Mike Rhoades had to build a roster on the fly when he was hired two seasons ago. He’s had to do it again in his third year in Happy Valley where Penn State has one of the youngest groups in the country.
With just three holdovers from last season’s squad (16-15, 6-14 Big Ten) that was slowed by injuries to veteran stars Rhoades brought with him from VCU, the Nittany Lions will be a work in progress. After a promising 9-11 mark in conference action in Rhoades’ first year, the Nittany Lions fell to 6-14 and missed the conference tournament last season.
Players to watch
Kayden Mingo (freshman, G, 6-3)
Mingo is Penn State’s highest-ranked recruit in program history. Fresh off a senior season at Long Island Lutheran where he averaged 13.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, Mingo will get a crack at replacing departed point guard Ace Baldwin Jr.
Freddie Dilione V (junior, G, 6-5, 9.4 ppg)
Dilione is the team’s leading returning scorer who also chipped in 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He played in all 31 games last season.
Dominick Stewart (sophomore, G, 6-5)
Rhoades called Stewart the team’s most improved player from last year when he averaged 8.1 minutes per game in 24 appearances off the bench.
Departures and arrivals
Penn State brought in a pair of upperclassmen transfers and seven other true freshmen to join Mingo, Dilione, Stewart and Eli Rice. Josh Reed, a 6-foot-8 senior who averaged 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game last season at Cincinnati, will crack a forward group that lost Yanic Konan Niederhauser to the NBA. Freshmen Justin Houser, Ivan Jurić and Saša Ciani are all listed at 6-foot-10 or taller while fellow freshmen Tibor Mirtič and Melih Tunca come fresh out of Slovenian and Turkish professional leagues, respectively.
Top games
Penn State opens on Nov. 3 against Fairfield.
The Nittany Lions begin Big Ten play with a trip to Indiana on Dec. 9 before hosting No. 22 Michigan State on Dec. 13. A brutal stretch looms in the New Year when Penn State hosts No. 17 Illinois on Jan. 3 and No. 7 Michigan on Jan. 6. A visit to No. 1 Purdue comes four days later before No. 12 UCLA visits on Jan. 14.
Facts and figures
Dilione and junior transfer Saša are the only Nittany Lions who’ve averaged at least 20 minutes per game in collegiate play … Dilione led Penn State with 37 points on 14-for-28 shooting while Jurić grabbed a team-best 15 rebounds in the team’s two exhibition games. … The Nittany Lions were picked to finish last in the Big Ten preseason media poll.