Penn State Sports Magazine
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N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 4 3 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State point guard Ace Bald- win Jr. said he considered only two options following the 2023-24 season. The reigning Big Ten De- fensive Player of the Year, Baldwin could stick around to lead the Nittany Lions for one more season, or he could test the pro- fessional waters. What he wouldn't do, Bald- win said resolutely, was spend his final season of college eligi- bility playing for a coach other than Penn State's Mike Rhoades. "I did have to think about it hard," Baldwin said. "I knew I wasn't going to leave Coach Rhoades, though. That's my guy. I knew I wasn't going to leave him. I just wanted to stay." Rhoades had offered unwavering sup- port to Baldwin throughout his decision process, which lasted from March until late May. The veteran coach knew what Baldwin's return would mean to the team. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound guard was a key component of what Rhoades was trying to build at PSU, but even so, the coach was careful not to place undue pressure on Baldwin to use his bonus season of eli- gibility. "He actually told me [to do] whatever I want to do. He wasn't forcing me to stay. He said whatever I want to do, he's rock- ing with me," Baldwin recalled. "But once I told him I'm coming back, he was very excited. Once I told him, he just got the pieces together for me, and we went from there." With Baldwin returning, the Nittany Lions had a cornerstone upon which they could build their team. In the months that followed, Penn State's roster took shape. Rhoades and his staff welcomed eight new players into the program — four recruits in the class of 2024 and another four brought in from the transfer portal. Now, with the 2024-25 season about to begin, those players will be looking to Baldwin to lead the way. The Baltimore native underwent a transition of his own last year. He had played four seasons un- der Rhoades at Virginia Commonwealth and opted to relocate to State College af- ter the coach accepted Penn State's job opening. Baldwin came off the bench in November and December, the result of "coach's decisions" that had to do with the challenges of integrating holdovers from former coach Micah Shrewsberry's last team and Rhoades' mad-dash assem- bly of transfer portal pickups. It ended up working out after the ini- tial difficulties. Shrugging off a period of early-season instability, Baldwin went on to average 14.2 points, 6 assists, 2.7 steals and 2.7 rebounds per game. Now he's been called upon to help inte- grate another batch of newcomers, a task he has handled with enthusiasm by all ac- counts. Said Rhoades, "He's done a great job leading by example on the court, but also helping the young guys." A Positive Influence The Nittany Lions have no shortage of production coming back. Nearly 60 per- cent of their scoring last year is return- ing in the form of Baldwin, senior guards Nick Kern Jr. (8.7 points per game) and D'Marco Dunn (6.8), and senior forwards Zach Hicks (8.4) and Puff Johnson (7.3). Their contributions cannot carry the program alone, though. Acknowledging that last year's circumstances had the Nittany Lions "starting from scratch," Baldwin noted better "flow" and a "faster and bigger" team this year thanks to its incoming complementary roster addi- tions. In the backcourt, that includes sopho- more transfer Freddie Dilione V, a former On3 Industry Ranking four-star prospect, plus two true freshmen, Dominick Stew- art and Jahvin Carter. Baldwin's influence on the younger players has been felt throughout the team during its offseason work. "I'm just watching Ace every day and learning from him," Carter said. "He's one of the top guards in the country, so I'm watching him and just absorb- ing everything I can from him. It's been helping me." Coming out of a debut campaign in which he led Penn State to a surprising 16-17 overall record, including a 9-11 reg- ular-season mark against Big Ten compe- tition, Baldwin was not without areas for personal improvement. Connecting on 146 of 375 shots, he compiled a 38.9 percent shoot- ing rate that was more than three points worse than his junior cam- paign at VCU. And while his 48 makes from beyond the arc were the most of his career, he had taken 146 shots from deep, leaving him with a worse three-point shooting percentage (32.9) than he had compiled in his two prior seasons in the Atlantic 10. Determined to improve his efficiency, Baldwin embraced a plan for personal transformation. That effort, combined with his willingness to lead his younger teammates through their acclimation pro- cess, helped set the tone for a productive summer within the program. "Just seeing him having joy with his work, I'm really enjoying what he's doing with his approach," associate head coach Jamal Brunt said. "I just love the space he's in, and it's really driving us this offseason." Ship Comes In Approaching the start of their 2024-25 season, the Nittany Lions are counting on the continuation of that guiding mindset. Armed with experience and a shift in per- spective, Baldwin has put in the work to flourish this season, Rhoades said. "A guy I used to work for used to say everybody's ship comes into port at a dif- ferent time. Some guys, they might not get it until they leave here or they leave you," the coach explained. "Or they might get it their sophomore year or their senior year. Usually, it's later in our 20s that we all figure that out — what's really impor- tant and what we need to do. "With him, I never worried that he would compete and get after it in the gym. But I just think his maturity and the way he's interacting with his teammates and his approach have been really, really good. It's been awesome, and I'm super proud of him." ■ "He wasn't forcing me to stay. He said whatever I want to do, he's rocking with me. But once I told him I'm coming back, he was very excited." B A L D W I N O N C O A C H M I K E R H O A D E S ' R E A C T I O N T O H I S D E C I S I O N T O R E T U R N MEN'S BASKETBALL