Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1531683
4 2 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M B efore Penn State had returned to the Breslin Center hardwood on Jan. 15 following its halftime break with Michigan State, the news was already grim. Big Ten Network re- porter Andy Katz relayed to his broadcast team that, after speaking with Nittany Lions head coach Mike Rhoades, super senior forward Puff Johnson would miss the rest of the game against the Spartans. Exiting after just six minutes played in the first half with what appeared to be an injury to his right hand, Johnson hadn't yet received an X-ray. But whatever was wrong, it was enough to keep him out of action for what would ultimately be a 90- 85 Penn State loss. Two days later, Rhoades confirmed Johnson's setback would extend well be- yond the trip to East Lansing. Meeting with reporters at the Bryce Jordan Center for his weekly press conference, Rhoades said Johnson would be forced to miss more time due to the injury. "He suffered that injury Wednesday night, so he'll be out for a bit," Rhoades said. "He's still being evaluated by the doctors, but he'll be out for a while." Although the duration of that ab- sence was unknown as of mid-January, its implications were far-reaching for both Johnson and the Nittany Lions. He was injured during a four-game losing streak that began with a 77-71 setback against Indiana in Philadelphia on Jan. 5, followed by a 91-52 loss at No. 13 Illinois three nights later in which graduate point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. injured his back, and an excruciating 82-81 home defeat against No. 15 Oregon on Jan. 12 before the decision at Michigan State. The Lions rebounded with an 80-72 win over visiting Rutgers on Jan. 20, but they were 13-6 overall and 3-5 in Big Ten play heading into a trip to Iowa on Jan. 24. Their NCAA Tournament aspirations were in serious jeopardy, and there would be little margin for error going forward. Johnson's injury did nothing to improve the odds. He had been a crucial part of Penn State's core rotation through its first 18 games. At the time of his injury, he was one of six players scoring in double fig- ures, with an average of 10.2 points per game on 54.3 percent shooting from the floor. His 74 rebounds ranked fourth on the team, and his 28 offensive boards were good for second. In addition, his 81 percent shooting from the free throw line was third among the Nittany Lions' heavy-usage players, and he was fifth on the team with 13 three-pointers on 43 at- tempts from beyond the arc. MEN'S BASKETBALL Road To Road To Recovery Recovery Penn State looks to show resilience after an injury to standout forward Puff Johnson NAT E BAU E R | N AT E . B A U E R @ O N 3 . C O M Johnson was averaging 10.2 points per game through 17 games before suffering a hand injury during Penn State's 90-85 loss to Michigan State on Jan. 15. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS