How Penn State Basketball Will Attack the Transfer Portal
Five Penn State basketball players are in the NCAA Transfer Portal, meaning new coach Mike Rhoades faces some work re-recruiting his next roster. But Rhoades also likely will turn to his former roster at VCU for reinforcements.
Seven VCU players have entered the transfer portal, according to the website Verbal Commits, including point guard Ace Baldwin Jr., the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. The group also includes all-conference forward Jalen DeLoach and three other players with at least 17 starts.
In the long term, Rhoades said he wants to build recruiting relationships through "time and trust." But for the short term, specifically next season, Rhoades will need to repopulate his roster through the portal.
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Of Penn State's 12 players who logged 4+ minutes per game this season, 11 are looking elsewhere: five have exhausted their eligibility, one (Seth Lundy) declared for the NBA Draft and five have entered the portal.
The latest was freshman Kebba Njie, a 6-10 forward who started 27 games last season. Two of those portal entrants, Evan Mahaffey and Jameel Brown, attended Rhoades' introductory press conference, indicating a willingness to listen to their new staff. But currently, Penn State's roster includes two scholarship players: Kanye Clary, and Demetrius Lilley. Which makes Rhoades next few weeks of roster-building a priority.
Rhoades said he will be an active player in the transfer portal but also wants to "get it right."
"Now it's time to go recruit," Rhoades said. "It's time to build relationships with these young guys that are here. I told them not too long ago, to build relationships takes two things: time and trust. I'm going to give them my time and hopefully that builds trust.
"And then we're going to be very active recruiting, and that's why our staff is here, and that's what you've got to do. We've got to go build a roster. But I assure you this: We're going to do it right, and we're going to do it so we build this to last."
Among the VCU players in the portal, Baldwin would be a top target. The 6-1 point guard led the team in scoring and also was the A-10 defensive player of the year. Penn State needs a point guard to replace All-American Jalen Pickett, and Baldwin is a veteran in Rhoades' system.
DeLoach, a 6-9 forward, was third-team all-conference and led VCU in rebounds (6.9 per game). Jayden Nunn, a 6-4 guard, was the only VCU player to start all 35 games. Jamir Watkins is a 6-7 forward who averaged 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds, while 6-6 guard Nick Kern made 19 starts.
Rhoades also announced the first five members of his staff, which includes former Penn State great Joe Crispin.
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