Johnson looking to follow paths of former teammates:
“Forward Aaron Johnson’s exit from the Penn State men’s basketball program marks the seventh player to leave the team since Ed DeChellis took over in April 2003.
“Each player had his reasons for fleeing the Nittany Lion program, which compiled a 16-42 record in the last two seasons.
“Johnson said he thinks the team will be better off without him. Wisconsin guard Sharif Chambliss asked for a release when Jerry Dunn resigned at the end of his junior season.
“Chambliss considered staying when DeChellis was hired, but he knew it was unlikely the Lions would adopt winning ways in time for what would have been his final year of collegiate hoops.
“Now at Wisconsin, Chambliss started games at point guard for the Badgers en route to an Elite Eight berth.
“Center Rob Summers, who is currently redshirting at West Virginia, left Penn State after last year’s 9-19 season because he simply couldn’t take the losing.
“‘Once the season was over and we went to Big Ten tournament, I thought it was time to move on,’ Summers said. ‘Losing took its toll on me.’ …”