Penn State Coach Mike Rhoades Says Leading Scorer Kanye Clary No Longer With Team
Penn State will be without top scorer Kanye Clary for the remainder of the season. Coach Mike Rhoades said the guard is "no longer with the team." The Nittany Lions host No. 12 Illinois on Wednesday and Indiana on Saturday.
Clary led Penn State in scoring with 16.7 points per game. He was also averaging 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per contest.
"We'll move forward and focus on the task at hand," Rhoades said, per Joe Tuman of The Daily Collegian. "It came to a point where as a coach, I decided to move on."
Rhoades did not provide further explanation behind the decision to move on from the guard.
Clary did not make the trip to Lincoln for Penn State's showdown against Nebraska on Saturday. The Huskers defeated the Nittany Lions 68-49.
Clary was absent during Penn State's back-to-back road wins over Rutgers and Indiana in late January and early February because of injury.
Penn State got great production from Ace Baldwin Jr. during Clary's absence in wins over Rutgers and Indiana. He scored 15 in a 61-46 victory over the Scarlet Knights. The senior followed that up with a 22-point outing against the Hoosiers in Assembly Hall.
Clary returned to action on Feb. 8 in a home game against Iowa. Since his return from injury, Clary had been coming off the bench for the Nittany Lions.
Clary is a sophomore guard who was a member of Penn State's NCAA Tournament team from last season. He had made huge strides on the floor from his freshman year to his sophomore campaign. The guard averaged just 3.7 points and played only 10.4 minutes per contest during the 2022-23 season.
Penn State has lost three straight games and sits at 12-14 on the season. The Nittany Lions are 6-9 in Big Ten play.
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