Penn State junior guard Sharif Chambliss announced last Thursday his decision to transfer to the University of Wisconsin for his final season of collegiate eligibility.
After notifying the Nittany Lion program that he would not be returning to Penn State for his senior season, Chambliss finalized his decision to become a Badger after meeting with head coach Bo Ryan and the rest of the UW coaching staff last Thursday, according to reports from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Penn State has finished in last place in the Big Ten in each of the last two seasons.
Chambliss, a native from Racine, Wis., has averaged 14.6 and 14.7 points per game over his last two seasons, earning him all-Big Ten honorable mention in each his sophomore and junior years.
Valparaiso was the only other possible transfer destination Chambliss had seriously entertained, but his desire to remain in the Big Ten and play for his home state proved to be too great an opportunity to pass on.
“It’s always been a dream to play for Wisconsin, and I’ll finally be able to exercise that now,” Chambliss told the Journal Sentinel.
A graduate from Racine St. Catherine’s high school, the 6-foot-1 guard was not offered a scholarship following his senior season from former Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett, who felt Chambliss wouldn’t be able to be an effective player in the Big Ten.
After a fairly insignificant freshman year at Penn State, Chambliss exploded onto the Big Ten scene during his sophomore and junior years, establishing himself as the premier player on the Nittany Lion roster, as well as one of the more dangerous 3-point shooters in the conference.
In his last two seasons, Chambliss has shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc.
It was Chambliss’ consecutive 3-pointers in the final minutes of Penn State’s game against Wisconsin last season that sparked the Nittany Lions’ first conference win of the season, as well as hand the Badgers an embarrassing road defeat.
Chambliss has averaged over 17 points a game against the Badgers in the teams’ last four meetings.
Chambliss, who will have to sit out next season in compliance with NCAA transfer rules, looks to be the perfect fit for the Badgers’ 2004-05 backcourt, which will lose shooting guard Freddie Owens after next season.
Because the Big Ten prohibits in-conference transfers from receiving scholarships, Chambliss will play his final year of college eligibility as a walk-on, meaning that this addition to the program will not hinder Wisconsin’s recruiting tactics over the next two years.
