Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1496986
4 2 M A Y 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M win big that way, too, without a doubt. And we have a plan to do that." On the court, Rhoades said Penn State's style of play will reflect the hard-working, blue- collar values of the program. But he wants the Nittany Li- ons to be defined by more than just familiar buzzwords. Those qualities shouldn't preclude the team from exhibiting a distinct flair. "We're going to play with great freedom. We're going to play with a green light. We're going to have players that aren't looking over their shoulder at the coach if something went down," Rhoades said. "I want them to play with great instinct. I want them to play so that you can see that they're well trained in playing in our style. "What's that style? We're going to be very aggressive, especially on defense. We want to create opportunities all the time with our defense. We're going to let guys loose, let them go make plays. "These are great, great athletes, great basketball players. What I don't want to do is slow them down and put them on their heels. I want to put them on their toes and make them go fight at a high level." Rhoades said that approach won't be limited to the defensive end of the floor. He wants the Nittany Lions to be fast and aggressive on the offensive end, too, with an emphasis on sharing the basketball. "There's a great joy in the way we play, and that's very, very important," Rhoades said. "We're going to put our guys in the best position to succeed, but we're going to do it with great joy and great energy and have a lot of fun doing it. "When players are having fun in the style of play, they get better and better all the time. That's important." A Path Forward The massive question for Rhoades and his staff to address this spring is straight- forward: While his preferred style of play is known and understood, the Nittany Li- ons didn't have a team as of early April. The three-man 2023 recruiting class that Shrewsberry had assembled is no more. Although none had announced their plans as of April 8, forward Carey Booth and guards Logan Imes and Braeden Shrewsberry had all asked to be released from their letters of intent. Six seniors, including the team's top five scorers last sea- son, are moving on. Among those departing players are sec- ond-team All-America point guard Jalen Pickett and the top two three-point shooters in the Big Ten, Andrew Funk and Seth Lundy. Through the first week of April, five additional players were in the transfer portal. Only two scholarship players — guard Kanye Clary and forward Deme- trius Lilley, both rising sopho- mores — were still committed to the program. There was still a chance that some or all of the portal play- ers and 2023 recruits could re- consider. Rhoades and his staff were aggressively seeking to re- tain players while also pursuing transfer portal targets. Those targets included key players from a VCU team that finished 27-8 overall, with a 15-3 mark in the A10. The coaches' efforts yielded an early success when junior guard Adrian "Ace" Baldwin announced on April 9 that he would be following Rhoades to State Col- lege. Baldwin led the team in scoring with 12.7 points per game this past season and was the A10's Player of the Year. In addi- tion, talented sophomores Jalen DeLoach and Jayden Nunn were also in the portal seeking new schools. Working to build relationships with Penn State's players, maintain the exist- ing relationships with VCU players who may be hoping to move to the Big Ten, and establish connections with new recruiting and transfer portal targets, Rhoades had a firmly established to-do list for his first few weeks in the program. He also had a roadmap in his efforts to reach the program's goals. "We want to build something bold, dif- ferent and aggressive, and not be afraid," Rhoades said. "Every day, we're going to go to work. We will be blue-collar. We will have dirt on our hands, and we'll be damn proud of it. That's who we are around here. That's what our basketball program is going to become." ■ THE RHOADES FILE Personal Age: 50 Hometown: Mahanoy City, Pa. College: Lebanon Valley College '95, Vir- ginia Commonwealth '02 (master's degree) Family: Wife, Jodie; sons, Logan, Chase; daughter, Porter Coaching Experience (Record) 2017-23: Head coach, VCU (129-61) 2014-17: Head coach, Rice (47-52) 2011-14: Associate head coach, VCU 2009-11: Assistant coach, VCU 1999-2009: Head coach, Randolph-Macon College (197-76) 1996-99: Assistant coach, Randolph- Macon College Playing Experience 1991-95: Lebanon Valley College Rhoades sees himself forging a strong working relationship with university president Neeli Bendapudi (left) and athletics director Patrick Kraft (right). "The No. 1 thing that kept coming to my mind was the alignment of our president, the director of athletics, and the new basketball coach," he said. PHOTO BY THOMAS FRANK CARR