Scout.com, from Chicago:
In [Penn State AD Sandy] Barbour’s eyes, one of the more impressive things about the PSU program this year is that the Lions have never given up, even during a pair of six-game Big Ten losing streaks. She credits [Pat] Chambers for developing that type of player.
“Those guys would run through a brick wall for him,” Barbour said. “They will fight, and I love all those same traits in him. He is going to fight for me, he’s going to fight for Penn State. I am going to fight for him. That is the kind of relationship that I really enjoy with Pat, and that he enjoys with our entire community. And I think if you can’t get behind that, I’m not sure what you can get behind.”
With that in mind, this week’s run in Chicago did not surprise the athletic director at all.
“First and foremost, I love these guys, and I love this team, and I love the heart with which they have represented the university and Nittany Nation and the community,” she said. “And so I was just happy for them to achieve some success. To see some success and have a lot of folks get behind them. To get people taking about Penn State men’s basketball the last couple days, although it probably ended a little bit shorter than we would have hoped, we are really, really proud of their effort. I think it is a precursor of things to come for Penn State men’s basketball.”
After the Nittany Lions’ run to the quarterfinals in Chicago, Barbour is hoping to spearhead and spark even more interest in the program.
“First of all, I think you have a coach who embodies all of those characteristics that I think the Penn State community is about,” she said. “It’s about toughness and resilience, and values of integrity and character and the things that he demands of his young men on a daily basis. … That is why you want to support and follow Penn State men’s basketball.”
via Barbour: “Precursor of Things to Come” – Penn State – Scout.