Penn State men’s basketball’s veteran stars obviously deserve plenty of credit for the team’s 12-3 start to the season, but there’s no denying that several younger players have managed key roles for Pat Chambers’ squad thus far.

“We’re not as old as people think we are,” Chambers said at his media availability on Thursday. “Our front court is old, with Mike and Lamar, but our sophomores are playing critical minutes and they’re vital to everything we do. We need consistency [from them].”

Chambers went on to mention how Myreon Jones “put on a show” against Rutgers for a stretch in the second half, scoring ten consecutive points for the Nittany Lions when they couldn’t get much else going on offense.

“But we need that for forty minutes,” Chambers said. “[Izaiah] Brockington was great against Iowa, but then you have to be great against Rutgers on both ends of the floor. Our sophomore guards, we’re asking them to do a heck of a lot, especially when Lamar and Mike are in foul trouble.”

While Stevens and Watkins may be the anchors for Penn State on both ends of the floor, there have already been occasions when the pair just can’t be on the court. This has been the case over the past two games, as they both dealt with foul trouble against Iowa and Rutgers.

Stevens picked up his fourth foul against the Hawkeyes with about 11 minutes remaining, and Watkins eventually fouled out of the game. Luckily for the Nittany Lions, Brockington had a career game, as the redshirt sophomore put up 23 points and went 9-for-15 from the field.

To Chambers point, though, his squad found itself in a similar situation at the RAC against Rutgers Tuesday night, but no one really stepped up for the Nittany Lions besides the quick burst from Jones. With Stevens and Watkins in foul trouble and a lack of a consistent scoring option, the Scarlet Knights ran away with it down the stretch and Penn State simply couldn’t keep up.

While Tuesday’s game was a disappointment for the Nittany Lions, it was an outlier in a season that has seen plenty of production from sophomore guards thus far. Jones is currently averaging 14.3 points per game and already has 19 steals, while Brockington is averaging 10.5 points off the bench.

Chambers has gotten plenty of production from his youthful end of the roster, but his goal now becomes pulling it out of them night in and night out while playing in an unforgiving Big Ten conference.

“What an amazing league we are in this year,” Chambers said. “Every night is an absolute dog fight, no matter who you’re playing.”

In a tough, physical conference like the Big Ten, there’s no doubt that foul trouble will be a factor for the rest of the regular season for Penn State. There will be games where a key defensive player like Watkins or a go-to scorer like Stevens will need to sit valuable minutes, and it’s then that Chambers will rely upon one of his young guards to hold down the fort.

The Nittany Lions could very well face this situation again on Saturday afternoon, when a talented Wisconsin team comes to Happy Valley. While the Badgers already have six losses on the year, they also have an impressive 61-57 upset over Ohio State to their name.

In terms of bouncing back from the loss at Rutgers, Chambers felt that Thursday’s practice gave him plenty of reason to believe that his squad is ready for this weekend’s match up.

“I thought we had a terrific practice [today],” Chambers said. “Our leadership was great, our volume was great. I think that’s when you know they’re engaged and ready to respond to some adversity.”