Jeff Rice kicks it off:
A Penn State student contorted his body in the middle of the gym floor as his fellow students hollered their approval from the Rec Hall bleachers.
Patrick Chambers leaned against the side of those bleachers, just out of view, and watched, smiling. The breakdancing competition on the floor was only part of Hoops Madness, the sort of bouncy, fan-friendly event that ushers in the start of the college basketball season at so many schools around the country each year but has only been held sporadically on a campus that is typically consumed with football in early November.
This night was part of Chambers’ larger plan. So was donning a jersey and eye black to rally the student body before football games, driving through campus on a golf cart and making appearances at student dining halls. Chambers knew when he took over the Penn State men’s basketball program in early June that what his team accomplishes between the whistles this season will be what ultimately wins over a long-dormant fan, base but that a big part of his job was to build that fan base away from the floor.
The Nittany Lions will play Slippery Rock in a 4 p.m. exhibition game this afternoon in the Bryce Jordan Center, marking Chambers’ Penn State debut.
via Nittany Nation beginning Chambers era | Sports | CentreDaily.com.