City of Basketball Love

Marley Paul (@MarleyPaul22)
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The absence of an available scholarship in the upcoming recruiting cycle didn't mean Pat Chambers would be on the outside looking in on the recruiting trail this summer.

Penn State added the first commitment of its 2018 recruiting class on Sunday after 3-star prospect Myles Dread announced his pledge to the Nittany Lions. 

Dread, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound combo guard from Gonzaga College High School (D.C.) and Team Takeover, received an offer from Chambers in the spring and decided to make it official two weeks after an unofficial visit to campus. 

"Coach Chambers and I have developed a relationship that I felt was strong enough to make it official," Dread told CoBL. "It was the perfect combination of academics and athletics. I want to study finance in school and they have a huge business school."

The Washington D.C. product chose the Nittany Lions over offers from George Mason and James Madison, among others. He also took an unofficial visit to Temple in June and had interest from Northwestern.

"I like the way Coach Chambers is planning to run his team with the athletes that he's brought in," Dread added of the Nittany Lions program, which has brought in back-to-back top 40 recruiting classes in the last two years. "I like the way they work and out work others. I also like the way they pride themselves on being family oriented."

Alas, the Nittany Lions have finally made successful inroads in talent-rich Philadelphia (6 Philly-based players on the 2016-17 roster), and now the next area of interest appears to be the DC-Maryland-Virginia area. 

After adding players from Virginia powerhouse Oak Hill (Josh Reaves and Joe Hampton), Penn State's presence within the the region continues to grow. At Elite Camp last month, numerous DMV-based players received offers, but Dread said "we'll just have to see" who else joins him in Happy Valley.

Chambers will be hopeful Dread's commitment creates a domino effect of Penn State pledges on Team Takeover, similar to his most recent Roman Catholic haul that's ranked among the top 30 in the nation. Top 25 prospect Isaiah Mucius remains a priority, though Dread wouldn't predict how things will play out with the rest of the class just yet. 

Other 2018 members of Dread's AAU squad with offers from Penn State include local State College's own Drew Friberg, Tre Wood, and four-star Bryce Golden, who also took an unofficial visit to campus last June.

"I know that he has big plans for our class and he told me to talk to him about players I like playing with so I don't know" Dread said of the possible 2018 recruiting class. 

On the most recent Nike EYBL circuit, Dread averaged 7.8 ppg (on 52 percent), 6.8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.8 steals in his first five games on the 16U team. 

As currently constructed, Penn State has 13 scholarships committed for the next two seasons. For the first time since taking over the program in 2011, Chambers has not lost any in the offseason via transfer, however, Payton Banks and Julian Moore are two rising redshirt juniors that could be potential graduate transfers next summer.

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Myles Dread Scouting Report from Ari Rosenfeld:

"A 6-foot-4 wing, Dread's best asset is probably his versatility. He's got the strength and toughness to bang inside with frontcourt players, but also has the speed and athleticism to play on the perimeter and defend guards.

"He's still at his best offensively when attacking the rim from the wings, but has solid ballhandling skills and vision, especially in the open court.

"The only thing standing between Dread solidifying himself as a legitimate top-100 prospect is the development of his perimeter jumper. At his size, he'll need to continue to develop his stroke over the next couple years in order to be very effective in the Big Ten.: