For the Penn State men’s basketball team, winning has not always come easy. Head coach Patrick Chambers, a Newtown Square native, has learned this since arriving on the scene in 2011, writes Jerry Barca for Forbes.

Coming into the 2017-18 season, Chambers’s seventh in Happy Valley, the coach had an 87-109 record with the Nittany Lions. He was feeling some heat, wondering about his job security.

Rather than letting the situation eat away at him, Chambers worked hard every day to turn the program around.

The team got on a roll and finished last season with a 26-13 record, winning the NIT. As a result, Chambers received a four-year contract extension.

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Prior to arriving at Penn State, Chambers had a track record of success. A graduate of The Episcopal Academy, where he played basketball, he was a walk-on point guard at Division II Philadelphia University. He became a star player and the all-time assists leader at the school.

As a coach, Chambers spent five years with Jay Wright at Villanova, where he rose to associate head coach. He was with Villanova for its 2009 Final Four appearance. He then became head coach at Boston University (2009-11) and took the Terriers to the NCAA Tournament in his second season.

“Everybody goes through (adversity) and it’s only natural, but as long as I believed in what I was doing, had faith in what I was doing, and loved my players, I knew eventually we would get over the hump,” Chambers said.

Read more about Penn State basketball coach Patrick Chambers in Forbes by clicking here.

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