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Ben Jones of StateCollege.com:

Sixty-eight high school basketball players packed the gyms inside of the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday for the first day of Penn States advanced skills camp. The camp gave high school prospects a taste of what it is like at the next level working along side Penn State players and the ever energetic Nittany Lion head coach Patrick Chambers.

For some, the camp was a chance to hone their skills, for others it was a chance to impress and prove their worth to Penn States coaching staff. Incoming freshman Julian Moore locked up his seat at the table last year while attending the same camp, so scholarship offers can come from a strong weekend performance.

Read the account: State College, PA – Penn State Basketball: Dunks and Energy Aplenty at Advanced Skills Camp.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Lions 24/7 briefly published the news item referred to below. It has since been pulled down from the site. 

Philly and DC connections for new Penn State assistant:

Penn State coach Patrick Chambers has tapped a Villanova connection to fill the assistant coaching vacancy on his staff.

Dwayne Anderson, who played guard and forward for the Wildcats while Chambers was an assistant there, will begin his coaching career as the Nittany Lions’ third assistant, sources confirmed to Lions247 on Tuesday…

via Former Villanova guard Dwayne Anderson joining Penn State staff.

CACHED version of what was removed.

A little background on Anderson from a Villanova fan site.

Patrick Chambers is clearly accomplishing one objective he set out to achieve when he took over as Penn State mens basketball coach two years ago. Its something no coach has done in the history of the school: Successfully recruit Philadelphia.

Whether his recruits are good enough to win in a Big Ten getting stronger every year is yet to be seen.

via Philadelphia pipeline develops for Patrick Chambers and Penn State | PennLive.com.

Penn State rising junior forward Jon Graham (Baltimore, Md.) has been granted a release to transfer from the Nittany Lion basketball program.

“Jon and I have had several meetings to discuss his future and he has decided to seek opportunities to continue his playing career elsewhere,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. “Jon is a terrific young man. We thank him for his hard work and wish him the best moving forward.”

via Graham To Transfer From Penn State – Penn State Official Athletic Site.

Two highly-touted recruits will find themselves in Happy Valley this upcoming week as coach Patrick Chambers looks to continue a strong month of recruiting. Chambers has landed four commitments over the past 14 days in the form of two transfer players and two high school prospects including Philadelphia standout Shep Garner.

In the immediate future Penn State will host Terry Larrier on Tuesday for an unofficial visit. The 6-foot-7, 200 pound small forward out of Bronx, New York is rated No. 59 in the 2014 recruiting class rankings by ESPN. Larrier holds offers from several major programs including Miami, Florida State, Maryland and Memphis.

While Larrier is believed to be leaning towards Miami, the Penn State coaching staff’s ability to convince such a highly-rated prospect to visit is no small feat. An unofficial visit is paid for by a recruit’s family, so to make the trip down from New York City to see what Penn State has to offer isn’t a decision that is made without at least some level of interest.

Following the Larrier visit, Chambers will have a few days to prep for an unofficial visit from 6-foot-7 small forward Mikal Bridges. While originally reported as a Saturday visit, Bridges told StateCollege.com on Monday morning that he hopes to change that date to Sunday to avoid a conflict with a tournament.

Either way, Bridges is rated in ESPN’s Top 100 landing at No. 79 and he’s another Philly hoops star who’s willing to give Penn State a look. Recent commit Shep Garner has been on Bridges’ case to join him in Happy Valley since Garner’s verbal commitment this past Saturday.

via State College, PA – Penn State Basketball: Recruiting Momentum Continues with Two Top 100 Visits.

After a bit of a slow start, Pat Chambers’ Philadelphia ties are starting to pay off in Penn State’s recruiting. Four days after 2015 Imhotep forward Michael Watkins verbally committed to the Nittany Lions, Chambers and his staff got a big commitment from 2014 Roman Catholic guard Shep Garner.

“Very deserving, very proud of him, hardworking kid and I know he really connected well with the staff,” Roman coach Chris McNesby told CoBL by phone from Penn State, where Roman was playing at their team camp this weekend. “(Associate head) coach (Brian) Daly and coach Chambers both have Philadelphia connections and they recruited him hard throughout the process.”

via Shep Garner continues PSU’s Philly recruiting streak | City of Basketball Love.

No. 23:

More on Michael Watkins’ commitment:

When the perfect opportunity presents itself, it’s impossible to turn your back.

That’s what 2015 forward Michael Watkins realized, as he verbally committed to play for Penn State on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-8 forward believes that the opportunity the Nittany Lions presented was too good to pass up.

“Penn State is the right situation for me on and off the court,” Watkins said via text message. “The coaching staff fits my personality and the school allows me to the opportunity to play right away in the Big Ten, allowing me the opportunity to play on the biggest stage and be close to home.”

via Watkins finds perfect opportunity, commits to Penn State | City of Basketball Love.

https://twitter.com/TheRecruitScoop/status/344961279368237057

Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg) point guard Milik Gantz (’15) was on campus yesterday:

On his first ever unofficial college visit, Gantz was blown away with what the in-state Nittany Lions program had to offer.

“The facilities definitely blew him away. We’ve been at other facilities when we attended games, but the facilities and what the school provides for the student-athlete is something he wasn’t expecting,” said Savercool. “The stuff that Penn State is now making available to their players in the program is far superior to what it was in the past.”

via Milik Gantz forming relationship with Penn State.