Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1518105
4 2 A P R I L 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State men's basketball coach Mike Rhoades knows from experi- ence that the word "crazy" no lon- ger applies. Just days into the start of the Nittany Lions' offseason, four players had entered the transfer portal and, realisti- cally, nothing was off the table. With four scholarships accounted for in the 2024 recruiting class, the movement in March opened four new vacancies to fill, making for at least eight new faces into the program next season. But, in to- day's college basketball, that offseason retooling of the roster is merely an annual occurrence to handle. "I'm not going to call it crazy. I'm just going to say it's what we've got to do. It's what we have to deal with. It's what we have to handle and prepare ourselves for," Rhoades said. "The difference between last year and this year is that last year, I had to throw a big net out there to build a roster. This year, it's like we're fly fish- ing with our best fly. We're going to try to get specific needs. And because of the experience we've had, really the last two years with this, we can maybe pinpoint some things to our needs a little bit better, a little bit more." Here is a look at where the Nittany Li- ons' roster stands as they take their initial steps in that process: Transfer Needs Penn State's roster turnover now has a few certainties. Among the exiting play- ers, guard RayQuawndis Mitchell, for- ward Leo O'Boyle and center Qudus Wa- hab have all exhausted their eligibility. Also gone are true freshman guard Bragi Guðmundsson and sophomore center Favour Aire, both of whom entered the portal on March 18, as did previously dis- missed point guard Kanye Clary. They were later joined by sophomore big man Demetrius Lilley on March 20 and guard Jameel Brown on March 22. Four freshmen from the 2024 class are set to join the team this summer. Point guard Jahvin Carter, combo guard Domi- nick Stewart and forward Miles Good- man signed their letters of intent in No- vember, while pledged Canadian wing Hudson Ward intends to sign in April. Asked what he was looking for in the portal, Rhoades said simply, "Good players." "The biggest thing to me is we want to have a great balance of skill and ability," he added. "But we also want to make sure we get guys that we know are going to continue to get better. … That, to me, is important, without a doubt." Rhoades also acknowledged the impor- tance of finding players who mesh with the kind of culture he and his staff are try- ing to build with the Nittany Lions. "You always want to get high-level skill. And you want to get big, strong guys. You want to get great athletes," Rhoades said. "You don't get them all at once. Sometimes you have to find those combinations. "We want to find great fits. We're go- ing to find guys who want to play for the name on the front of the jersey. And that's why we've got to do our homework and do it the right way and make sure they're great fits for me and our team and our program. But they want to sprint and run to Penn State because we have had some guys here that have done that, and they're getting better because of it. I love that, and they love being here." The Next Steps Offering that "everything" needs to improve from this season to the next, Rhoades said the direction he intends to take the program might be best under- stood by examining the shortcomings of the recently completed campaign. The Lions ranked in the top half of the league in scoring, turnover margin, three-point shooting and steals, but were in the PSU LOOKING TO FILL TARGETED NEEDS IN TRANSFER PORTAL N AT E B A U E R | N AT E . B A U E R @ O N 3 . C O M After building virtually an entire team from scratch a year ago, coach Mike Rhoades is in a position to be more selective heading into his second season at the helm. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Tentative 2024-25 Penn State Scholarship Roster Name Pos. Elig. Ht. Wt. Hometown School/Last College Ace Baldwin Jr. G Sr.+ 6-1 190 Baltimore St. Frances Academy/VCU Jahvin Carter G Fr. 6-3 175 Alcoa, Tenn. Alcoa D'Marco Dunn G Sr. 6-5 195 Tucson, Ariz. Westover (N.C.)/North Carolina Miles Goodman F Fr. 6-11 225 Seattle Southern California Academy Zach Hicks F Sr. 6-8 200 Camden, N.J. Camden Catholic/Temple Puff Johnson G/F Sr.+ 6-8 205 Moon Township, Pa. Hillcrest Prep (Ariz.)/North Carolina Nick Kern Jr. G Sr. 6-6 200 St. Louis Vashon/VCU Dominick Stewart G Fr. 6-5 180 Ocean Springs, Miss. Southern California Academy Hudson Ward F Fr. 6-7 210 Edmonton, Alberta Western Canada Prep