Penn State basketball has had plenty of trials and tribulations in the Big Ten. They certainly have made things tough for the top teams in the conference. The Nittany Lions have had some special talent find their way to Happy Valley. They will be entering their second season under coach Mike Rhoades as he tries to get them back in NCAA contention. Right before Rhoades arrived, Penn State was fresh off their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2011.
In total, Penn State basketball has made 10 NCAA appearances, including a Final Four berth in 1954. They were certainly a team to reckon with in the early 1950s. Since then, the Nittany Lions have had many impressive individual players. They have been a NIT powerhouse with two Championships in the last 20 years. Some of their best stars have come out of nowhere.
Let’s look at the Penn State basketball all-time starting lineup.
Penn State Basketball: Nittany Lions All-Time Starting Lineup
Guard: Talor Battle
A top-100 high school recruit from New York, Talor Battle chose Penn State. He was one of the best guards in the 2007 Big Ten freshman class, alongside the likes of Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas. He made an immediate impact as soon as he arrived on campus. Battle quickly became a go-to scorer for the Nittany Lions. He led the team in assists, points, and minutes played during his freshman season.
That paved the way for a breakout sophomore campaign in 2008-2009. Not only was Battle one of the best guards in the Big Ten that season, but he bested Big Ten Player of the Year Lucas and the Spartans at the Breslin Center. He had 29 points in that game and was nearly unstoppable. Battle helped lead the Nittany Lions to the NIT Championship during that season.
The rest of his Nittany Lion career was pretty memorable, as he left the school with plenty of accolades and records. Battle was a three-time All-Big Ten player, and he remains the all-time leading Penn State scorer with 2,213 points. That is also good for 14th all-time in Big Ten history. Despite a great collegiate career, Battle never got a call from the NBA and ended up playing overseas. Since stepping away from playing, Battle has gone into coaching. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes. His No. 12 Penn State jersey certainly won’t be forgotten, especially with how great of a shooter he was.
Guard: Jalen Pickett
The next guard in this lineup has quite a story. He didn’t start at Penn State but certainly became a star in the Big Ten once he arrived. Jalen Pickett was one of those players, that started at a much smaller school, before taking advantage of the transfer portal. He proved he was ready for a much higher level, the minute he suited up for the Nittany Lions. He was a high-level player at Siena, where he was three-time all-conference, he also won the MAAC Player of the Year in his final season at Siena.
Pickett arrived at Penn State before the 2021-22 season. He continued his double-digit scoring production in his first season, averaging 13.3 points per game. The team went 14-17 in his first season, but Pickett was ready for a huge senior season in 2022-23. Boy did he deliver. He became one of the many outstanding scorers in the Big Ten during the season, right on par with Zach Edey, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Hunter Dickinson. His outstanding senior season, saw him earn All-Big Ten First Team honors, and was also a consensus second-team All-American. He was the first All-American basketball player at Penn State since the 1950s.
The Nittany Lions thrived from Pickett’s success as they reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011. They even won their opening round game, before bowing out in the round of 32. Pickett’s outstanding career was rewarded with a selection in the 2023 NBA Draft. He went 32nd overall to the Denver Nuggets, where he is preparing for his second season. Pickett was certainly a much-needed player for Penn State to get back to relevance in the Big Ten and the country.
Forward: Lamar Stevens
Lamar Stevens was part of the Nittany Lions during a major down-point. Still, he was a very effective player in a very competitive Big Ten. Stevens arrived at Penn State as a top-100 recruit in the 2016 class. The team had to sacrifice a lot during his four-year career, but Stevens is one of those players who helped build Penn State back into a mid-pack team instead of at the very bottom of the Big Ten. Stevens averaged over 12 points per game as a freshman and earned All-Big Ten freshman honors in 2017.
