Penn State Sports Magazine
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4 4 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ing Chattanooga on Nov. 5, and they had 27 points and 20 boards in a neutral-site game against Pitt on Nov. 8 at the Pales- tra in Philadelphia. Penn State's schedule will toughen up considerably when the nonconfer- ence foes give way to Big Ten opposition. The Nittany Lions open their conference campaign against Nebraska on Dec. 8 at the BJC and will face Illinois four nights later in Champaign. In the meantime, the nonconference slate offers an indication of how the newcomers will fit alongside Jurić. Jurić's role remains central to Penn State's plans. Rhoades wants him to take another step, and the veteran coach is confident the Nittany Lions are better equipped to help him do it. "We're putting a lot on Jurić. He's got to step up," Rhoades said. "But we're ex- cited. Last year, he was a freshman and we were playing him 27 minutes a game. It was great for him, but that wore him down. That won't have to happen now with some of these guys playing and some depth." ■ After a lengthy wait, Penn State received word from the NCAA on Oct. 30 that forward Roko Prkačin had been cleared to participate in the 2026-27 college basketball season. Prkačin, a native of Zagreb, Croatia, had arrived in State Col- lege in late August and was in limbo until just before the start of the season. Holding fifth-year senior eligibility, Prkačin impressed in his American collegiate debut. He finished with 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the floor in just 20 minutes of play against Canisius on Nov. 2, leading all Penn State scorers. He also had 6 rebounds, with four coming on the offensive end to help the Nittany Lions finish with 24 second-chance points. Given the circumstances — he had been forced to watch from the bench during Penn State's exhibition games against St. Bonaventure and Drexel — Prkačin's emergence and strong performance proved to be a relief to the entire pro- gram. "I was very proud of him," head coach Mike Rhoades said. "I thought our guys did a good job of getting him the ball and sometimes just really quick opportunities to score. He has really good hands and really good feet, and he could find dif- ferent ways to score. You saw that with some of his footwork and moves, and he's really good in transition in the open court as well. "He's going to get better and better. I've been holding him to a really, really high standard, and today was a great start for him. You've got to do this against everybody, but it's a great start." Against Chattanooga three nights later, Prkačin totaled 13 points and 6 rebounds, and he had 11 points and 7 boards against Pitt on Nov. 8. Lions Struggle From Three-Point Range What Prkačin didn't do was attempt any three-point shots on opening night. Despite bringing in a group of shooters that Rhoades described as the best of his tenure with the program, the Nittany Lions followed their exhibition-game trends with another lackluster night from beyond the arc. Penn State went 4-of-19 from deep against Canisius, with junior guards Roberts Blums and Brant Byers combining to hit just 2 of 12 attempts. "I thought we had some really good ones and the right guys shoot- ing it," Rhoades said. "I thought Rob got a little antsy. He wanted to get one to get one, and that's hard to do. You've just got to get one in the flow. I thought Brant had two that he missed that were good ones. He's going to shoot them all the time. We've just got to shoot better. I think some game experience, the flow of it [will help]. This is new to everybody. More inside-outside shots. "If everybody knows we have multiple shooters on our court, they're going to play that. That gives guys around the basket more space and more one-on-one stuff that you saw today. So, pick your poison a little bit. We've got to shoot it better, but I really believe we will. We've just got to get more comfortable in how we're doing things." The struggles continued in the Lions' next two games, with PSU hit- ting 6 of 23 three-point shots against Chattanooga and 5 of 15 versus Pitt. — Nate Bauer Prkac ˇin totaled 28 points in just 20 minutes to help Penn State defeat Canisius, 97-57, in its opener. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS European Standout Roko Prkac ˇin Shines In Penn State Debut