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s earlier days impacting the world of sports. Chambers also coached Penn State to an NIT title two seasons before that.

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