Penn State Basketball hopes to have a better second year under Head Coach Mike Rhoades. It was a challenging first season for the former VCU coach as he tried to build off the success of his predecessor in Happy Valley. The 2023-24 team took a major step back after the team was in the NCAA tournament the season before that.
Then again the Nittany Lions had to replace a lot of top-level talent. Penn State had several experienced players follow Rhoades from the Rams including Ace Baldwin Jr. They will have to rely heavily on Baldwin this season, as an already challenging Big Ten is ten times harder with four new teams in the league. Baldwin was starting to hit his stride down the 2023-24 season stretch for Penn State. It allowed the team to finish 16-17 and 9th in the Big Ten. He has to be the go-to scorer for Coach Rhoades and the Nittany Lions in 2024-25.
Penn State Big Ten Basketball Preview 2024-25: Watch Out For Ace Baldwin Jr
The roster appears to be shaping up nicely for the 2024-25 Nittany Lions Basketball squad. Coach Rhoades and Baldwin both recently spoke with Shane Thomas from The Tribune-Democrat about the cohesiveness of the five returning players and nine newcomers that make up the roster.
“We’ve had a lot of good work,” Rhoades said. “We have a group of guys here that live in the gym this summer, so I’m really, really proud of that. I like our approach. I like how well these guys have meshed. Nine new faces, the older guys have done a really good job of bringing the young guys along and understand what we’re trying to do around here.”
As for Baldwin, he could have easily moved on, to bigger and better things, but he has some goals he wants to finish with Coach and Penn State.
” I was just thinking, ‘What should I do? Should I come back or should I leave?'” Baldwin said. “Of course, I just wanted to stay with coach and make a statement. I saw what the Big Ten was like and I just want to win a championship. Win the conference and win a championship.”
Having a solid core returning group certainly only helps Baldwin’s expectations for the team. Bringing in nine new guys is always going to be a challenge, but Penn State appears to be in a much better spot this year than they were going into Rhoades’s first season.
A closer look at the work being put in by the team was shared on the team’s X page.
Just the beginning 📈#WeAre pic.twitter.com/AvO9h2GZet
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) June 20, 2024
Roster Outlook
The 2024-25 squad ✔️🦁#WeAre pic.twitter.com/aZGfpGTAlm
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) May 29, 2024
Beyond the returning Baldwin Jr, the Nittany Lions also return Nick Kern Jr who averaged nearly nine points per game last season. That gives Penn State a pair of strong and experienced guards which is the name of the game in college basketball. They are also joined by D’Marco Dunn, Zach Hicks, and Puff Johnson.
As for the nine newcomers, four come in via the transfer portal highlighted by former Tennesse Volunteer Freddie Dilione V. They were also able to grab Eli Rice (Nebraska), Yanic Niederhauser (Northern Illinois), and Kachi Nzeh (Xavier) from the portal. They aren’t alone as Coach Rhoades brought in a strong five-player freshman class. That group is led by four-star center Miles Goodman from Southern California Academy in Castaic, California. According to 247 Sports, Goodman is the second highest-rated player the Nittany Lions have ever landed in the history of the recruiting rankings. Expect Goodman to see playing time early and often for Penn State in 2024-25.
Schedule Outlook
The Nittany Lions have some intriguing non-conference games that should help them once they get into Big Ten play. Penn State will take on Virginia Tech as part of the Hall of Fame Classic in Baltimore, Maryland in early November. That leads to a trip to Daytona Beach for the Sunshine Slam Event, where Clemson, Fordham, and San Francisco will also be involved. Those trips will certainly help the Nittany Lions in the long run as they have some big road trips once they get to conference play.
Penn State will make a trip to California to play both USC and UCLA this season, as they are two of the four new teams in the Big Ten. Trips to Ann Arbor, East Lansing, and Champaign won’t be easy match-ups either, but Penn State has become accustomed to shocking the more prominent teams this league has to offer.
As for their home slate of Big Ten Games, the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies will both make a trip to the Bryce Jordan Center in Happy Valley this season. It also doesn’t hurt when you get defending Big Ten Champion Purdue on your home court. The home slate is rounded out by games against Maryland, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Ohio State. That leaves three Big Ten foes, the Nittany Lions will play twice, and those teams are the Indiana Hoosiers, Minnesota Golden Gophers, and Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Penn State shared a full run-down of their Big Ten Schedule on social media.
First look at the 2024-25 B1G slate 👀
🔗 https://t.co/OMLGeyC7Qh#WeAre pic.twitter.com/IGMMtNARVP
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) May 1, 2024
Season Outlook
Having a go-to number-one scoring option is huge for Penn State. It also appears he has his sights set on helping lead the Nittany Lions to the top of the Big Ten. That is going to take a lot of work, with so much talent and historic programs in this conference. They certainly shocked a lot of people in 2023-24 when they were able to finish ahead of Maryland, Rutgers, and Michigan all three of which have been Big Ten Title contenders in recent memory. Like those three teams, Penn State made some big moves this offseason, and they will be ready to compete on a nightly basis.
