Former Penn State coach Pat Chambers lands head-coaching job
Former Penn State men’s basketball coach Pat Chambers is finalizing a contract to become the new head man at Florida Gulf Coast, according to a report from Jon Rothstein.
Chambers resigned from his post at Penn State in October 2020 following an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct.
He gave way to interim head coach Jim Ferry, who guided the Nittany Lions through a tumultuous season before leaving to take the job at UMBC. Penn State announced Micah Shrewsberry as the permanent replacement on March 15, 2021.
Several players, unhappy with the lack of answers provided by the Penn State athletic department relating to Chambers’ resignation, transferred out — leaving Shrewsberry to rebuild the roster on the fly.
Shrewsberry went 14-17 and brought the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten quarterfinal in his first year on the job.
Chambers, who spent this season as an assistant coach at La Salle in Philadelphia, takes over for Michael Fly at FGCU.
Fly’s Eagles went 21-11 this season. They were knocked out of the Atlantic Sun Tournament by Division I newcomers Bellarmine, who would go on to win the title.
Chambers went 148-150 during his nine seasons at Penn State. Chambers led the Nittany Lions to a No. 9 ranking in the AP Poll in 2019-20, tying PSU’s previous high water mark. The COVID-19 pandemic denied that team a shot to play in the NCAA Tournament.
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The Nittany Lions also won the NIT in 2018 under Chambers’ purview.
Florida Gulf Coast has yet to officially confirm Rothstein’s reporting as of Monday morning.
Penn State won’t play postseason basketball
Penn State basketball’s season is over.
Unsurprisingly passed over by the NIT selection committee, the Nittany Lions will also not play in any of the various third-tier postseason tournaments.
That means the end of star center John Harrar‘s Penn State career. He finished this season averaging 10.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
Asked about the possibility of a third-tier tournament last week, Shrewsberry indicated he’d leave it up to the players. He did, however, express some skepticism about the benefits of playing in one of those tournaments for his senior-laden roster.
“I’d leave it up to those guys,” Shrewsberry said. “If they want to keep playing, I’d owe it to them to keep preparing and keep trying.
“This team’s a little different than other teams,” Shrewsberry added. “Some of those tournaments you play in if you want to get experience for a reason, right? Things like that. You’ve got a bunch of younger dudes like, ‘Hey, we got a chance next to be really good, let’s keep playing.
“Our team’s a little different. We’re not really in our boat.”
