What Penn State Is Getting in Mike Rhoades — and Vice Versa
Mike Rhoades, a Pennsylvania native who grew up two hours east of Penn State in Mahanoy City, is the Nittany Lions' new men's basketball coach.
Rhoades, who spent the past six seasons as head coach at VCU, takes over for Micah Shrewsberry, who left after two seasons for Notre Dame. Penn State's Board of Trustees' Subcommittee on Compensation unanimously approved Rhoades' contract Wednesday.
Rhoades signed a seven-year contract with Penn State worth a guaranteed $25.9 million. His salary begins at $3.4 million this season, then increases $100,000 annually to $4 million in 2029. Rhoades also can earn up to $1.075 million in incentives, which include $75,000 per NCAA Tournament victory and $150,000 for winning the Big Ten regular-season title.
His buyout is $15 million in the first season, reducing by $3 million per year until year 6, when it's $1.5 million. There is no buyout in the seventh year.
What is Penn State getting in Rhoades, and vice versa? Here's a look.
What Penn State is getting in Mike Rhoades
Rhoades went 129-61 in six seasons at VCU, making three NCAA Tournaments and one NIT. The Rams went 27-8 this season, winning the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament title before falling to Saint Mary's in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Rhoades, 50, has been a head coach for 19 seasons at three schools. He spent 10 seasons at Randolph-Macon, where he compiled a 197-76 record, and three at Rice, going 47-52. But in his final season at Rice, Rhoades' team went 23-12. Rhodes also was an assistant at VCU for three seasons, serving on Shaka Smart's 2011 staff that took the Rams to the Final Four.
Rhoades' teams emphasize defense, to the point that there's a video called "Mike Rhoades' Full Court Pressure Defense System" listing for $39.99 on Amazon. VCU ranked 15th nationally this season in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to Ken Pomeroy, and was 16th nationally in steals (8.9 per game).
He's also a coach who will emphasize that publicly. Here's a line from Rhoades' introduction as VCU's head coach in 2017. He likely will deliver a version of it when introduced at Penn State.
"We’re going to play fast, we’re going to be exciting we’re going to go after people and we’re going to win," Rhoades said six years ago.
In a news release Wednesday announcing the hire, Rhoades share a similar sentiment:
"We will be bold, different and aggressive moving our program forward. We will play with great energy and excitement while always being relentless in our pursuit of making this basketball family into something special. I can’t wait to get to work."
From Pennsylvania's coal region, Rhoades played at Mahanoy Area High before attending Lebanon Valley College. He led Lebanon Valley to the 1994 NCAA Division III national championship. Rhoades was the 1995 Division III national player of the year, and Lebanon Valley retired his jersey No. 5.
His father, James J. Rhoades, was a seven-term Pennsylvania state senator.
“Growing up, my dad would drive me all over eastern Pennsylvania to watch playoff games," Rhoades told the Allentown Morning Call in 2000. "Chester, Hazleton, Carlisle’s Billy Owens and Jeff Lebo — I was a big Lebo fan. When I was a kid we had tickets for all the state championship games in Hershey. I loved when teams would throw Hershey kisses onto the court when they knew they’d be going to Hershey.”
At the NCAA Tournament regional round in Albany, Rhoades discussed having a hometown crowd to watch VCU against Saint Mary's.
"The one thing about where I'm from, everybody's got each other's back," Rhoades said. "When somebody's doing well from our area, everybody celebrates it. To be able to be in the NCAA Tournament and share with all the people back home in the region of Schuylkill County, I love it."
And he still can shoot. Last year, Rhoades hit a half-court shot at a Washington Wizards game to win $1,000. Video courtesy 7News in Washington.
What Mike Rhoades is getting in Penn State
Rhoades faces a rebuild in his first year at Penn State, a process the NCAA Transfer Portal can affect positively and negatively. Twelve players averaged more than 4 minutes per game for the Lions last season. Ten of them either have exhausted their eligibility, declared for the NBA Draft (Seth Lundy) or entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. Jameel Brown is the latest of four Lions to enter the portal. The redshirt freshman, a 6-4 guard, was a top-100 national recruit in 2022.
In addition, Penn State associate head coach Adam Fisher accepted the head coaching position at Temple.
Further, two of Penn State's three recruits in its 2023 class have asked to be released from their scholarships. The third is Braeden Shrewsberry, son of Notre Dame's new head coach.
Certainly, Rhoades can re-recruit those portaling players, as Shrewsberry did with John Harrar and Lundy. But he'll also need to investigate the transfer portal to fill roster spots. Could he poach his own roster at VCU? If so, Rhoades has some intriguing players, notably Ace Baldwin.
The junior point guard was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Rams in scoring (12.6 ppg), ranking 15th nationally in assists (5.8) and seventh in steals (2.46). Baldwin would be a major addition to the Lions' roster, especially in replacing Jalen Pickett at point guard.
Sophomore forward Jalen DeLoach was named third-team all-conference, and Rhoades roster also includes 6-10 freshman Christian Fermin from Pennsylvania's Pocono Mt. West High.
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