In preparation of a European basketball tour featuring stops in England, France and Belgium, the Nittany Lion men’s basketball team opened up practice Monday afternoon. Coach Patrick Chambers will only have his team for 10 practice periods between now and the August 10 departure. Even so, that time will be critical for a team full of new faces and returning starters looking to come together as a team.
The trip overseas provides Chambers and his coaching staff an opportunity to work with the team, and for the slew of new players on the roster it provides them with time to get up to speed on program terminology and practices. By the end of the European trip, the Nittany Lions will be miles ahead of where they were at that time last season.
Transfers John Johnson and Jordan Dickerson won’t be eligible to play on the tour. Johnson will be eligible midway through the season while Dickerson will need to sit out a season per NCAA rules.
For senior guard Tim Frazier, Monday marked the first day in almost a year that the Big Ten First-Team member was cleared 100 percent for contact play. Frazier suffered a torn achilles only a handful of games into the 2012 season. Frazier looked his usually speedy self on Monday, taking over his normal role as floor general, directing drills and teaching younger players the ins and outs of the program.
Check out some video and photo highlights of Monday’s practice session.
