Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1496986
M A Y 2 0 2 3 15 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M By The Numbers 2 Scholarship players remaining on the Penn State men's basketball roster as of April 6. Guard Kanye Clary and forward Demetrius Lilley, both rising sophomores, were all that was left of a team that numbered 16 players during the 2022-23 season. The Lions had long known that grad- uation was going to hit them hard this year, but in addition to the six players who exhausted their eligibility, two play- ers (guards Dallion Johnson and Caleb Dorsey) entered the transfer portal when talk began swirling that Micah Shrews- berry was about to accept the head coach- ing post at Notre Dame. After Shrewsberry's exit was made of- ficial, three more players (guards Evan Mahaffey and Jameel Brown, and forward Kebba Njie) joined Johnson and Dorsey in the portal. The Lions may also end up losing all three members of their 2023 recruiting class, although it should be noted that any of the incoming freshmen, as well as those players who have entered the por- tal, could ultimately return to Penn State. 7 t h Penn State's place in the Directors' Cup standings after the first winter update on April 6. The Nittany Lions had compiled 624.5 points, with 100 of those points sup- plied by the NCAA championship- winning wres- tling team. Prior to the NCAA men's and women's gymnastics tournaments, Penn State's winter sports teams had supplied 315.5 points, their highest total since producing 493.5 points in 2019. Ohio State was leading the Direc- tors' Cup survey with 858.0 points, followed by Texas (758.75), Stanford (754.5), North Carolina (686.5), Ala- bama (634.25) and Wisconsin (624.75). 11-1 The Nittany Lion football team's best-case scenario in 2023, according to ESPN's Bill Connelly. The longtime college football analyst looked at the "floors, ceilings and biggest variables" of his top 25 teams and concluded that with an inexperienced quarterback taking the reins in sophomore DREW ALLAR, No. 6 Penn State was unlikely to get past both of the Big Ten East Division's reigning power brokers. "The pieces are in place for a top-five run," Connelly wrote, "but Allar not only has to live up to loads of hype, he also has to help James Franklin figure out a way past Ohio State and Michigan. PSU has lost four in a row to the Big Ten East's heavyweights." Connelly put the odds of an 11-1 regu- lar-season finish at 25 percent or better. At the other end of the range, he wrote that Penn State's floor is 8-4. 2 1 Hits by the Penn State baseball team in a 16-8 victory over Pitt on March 28 at Medlar Field. Eight Nit- tany Lion players had multiple hits in the intrastate matchup with the Panthers, including three players — junior infielder Jay Harry, junior outfielder Billy Gerlott and senior outfielder Tayven Kelley — with 3 hits apiece. $ 1 . 4 9 m i l l i o n Penn State's football recruiting expen- ditures in 2022, according to a survey by USA Today ranking the nation's biggest spenders on recruiting. The publica- tion tracked how much schools spent on transportation, lodging and meals, personnel for official and unofficial vis- its, and phone and postage costs, among other expenses. Penn State ranked 12th in the survey. Georgia ($4.51 million), Clemson ($3.16 million) and Texas A&M ($2.98 million) comprised the top three, and there were two Big Ten schools ahead of PSU: Michigan (eighth place, $2.24 million) and, in perhaps the list's biggest surprise, Rutgers (11th place, $1.61 million). $3.4 million Mike Rhoades' total guaranteed com- pensation for the 2023-24 men's basket- ball season. Rhoades signed a seven-year contract when he accepted Penn State's head coaching post in March. His guar- anteed pay will increase by $100,000 ev- ery year of the deal, meaning that he will receive $4 million in 2029-30. There are also 11 bonus incentives in the contract covering everything from a Big Ten regular-season championship ($150,000) to a national coach of the year award ($100,000) to an NCAA Tournament appearance ($100,000) to a spot in the National Invitation Tournament ($15,000). PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS