Carr lands with Lions

Patrick Chambers saw reasons for optimism within his Penn State men's basketball program following a challenging 18-16 overall record for the 2014-15 season.

Between the young contributions down the season stretch, the influx of talent coming with the Class of 2015, and the short burst of winning three of the final four games, the NIttany Lions were a team making strides.

"I knew we're closer than we've ever been. Without question, there was some hurt and some suffering and some genuine pain in that post-locker room. That's when I knew, we're coming. We're coming," he said. "We're going to be young, but we're coming. So we're excited."

Monday afternoon, Chambers' reasons for excitement grew exponentially.

Tony Carr, the No. 53-ranked overall player in the Class of 2016 and a Rivals.com four-star point guard out of Philadelphia (Pa.) Roman Catholic, announced his intent to join Chambers and the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley.

Reporter Josh Verlin of City of Basketball Love was at the announcement, held in the library at Roman Catholic.

Penn State fans, rejoice--Tony Carr will be a Nittany Lion: http://t.co/CVJGe68ZKm- Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) August 3, 2015

With his verbal commitment, Carr becomes the Nittany Lions' third of the Class of 2016, joining Rivals three-star shooting guard Nazeer Bostick and power forward Joe Hampton.

"I feel like I have a great relationship with Coach Pat and Coach Urgo. This is a beautiful campus, and it's far enough away from home but then it's close enough to where I can see my parents from time to time and stay in contact with my family," Carr told BWI earlier this summer. "But mainly, the coaching staff has been great to me. They're very supportive. I talk to them a few times a week."

For their part, Carr's future teammates are also excited about the news.

Leading up to Monday afternoon's announcement, true freshman guard Josh Reaves posted the following to his Twitter account.

2 o'clock can't come any sooner. Hoping @Tone10Carr joins the family today! #WeAre- JR23 (@jreaves23) August 3, 2015

Eric Bossi's take:

"Landing a player the caliber of Tony Carr is certainly big news for Penn State's basketball program. At 6-foot-4, Carr is a versatile guard who can play all around the perimeter and he's a proven winner.

"What I like most about Carr is his versatility. He can play the point, he can play the two and if you want to play small he is tough and athletic enough to play as a small forward. His jump shot certainly needs work but he's very good off the dribble, gets to the rim, creates for others and is a dangerous player in transition. He needs to get stronger like just about any kid making the leap to the Big Ten but he's tough and determined on the defensive end. Penn State has built themselves a nice pipeline into Philadelphia and landing a player like Carr shows that they can compete for high end talent from the City of Brotherly Love."