Although the Penn State men’s basketball team is just two games into its season, freshman guard Shep Garner has turned quite a few heads with consecutive impressive performances.
So far, the Chester, Pa. native has made head coach Patrick Chamber’s decision to start him at the point guard spot, a pretty good one.
It’s early, but he’s already proving to be the potential long term solution at point guard for the Nittany Lions and possibly one of the best players in the program throughout the next four years.
A month ago during media day, Chambers said that senior guard D.J. Newbill would take over the team’s starting point guard duties when the season opened.
However, after the Nittany Lions’ 61-48 season-opening victory against Morgan State Friday night, the fourth-year coach noted that Garner earned the opportunity to start at point guard by excelling on both ends of the court during the preseason.
In the contest, the Roman Catholic High School graduate shook off a few early moments of nervousness en route to a 14-point performance on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting from the floor in 29 minutes of game action. He also chipped in two rebounds and a pair of assists.
Garner showed that he was very much in control of the offense as he made plays for his teammates, while also staying aggressive with several nifty drives to the basket and knocking down two shots from behind the 3-point line.
The true freshman followed up his 14-point collegiate debut with 12 points, all on 3-pointers, in the Lions 73-54 win over Fordham on Sunday afternoon.
Despite his great start to the season, one would have to expect to see the bumps in the road that many freshmen players go through as he continues to mature on and off the court.
However, that aspect of his future outlook should not discourage an outsider’s view on what he could possibly become in due time.
Not only does Garner display such a high level of confidence for a freshman, but his fearlessness, competitiveness and willingness to learn from coaches and other players assures that he’s taking his development as a player on the court and as a leader off it, seriously.
One of the players that Garner has has tried to model himself after is since arriving on campus is Newbill.
Newbill, the team’s captain, is Garner’s backcourt mate and the Nittany Lions’ returning leading scorer from a year ago. He was also named second team All-Big Ten at the end of last season.
Both Newbill and Garner have shown cohesion in the early part of the season, which can attest to the mentor-mentee relationship that the two have built since Garner arrived.
Against Morgan State, the two combined for more than half the team’s points and were the only players who made more than one 3-pointer.
Garner has acknowledged the fact that he picks the brain of Penn State’s star guard very often. The senior was forced into the point guard role during the 2012-13 season after former Penn State basketball great Tim Frazier ruptured his left Achilles tendon in the fourth game.
With Newbill’s experience playing the point, Garner has the opportunity to learn as much information as possible under his wing.
That doesn’t just apply to the ins and outs of the point guard spot, but also the shooting guard position, being as though both players are expected to take turns playing on and off the ball.
Garner still has a lot to learn as he continues to get adjusted – he has five turnovers through two games – but his instincts and composure are enough for Chambers to trust him as the team’s primary ball-handler.
He can dribble, pass, score and his intelligence allows him to more often than not, make the right decisions.
In addition, he’s an aggressive on-the-ball-defender that takes on the challenge of guarding the opponent’s best player, which he has done during stretches of the first two games.
It’s been two games, but that doesn’t mean that the confidence in this kid shouldn’t be at an all-time high.
He already has a growing fanbase and gives Penn State basketball fans something special to look forward to as the programs builds toward a successful future.
*Section Photo credit to Christopher Weddle, Centre Daily Times; Featured Photo (above) credit to Brett Carlsen, USA Today Sports
