Penn State junior guard Shariff Chambliss announced this past week that he will return to the state of Wisconsin to finish his career as a Badger.
Chambliss announced that he was planning on leaving Penn State last week.
The Racine Wis., native improved his scoring output as a Nittany Lion in each of his first three seasons, gaining Big Ten honorable mention in both his sophomore and junior seasons. He finished the 2002-03 season averaging 14.7 points per game.
Chambliss, who led the Big Ten in three-point field goals the past two seasons, will have to sit out next season, but will be allowed to practice with the Badgers and will be eligible for the start of the 2004-'05 season. He will not be allowed to play next year because of a Big Ten rule that does not allow players to transfer from one Big Ten team to another without sitting out a year.
The jump does not come as a complete surprise, as the Wisconsin native will return home to a program that has won back-to-back Big Ten Championships, while the Nittany Lions finished in last place both of those seasons.
Chambliss will no doubt fill the void that will occur with the departure of junior guard Freddie Owens, who will be graduating after next season. He will also add a significant amount of depth to a Badger backcourt that was plagued by foul trouble at times this season.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers became the first men's hockey team in three decades to win back-to-back NCAA Championships. The Gophers used a strong third period to put away the favored New Hampshire Wildcats 5-1 in the Frozen Four final.
Minnesota started scoring halfway through the first period and were matched by the first intermission courtesy of a power- play goal from the Wildcats.
All-American junior goalie Michael Ayers of New Hampshire dominated the first two periods, facing a potent Gopher offense and turning them away all but once. Gopher sophomore netminder Travis Weber, often targeted as the weak link of his team, played one of the best games of his career and outplayed his touted counterpart.
Though the game was evenly matched for 40 minutes, Minnesota took complete control in the third period. Freshman forward Thomas Vanek notched the game-winning goal at 11:46 of the third. Two more Gopher scores followed his goal in the next five minutes.
Sophomore forward Barry Tallackson tallied two goals on the night. His last goal came on an empty net provided after New Hampshire, trailing 4-1 with two minutes remaining, unconventionally pulled its goalie down.
Minnesota was aided in the playoffs by the return of star junior forward Grant Potulny. New Hampshire, conversely, was missing leading scorer senior forward Lanny Gare, who suffered a shoulder injury against Cornell in the Frozen Four.
