Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545007
J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 6 3 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M guard Thomas Allard, formerly of Divi- sion II Alabama-Huntsville. A second- team All-Gulf South Conference hon- oree last season, Allard has just one year of eligibility remaining. "Thomas has the ability to impact the game in multiple ways with his posi- tional size, shooting ability and a high basketball IQ ," Rhoades said. "His ma- turity, production and winning experi- ence will benefit us immediately." More recently, the Nittany Lions have filled out the rest of the roster with younger players who can continue to develop and grow. On May 8, they signed point guard Andy Gemao. Originally from the Phil- ippines, the 19-year-old freshman will arrive at Penn State from Royal Crown Prep in Toronto. He's expected to give the Nittany Lions more ballhandling, an acknowledged deficiency before his addition. On May 12, forward Aleksandar Zecevic of Serbia announced his com- mitment. A 20-year-old freshman playing with Spain's Bilbao Basket of Liga ACB, he is averaging 10.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game with the U22 team this season. Factoring in the decommitment of the program's lone class of 2026 prospect, Jamison White, the Nittany Lions will have much more experience than they did last season. Recognizing the flaw in today's col- lege basketball with a long-term devel- opmental approach, Rhoades and the Nittany Lions have made a course cor- rection. They've placed an immediate emphasis on experience, physical readi- ness and demonstrated productivity in the college and professional ranks. Wanting to get as old as possible, as quickly as possible, the Nittany Lions have done so over the past two months. "I do think you see the league is older and bigger. That's something we have to address," Rhoades said late last season. "One way you address it is the guys that come back are a year older, more expe- rienced, another year in the offseason of getting bigger and stronger. That helps you get older. And I think that's the key for us going forward." ■ Penn State's Upcoming Big Ten Opponents Unveiled Penn State won't see its full 2026-27 Big Ten schedule for a while, but the Nittany Lions now know which opponents they'll face. The opponent breakdown is as follows (final NCAA NET rankings in parentheses): Home and away: Nebraska (12), Ohio State (30), Rutgers (136) Home only: Indiana (41), Maryland (131), Michigan (1), Northwestern (61), Oregon (107), Purdue (8), Washington (55) Away only: Illinois (5), Iowa (22), Minnesota (82), Michigan State (11), UCLA (31), USC (77), Wisconsin (27) The good news for Penn State first: Michigan appears only once on the 2026-27 slate, and that matchup will be at the Bryce Jordan Center, where the Lions gave the eventual national champion all it could handle in January before falling, 74-72. Another positive for Penn State is its double-play slate of Nebraska, Ohio State and Rut- gers. The Scarlet Knights finished the 2025-26 season as the next-lowest Big Ten team in the NCAA NET rankings behind Penn State and compiled a 14-20 overall record. And, in drawing Ohio State twice, Penn State gets one of its closest geographical conference opponents for a home-and-away series. Also of note, Penn State's annual West Coast swing will take it to Los Angeles next season, with road trips to UCLA and USC instead of last year's split between Oregon and Washington. On the more challenging end of the spectrum, Penn State's remaining single-play road games present significant hurdles based on both long-term history and recent results in those venues. Although the Nittany Lions earned their first-ever win at Wisconsin's Kohl Center to close the 2024-25 regular season, success has otherwise been elusive against the Badgers and at Michigan State, where Penn State is 2-17 all-time. — Nate Bauer P E N N S T A T E 2 0 2 6 - 2 7 M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L R O S T E R * Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Elig. Hometown High School/Club/Last College Thomas Allard G 6-7 210 Sr. Suwanee, Ga. Lincoln Memorial/Alabama Huntsville Roberts Blums G 6-4 190 Jr. Riga, Latvia Rigas Talmãcibas Vidusskola/Davidson Brant Byers F 6-8 200 R-Jr. Chambersburg, Pa. Perkiomen/Miami (Ohio) Andy Gemao G 6-1 170 Fr. Manila, Philippines Royal Crown Prep (Ontario) Reggie Grodin G 6-5 200 So. Larchmont, N.Y. Newman School (Mass.) Ivan Juric F 7-0 250 So. Zagreb, Croatia Sunrise Christian Academy (Kan.) Chris Lotito F 6-7 215 So. Upper Saddle River, N.J. Don Bosco Prep Tim Oboh C 6-11 230 Jr. Orpington, England Canterbury Academy/Buffalo Roko Prkacin F 6-9 225 Fr. Zagreb, Croatia Nanterre 92 (France) Jay Rodgers G 6-3 185 Sr. Pickerington, Ohio The Winchendon School/Central Conn. St. François Wibaut F 6-6 205 Fr. Pau, France Elan Bearnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez (France) Aleksandar Zecevic C/F 6-10 Fr. Serbia Bilbao Basket (Spain) * As of May 18