Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1518105
A P R I L 2 0 2 4 4 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M basement in team rebounding, shoot- ing percentage and opponent field goal percentage. "We've got to get better defensively. That's important to me," Rhoades said. "Offensively, I want to be more efficient than we were. Play faster. We scored the most points I think in 25 years, but I think we can play even faster and be more ef- ficient. Continue to understand the im- portance of ball security. Working this offseason with all our players shooting the basketball and handling the basketball. If we get better with the ball in our hands, we'll become a better basketball team." ■ THREE STARS 1. Ace Baldwin Jr. | G | Sr. Baldwin's first year in the program after transferring from VCU was one of development. Playing in all 33 games, he finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.2 points to go with his conference-leading 2.7 steals per game and third-best average of 7 assists against Big Ten competition. When sophomore guard Kanye Clary was dismissed from the team in Feb- ruary, Baldwin's influence grew further. In Penn State's final seven games, he played 40 minutes five times and produced his best basketball of the season. For his efforts, he was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and was a third-team all-conference choice. 2. Kanye Clary | G | So. Although Clary's exit was abrupt, announced by head coach Mike Rhoades on Feb. 19, his impact on the Nittany Lions' 2023-24 season was unmistakable. He played in 23 games and started 20 until a late-game concussion in a loss to Minnesota on Jan. 27 upended his sophomore campaign. Clary led the Lions with a 16.7-point scoring average, hitting 46.2 percent of his shots from the floor and a team-high 37.7 percent from beyond the arc. In Penn State's nine wins before his exit, he led the team in scoring in eight, averaging 20.3 points over that stretch. 3. Qudus Wahab | F | Gr. One of three Nittany Lions to earn honorable mention All-Big Ten status, along with junior guard Nick Kern Jr. and junior forward Zach Hicks, the 6-foot-11, 245-pound Wahab carried the load for the Nittany Lions in the paint all season. A transfer from Georgetown, he was the lone experienced big man on the roster, averaging 9.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game and notching five double-doubles. KEY MOMENT At his year-end press conference, Rhoades described his first season with the program as "very, very interesting," a subtle nod to the roller-coaster ride that the Nittany Lions endured both on and off the court. Finishing the year at 16-17 overall, with a 9-11 mark in conference play, then reaching the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, Penn State hit every point on the continuum from high to low moments. Among the highlights, the Lions broke a five-game losing streak early in the year by topping Ohio State, went on to beat Michigan at the Palestra in Philadelphia, and then earned a pair of top-15 wins against Wisconsin and Illinois. To pick one key moment, though, the end of Penn State's trip to face Georgia Tech at Madison Square Garden in December stands above all. The Nittany Lions were just one reversed outcome away from finishing their campaign with an overall winning record, and a last-second, blown overtime call against the Yellow Jackets ultimately upended the Nittany Lions' chances to hit that milestone. BEST HIGHLIGHT Storming back from a deficit that had ballooned to 14 points in the sec- ond half and was still in double digits with 2:30 remaining, Penn State beat No. 12 Illinois with a frenetic comeback at Rec Hall in front of 6,150 fans on Feb. 21. The Nittany Lions did it by upending a pattern in which they had been unable to rally back in the second half of earlier games. Struggling to stop Illinois all night, the Lions allowed 48 points in the first half. However, their demeanor changed down the stretch, and the pres- sure they applied in the final minutes got to the Illini. PSU had been kept afloat through much of the second half by junior guard Nick Kern Jr., who had scored 13 consecutive points for the Nittany Lions, but his teammates supplied the drama at the end. A floater by sophomore guard Jameel Brown and layup by junior guard D'Marco Dunn cut into the Illini advantage, and junior forward Zach Hicks stepped in to handle the rest. With a last look at the basket, Ace Baldwin's dish to Hicks deep on the wing opened a three-point opportunity that didn't rattle home. But, fouled by Illini forward Coleman Hawkins on the attempt, Hicks stepped to the free throw line, made all three attempts, and sent Penn State to the 90-89 comeback victory. BOLD PREDICTION Given the timing of their arrival last spring, Rhoades and his staff had to scramble to assemble a roster. Now they know firsthand what a season of Big Ten basketball entails, and they can be more deliberate and picky about how they reshape the roster for their follow-up campaign. Although the Nittany Lions lost four players when the transfer portal opened on March 18 (in addition to Clary who was dismissed from the team in February), Rhoades will run the race to find the pieces that better fit the playing style and locker room culture he is seeking to establish. — Nate Bauer PENN STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL SUPERLATIVES 2023-24 SEASON Guard Ace Baldwin Jr. shined in his first season with the Nittany Lions, winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors while also ranking second on the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL