Former Drexel player Camren Wynter reflects on Palestra return in new Penn State role

When Camren Wynter arrived on the Penn State team bus at a Philly hotel, things felt a bit different. After all, he was returning to the city where his college basketball journey began.

“It was a little weird just being in a hotel and knowing that the apartment that I used to live in was like two blocks away,” Wynter said in a recent phone interview.

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An under-recruited guard out of Hempstead, N.Y., Wynter spent the first four seasons of his career at Drexel, where he became one of the all-time greats in program history. He averaged 14.5 points per game and 5.1 assists per game in his career with the Dragons, was a three-time All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, CAA Rookie of the Year, and won Most Outstanding Player at the CAA Championships in 2021, leading Drexel to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996.

“[Drexel] means a lot to me,” Wynter said. “I didn’t have many offers coming out of high school, so just coach Spiker believing in me and ultimately just giving me the resources to be a great player there like I have nothing but love for him and for the school. And we were able to do something special there, and that’s like always one of my biggest memories of my life is just winning with that group of guys.”

“Cam helped grow our program,” Drexel head coach Zach Spiker said in an email. “Upon his arrival [we] were already in the rebuilding stage. He certainly helped us get over the hump. His career arc from lightly recruited during prep school to Rookie of the Year and then Tournament MVP really says it all.”

With one year of eligibility remaining thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wynter transferred to Penn State in the Big Ten, a change from playing for a mid-major school in a big city to being part of a Power 5 program in a college town.

“It was nothing towards Drexel,” Wynter said of transferring. “I committed there for four years, and I felt like I fulfilled my commitment to Drexel. Luckily, I got an extra year. I just wanted to use it elsewhere and, like I said, just experience something else for that one year. It was nothing towards Drexel, nothing towards the coaching staff, or anything like that.”

Wynter’s return to Philly came when the Nittany Lions took on then-No. 1 ranked Purdue on Jan. 8 at the Palestra, just a stone’s throw away from Drexel. The night before the game, after a team dinner, Wynter made his way to Drexel to catch up with some of his former teammates.

“I’ve watched plenty of their games this season, just keeping up with my guys and seeing how they’re doing,” he said. “I obviously have like a big bond with some of them. So more than just a teammate, like I’m a real good friend of them, so I mean, I always check up on my friends.”

At Penn State, Wynter’s role is different from his time at 33rd and Market. He’s no longer the go-to guy on offense, sitting at fourth on the team in scoring at 9.2 ppg, but he’s contributing to winning as the Nittany Lions are 12-5 (3-3 Big Ten).

Some of that change came at the Palestra against the Boilermakers. For the first time since his freshman year, Wynter came off the bench.

“I’d be lying if I said it was easy,” Wynter said of the transition to Penn State. “It’s been different from what I’ve been used to, but, I mean, it’s kind of why I left Drexel was to kind of challenge myself and step outside my comfort zone. So I mean, when things are hard, I just kind of think about that, like the reason why I came here.”

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Although the Nittany Lions lost, 76-63, at the Palestra that night, Wynter’s return to the place where he wrote a long chapter of his basketball journey was gratifying, even though he swapped out his apartment with a hotel room.

“It was great just to come back and obviously see the city that I lived in for four years and have a lot of memories,” Wynter said. “Kind of brought back chills just going back there, especially being so close to Drexel.”