He continued to build on his all-around ability from there as his numbers continued to climb every season. During his sophomore season in 2017-18, the Nittany Lions were a legit player in the late points of the season, as they made a strong run in the Big Ten Tournament, and qualified for the NIT. Stevens, alongside Tony Carr and Josh Reaves, helped lead the Nittany Lions to the 2018 NIT Championship.
Stevens was pushing to become the Penn State all-time leading scorer in his senior year in 2019-20 when COVID-19 ended the season. Overall he finished seven points shy of Battle’s record. The team was certainly headed for a likely NCAA tournament berth that season as well. He left Penn State as a two-time All-Big Ten player. Despite a great career, Stevens went undrafted in 2020. That didn’t stop him from hooking up with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where spent three seasons playing as a key bench piece. He last played for the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2023-24 season. He is currently a free agent hoping to keep his playing career going. Still, Lamar Stevens went down as one of the best to ever suit up for Penn State basketball.
Forward: Jesse Arnelle
A major player in the 1950s, Jesse Arnelle quickly became one of the best players to ever play for Penn State. Not only was he on the basketball team, but he also played football for the Nittany Lions. Arnelle was in Happy Valley, from 1951-1955. At that time Arnelle was a big-time scorer and rebounder.
Jesse was the key cog for the run to the 1954 Final Four for Penn State. In total, Arnelle played in the NCAA tournament with Penn State in three of his four seasons. No other key Penn State player has ever been in a position to do that since then. For the longest time, Arnelle was the only Penn State basketball player to ever earn an All-American honor, and he did so twice both in 1954 and 1955. When his collegiate career was all said and done, he left Penn State as the all-time leading scorer and all-time leading rebounder.
His 2,138 career points still rank amongst the top three all-time. As for his 1,238 career rebounds, that still stands as the most in Penn State history. Had his time at Penn State been in the Big Ten, he would be among the Top Five all-time Big Ten rebounders. That says a lot about how special of a player Arnelle was. He was the 13th pick of the 1955 NBA Draft by the then Fort Wayne Pistons. He played in 31 games in his rookie season, before breaking his nose, and that was it for his pro career.
Sadly, Arnelle passed away at the age of 86 in 2020. His historic run for the Nittany Lions will never be forgotten, and to think he played both basketball and football. He certainly was athletic.
Forward: Calvin Booth
Calvin Booth was a rising star from Groveport Madison in Ohio when he chose Penn State for school. Booth quickly became a defensive force in the post for the Nittany Lions. His defensive ability hit a new level during his junior season in 1997-98. During that campaign, Booth was able to become the best defender in the Big Ten. He took home Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
He hung around for his senior season and showcased an all-around game, as his point average hit the highest of his career, as he averaged 15.3 points per game. That growth as an all-around player earned him Second-Team All-Big Ten in 1998-99. Booth graduated from Penn State and ended up being drafted in the second round of the 1999 NBA Draft. During his Penn State career, Booth was able to stuff the stat sheet. He scored over 1,200+ points, 720+ rebounds, 100+ assists, 70+ steals, and an eye staggering 420+ blocks.
Once Booth got to the NBA, he carried over his defensive ability, as he had to guard some of the best bigs in NBA history. He spent 13 seasons in the NBA, and that is a very fine career for a Penn State player. He has since gone on to work in the front office of the Denver Nuggets where he won an NBA Championship in 2023. This line-up needs a shot-blocker and you can’t go wrong with Calvin.
See Previous All-Time Big Ten Teams Below:
Illinois Fighting Illini All-Time Starting Lineup
Indiana Hoosiers All-Time Starting Lineup
Iowa Hawkeyes All-Time Starting Lineup
Maryland Terrapins All-Time Starting Lineup
Michigan Wolverines All-Time Starting Lineup
Michigan State Spartans All-Time Starting Lineup
Minnesota Gophers All-Time Starting Lineup
Nebraska Cornhuskers All-Time Starting Lineup
Northwestern Wildcats All-Time Starting Lineup
