Most of the headlines at Penn State coming into this season are centered around a trio of players from Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic High School. Head coach Pat Chambers‘ recruiting has been on the rise after landing two top 100 players last season (Josh Reaves and Michael Watkins) and prep teammates Tony Carr, Lamar Stevens and Nazeer Bostic this season. And while bringing in Big Ten-level talent certainly bodes well for the future of the Nittany Lions’ program, it will be up to junior guard Shep Garner to lead the school out of the B1G’s bottom tier.
Shep Garner is Penn State’s leading returning scorer and most experienced player. (Mark Selders/Getty)
Garner has started 64 of his 66 games in a Penn State uniform, beginning his career in a point guard role while DJ Newbill led the way offensively. Last season, he acted as both the primary perimeter scoring threat and distributor. The addition of Carr this season will likely allow him to concentrate on scoring. His 36.6 percent shooting from three-point range last season belies his reputation as one of the streakiest shooters in the Big Ten, but he should get better looks (and a corresponding opportunity to improve his marksmanship) with a point guard locating him in his preferred spots. Where he needs some work are in the areas of getting to the free throw line and to the rim more often — his 33.1 percent free throw rate needs to improve, as does his 40.0 percent conversion rate on two-point field goals. Even with Brandon Taylor taking more than 30 percent of the team’s shots while on the floor, Garner managed to score more than 20 points seven times in Big Ten games last season.
Penn State’s offense as a whole last season (193rd in offensive efficiency) was disastrous, as the Nittany Lions simply had too many players like Jordan Dickerson and Julian Moore who could not score. Taylor had a solid season as a undersized power forward, and Donovan Jack was streaky. There’s some reason for optimism given the talent of the incoming freshmen and the addition of potential breakout star Watkins (who redshirted last season). A deeper and more athletic team likely means they’ll still be solid defensively, but an improved offense is vital for this team to make the leap from the bottom of standings. If Garner can shoot the ball a little better and correspondingly increase his offensive efficiency, Penn State may finally have the tools to do so.