
How Will Penn State Adjust to Life Without Frazier?
On Sunday, November 18th, the Penn State Nittany Lions suffered a major loss. It was not the 85-60 drubbing that they received at the hands of the Akron Zips; that was very minor in relation to the long-term fissure that has been created in the Lions’ lineup. What I am referring to, of course, is the ruptured Achilles suffered by Tim Frazier, who just happened to be Penn State’s far and away best player as well as their senior point guard. According to Head Coach
Pat Chambers, recovering from an injury such as this will likely keep Frazier out 6-12 months. While the NCAA has a history of granting medical redshirts to players injured this early into the season (and will more than likely allow Frazier to play again next season), this does Penn State no good in the present. Coach Chambers insisted in a later press conference that Frazier’s injury would be a good opportunity for other players to step up and fill the void. Unfortunately, this is going to be much easier said than done, and the Lions will likely have an even rockier season than initially expected.
I’m not saying that Penn State can’t make Frazier’s injury a point to rally around and play Big Ten teams very competitively, but at the moment it does not seem likely. There is so much more to this injury situation than meets the eye. On the surface, PSU just lost its starting point guard. But when a team loses 19 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds per game, that type of statistical production is not easily duplicated. With this loss, there are three main concerns I have with this group going forward:
Scoring Efficiency
With the advent of advanced metrics used to look at sports in a different scope, much emphasis has been placed on teams performing efficiently. This is especially important if one wants to succeed in the Big Ten (the most efficient offensive conference in the country last year). Probably the biggest and simplest factor in measuring offensive efficiency involves the team’s Field Goal Percentage (what percent of shots are made). I mention this because the departure of Tim Frazier from Penn State’s arsenal will undoubtedly have an
More than likely Frazier will be fully healed and ready to at least suit up for the Lions at the beginning of the 2013-14 season. And with no other seniors in the starting lineup, next year may bring quite a bit of promise for the Lions, depending on how some of them continue to develop throughout this year. Unfortunately, for the fans focused in on the short term as well as advocates of the Mayan calendar, this season looks to be nothing more than another rebuilding year for Pat Chambers.
Pat Chambers, recovering from an injury such as this will likely keep Frazier out 6-12 months. While the NCAA has a history of granting medical redshirts to players injured this early into the season (and will more than likely allow Frazier to play again next season), this does Penn State no good in the present. Coach Chambers insisted in a later press conference that Frazier’s injury would be a good opportunity for other players to step up and fill the void. Unfortunately, this is going to be much easier said than done, and the Lions will likely have an even rockier season than initially expected.
I’m not saying that Penn State can’t make Frazier’s injury a point to rally around and play Big Ten teams very competitively, but at the moment it does not seem likely. There is so much more to this injury situation than meets the eye. On the surface, PSU just lost its starting point guard. But when a team loses 19 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds per game, that type of statistical production is not easily duplicated. With this loss, there are three main concerns I have with this group going forward:
Scoring Efficiency
With the advent of advanced metrics used to look at sports in a different scope, much emphasis has been placed on teams performing efficiently. This is especially important if one wants to succeed in the Big Ten (the most efficient offensive conference in the country last year). Probably the biggest and simplest factor in measuring offensive efficiency involves the team’s Field Goal Percentage (what percent of shots are made). I mention this because the departure of Tim Frazier from Penn State’s arsenal will undoubtedly have an

