Providence Journal: Peter Lambert's aim is true

February 18, 2009

Providence Journal: Jim Donaldson -- Peter Lambert's aim is true

SMITHFIELD - Peter Lambert has got game - in particular, an accurate 3-point jump shot.

He's also got his act together and his priorities in order.

Not only is he just a few months away from getting his degree at Bryant University, but he also has landed a job with a public accounting firm in Providence and, at the age of 22, owns a house on Cape Cod.

He is not one of that multitude of Division I players who, next to "career aspirations" in the school media guide, lists "playing professional basketball."

"I knew I'd be going pro in accounting, not basketball," he said.

What he didn't know, coming out of Cumberland High School in 2005, was that he'd be playing Division I basketball four years later. Back then, it was questionable whether he'd even play in Division II, which was the level Bryant was playing at when Lambert tried out for the team as a walk-on.

"Max Good gave me a chance," Lambert said of his former coach with the Bulldogs. "I knew I wouldn't be able to play right away. I also knew what my work ethic was like. And I knew I could shoot. If you can shoot, you can play. But I had to work on the other aspects of my game."

Hard work, whether on the court, in the classroom or on the "fixer-upper" house he bought in Cautamet, a long-range jumper beyond the Bourne Bridge, in Falmouth, that he's been re-habbing with the help of his father, Paul, and 82-year-old grandfather, Raymond, comes naturally to Lambert.

"If, a few years from now, I pick up the paper and see that Peter Lambert has just gotten a big promotion or is running a corporation, I won't be the least surprised," said Bryant coach Tim O'Shea, who returned to Rhode Island from Ohio University to take on the task of leading the Bulldogs into the ranks of Division I basketball.

"He's got brains, competitiveness, and he's not afraid to take charge," O'Shea said.

What Lambert doesn't have is size. He's listed in the Bryant media guide at 6-foot-1, but he admits to being a tad under 6-feet, and O'Shea insists he's no more than 5-foot-10.

"His footwork, his technique and his release on his shot are as good as any kid I've ever coached," said O'Shea, who was a longtime assistant for Al Skinner - first at URI, then at Boston College - before going to Ohio U., where he led the Bobcats to the NCAA Tournament in 2005.

"If he were 6-4, he'd be playing in the Big East, because he has so much grit, so much toughness," O'Shea added.

Read more on Peter Lambert in this great article by Jim Donaldson here along with a video:
http://www.projo.com/sports/jimdonaldson/projo_20090217_donaldson_lambert_bryant.27237635.html