Pat Chambers Making The Most Of July

For the past decade or so, Penn State has had a basketball team only as long as it took them to get through the season. After that, almost every player and coach vanished from the public eye to be seen only once the season rolled around again. It isn't as if Penn State wasn't actually recruiting players in the offseason, but Ed DeChellis could have climbed the Devil's Tower and floated away with aliens and nobody would have known. The offseason was just that quiet.

But Pat Chambers isn't playing that game.

July 6th marked the first day of two 10-day evaluation periods, a small window of time that college coaches can actually head out and see recruits play in person. A battle plan is crucial to getting everywhere you want to go in such a short amount of time.

Using Penn State's new found support for basketball, and a private jet, Chambers flew to Indianapolis, Cleveland, Boston, Augusta and Newark to get a look at some sleepers as well as nationally respected talent. With assistant coaches at other locations around the east coast, Penn State had just about every base covered. Remember: all to fill one scholarship.

These are just a few of the locations that Penn State was seen at over this 10 day period.

• Reebok Breakout Challenge – July 5-9th Philadelphia University
• Adidas Invitational – July 6-9 Indianapolis, IN
• Hoop Group Elite Session 1 – July 5-8 Reading, PA
• Lebron James Skills Academy – July 5-8 Akron, OH
• Nike Peach Jam -- July 12-15 Augusta, SC

Brandon Taylor is a kid you want on your team. Big solid frame, body that gets it done around the basket, and the shooting ability to score from outside. He's the sort of player that really is only limited by himself. If he can develop his inside and outside game, Taylor is a mismatch every time he touches the ball. He'll need to work on his decision making, and ball handling to truly take his game to the next level. That being said, Taylor has attracted the attention of West Virginia, Georgetown, Boston College and Providence. While I haven't been able to get a hold of Taylor so far this summer, he has made it known that he's down to his final three schools.

Nobody would have blamed Pat Chambers if he showed up and just tried to get things figured out for his first season in the Big Ten. No staff, a short offseason, and a tough schedule were enough to deal with without the constant stress and struggle of recruiting. With a single scholarship remaining for the 2012 class it would have been easy to find a utility player to fill the roster.

But Pat Chambers isn't playing that game, and the fun is only just beginning.