It was reported last month that Pat Chambers was going to make a change to his staff for the upcoming 2017-18 season. After nearly four weeks since the opening was posted, a name has been connected with the job. Jim Ferry, former head coach of LIU-Brooklyn and Duquesne, will be hired by Chambers as an assistant coach, according to FanRagSports.com's Jon Rothstein. He will replace Ross Condon, as reported by BWI's Nate Bauer back in June. Condon will move into his previously held Director of Basketball Operations position, should these reports hold true upon official confirmation.

Ferry spent five full seasons at Duquesne before being relieved of his duties in March. The Dukes finished .500 just once and never crept above 10th in the sixteen-team Atlantic 10 during his tenure. Duquesne and Penn State met on the court in each of Ferry's seasons at the helm, with the Nittany Lions failing to secure victory over the Dukes just once (2015-16).

The Elmont, New York native was a hit at LIU-Brooklyn, where he made back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2011 and 2012. His successes in Long Island made him a candidate for some high-major jobs - you may recall his name being floated as a potential replacement for Ed DeChellis at Penn State until Chambers was awarded the job in the summer of 2011.

Ferry's hire will also be welcomed news for at least one current Nittany Lion. Freshman point guard Jamari Wheeler signed with Duquesne last fall until the coach's dismissal prompted the Florida native to re-open his recruitment. Now he'll still get to play for the coach who earned his original commitment.

The official timing of Ferry's hire will be interesting with the final evaluation period set to begin tomorrow. Condon has been the program's third assistant on the road despite knowledge of his impending job reshuffling, so Ferry's hiring likely won't be official until next week. The pressure of recruiting is now lessened for the staff with Rasir Bolton in tow as the lead guard recruit for the class of 2018.