While he may have taken VCU to three NCAA Tournaments, Mike Rhoades quickly realized that life is significantly harder in the Big Ten at Penn State. The Nittany Lions have played .500 ball in the two seasons since he was brought aboard, though that includes a tough 17th place finish in the Big Ten last year. If there was worry about the team not being talented enough to compete for Big Ten crowns, then the near-complete overhaul of the roster won’t surprise you.
Ace Baldwin’s career came to a marvelous end, while other talent like D’Marco Dunn, Zach Hicks, and Nick Kern also ended their senior years. Yanic Konan Niederhauser headed early to the NBA, leaving a major hole under the basket for Penn State. Altogether just three players return from last season and only Freddie Dilione V played major minutes for the Nittany Lions.
Rhoades and his staff don’t exactly have the same kind of resources as some of the programs in the Big Ten but have done what they can to rejuvenate and refill this roster. The one thing that’s certain is that there’ll be a younger flair in College Station, with much of the offseason additions being freshmen, like notable 4-stars Mason Blackwood and Kayden Mingo. In actuality, there’s only one new faces from the transfer portal in all the chaos.
Despite losing half a dozen names into the portal, 6-7 guard Josh Reed is the lone addition for the Nittany Lions. The Atlanta native heads to Pennsylvania after three seasons over at Cincinnati largely in a reserve role. Reed has seen his productive gradually increase until averaging 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds for the Bearcats this past season, only getting a handful of starts.
With all of the changes on this roster, Reed steps into a major role and should be a starter for the Nittany Lions. We’ve yet to really see what he can produce on the court, but there’s some potential as a shooter and defender. Penn State gives him his first shot to really spread his wings and he’ll also be the rare senior and veteran presence in this rotation.
We’re being frank when we say it’s hard to see Penn State becoming a legitimate contender in this year’s Big Ten race. This program lost immense talent in the offseason and quite simply didn’t replace what they lost, instead depending on freshmen to fill in most of those holes. Whatever the ceiling may be for the Nittany Lions, they’re going to need Reed to play significantly better than his time in Cincinnati.