Chambers vows to resurrect BU

Chambers replaces Dennis Wolff, who was fired after 15 seasons. When Villanova came to Boston two weeks ago, BU athletic director Mike Lynch had the opportunity to secure his top choice for the job. After spending five years with the Wildcats, Chambers takes over a program that has recently fallen short of expectations.

"This is something you dream about," Chambers said at a news conference at Agganis Arena. "You sit in your office and imagine, 'How's it going to happen?' And now we're here."

The coaching search led Lynch through a national pool of candidates over four weeks, but he kept returning to Chambers. With the men's hockey team in Washington for the Frozen Four, Lynch said he expects the basketball program to meet the high standard of athletics at BU.

"I see our athletic engine being well-oiled, but in order to reach our goals and expectations we need to add what I consider a booster to our engine," Lynch said. "I see men's basketball success providing that booster."

At Villanova, Chambers helped head coach Jay Wright take the team to the Sweet 16 in four of his five years, culminating in this season's unlikely run to the Final Four. Before beginning as the director of basketball relations at Villanova and working his way up, Chambers served as assistant coach at Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia.

Though BU last won the America East Conference in 2004, Chambers is confident he can return the team to prominence.

"I look at BU basketball like Gonzaga, like Xavier of the Northeast," Chambers said. "We're going to play hard, we're going to play tough, we're going to play physical for 40 minutes.

"Fans will say, 'Man, did they give it up for each other. Man, did they play hard for one another.' And the other team is going to say, 'I don't want to play that team ever again.' "

Chambers has already made an impact. He conducted a workout with the team Tuesday afternoon, pushing the players to the point that he worried they would think he was crazy.

Junior guard Tyler Morris came away with an entirely different perspective.

"Coach Chambers has come in and he's really let players show him what they can do," said Morris, the America East Rookie of the Year in 2006-07.

Morris said the coaching change has given a breath of fresh air to a group of players that often stalled late in games, afraid to make a mistake that cost the team a victory.

"It just seemed like guys were so uptight, and it translates to the games. No one wanted to take a chance," Morris said. "This guy [Chambers] is not going to allow that to happen. Whatever we're doing, he's going to allow us to have confidence and make plays."

Rather than install a new philosophy, Chambers said he plans on tweaking many of the pieces already in place.

"We'll try to keep it very simple," he said. "We'll use some things that they used last year so it's not a total change for them, so their heads aren't spinning too much."

Chambers acknowledged the work Wolff did for 15 years to bring in talented recruits left him in a fine position to take the team further. He cited this season's Villanova squad as an example of what he hopes to achieve at BU.

With hockey coach Jack Parker's 36 years of coaching excellence just a few doors down, Chambers has a place to turn for advice.

"I am definitely going to sit down with him and tap into his model for success," Chambers said.

Chambers has simple short-term goals.

"I want them to go out there and know that we have the confidence in them to make plays and be themselves," Chambers said. "Don't be afraid to look bad, just go out there and play."