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Condon promoted to assistant coach at Penn State

05/27/2015, 7:30pm EDT
By Anna Pitingolo

Anna Pitingolo (@Anna_Pitingolo)
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When Penn State head coach Pat Chambers was tasked with finding a replacement for Brian Daly after his assistant's sudden departure, he didn’t have to look far.

Ross Condon, the former Director of Operations of Penn State basketball, was the obvious candidate for the position. And that’s exactly who Chambers turned to.

Condon has six years of experience with Chambers, as well as time as a player for Chambers at Villanova. Chambers was an assistant for the Wildcats when Condon was a walk-on from 2003-2007.

“I can’t thank him [Chambers] enough for the opportunity,” Condon told CoBL. “Obviously, I started our relationship as a player-coach while I was at Villanova and for him to think that I can handle this role, and the responsibilities that come with this role, and to trust me to help Penn State basketball grow just means the world to me.”

The Springfield, Va. native was part of the 2005-06 Big East champion team while at Villanova, and made three straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2005 and the Elite Eight in 2006.

He was also a three-year selection to the Big East All-Academic Team and served as the men’s basketball team’s representative to the university’s student-athlete advisory committee before graduating with a degree in business administration in 2007.

"Ross Condon has been an integral part of my staff for the last six years and I look forward to having him on the bench as an assistant coach," Chambers said in a press release. "His knowledge and understanding of the game will be an asset to the players and this program. Ross is loyal, trustworthy and committed to the success of Penn State Basketball."

Before Villanova, Condon was an all-state high school player in Virginia, where he played for the Potomac School. He finished his senior year by leading his team to the VIS championship.

Penn State is coming off a season full of ups and downs, finishing 18-16 (4-14 Big Ten) and then bowing out of the Big Ten Tournament in the quarter finals after an exciting run.

“Something we definitely want to build on is those last two weeks,” Condon said. “I think our players saw what this team can do and what this program can do and in the offseason that’s kind of been the focus...we’d just like to keep building off that, and building off that momentum and hopefully propel us into another great year next year.”

Condon isn’t worried about getting situated into his new role, and credits his time with the program as helping to prepare him. With Daly as his predecessor, Condon is hopeful that he has learned enough from him and other coaches to succeed in this position.

“Working along with this great staff the last four years, I’ve definitely learned,” Condon said. “Working alongside Brian Daly the last six years up in Boston and here, I’ve learned from him and [Associate Head] Coach [Keith] Urgo and [Assistant] Coach [Dwayne] Anderson. I think I have a good understanding of what needs to be done in this position and I just hopefully can work with them to keep recruiting players that fit our culture and fit our system and fit Penn State University [so] that we can continue to build this program.”

The road to Penn State has included many stops along the way. After starting at Villanova, Condon was the Director of Operations at Radford University in Virginia for two years before joining Chambers’ staff at Boston University in 2011. While at BU, he helped Chambers to guide the Terriers to back-to-back 21-win seasons and postseason appearances both seasons. With such a broad background in just a short amount of time, Condon is confident that it will work to his advantage in preparing him to be assistant coach.

“I think just being able to network with a lot of different people in a lot of different areas [has helped],” Condon said. “Obviously Radford being a little in the south and Boston being in New England and then being here at Penn State, getting to know everyone within the community and also everyone in the basketball circle has set me up to be prepared to step into this role and transition into it pretty seamlessly.”

Penn State will be looking to build off a season that has them moving in the right direction for the future. With the offseason in full swing, Condon will get to work with the team this summer before making his Penn State assistant coaching debut in the fall.


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