Here’s a look at Penn State men’s basketball’s summer workout as the team goes through a reset
For the second time in two calendar years, Penn State men’s basketball is working though a reset. There’s a new coaching staff, a new roster and new relationships to build as the Nittany Lions try to form itself into a cohesive unit before the season opens in November.
Head coach Mike Rhoades is leading this iteration of a reset after Micah Shrewsberry led the last, and he’s putting his emphasis on making sure the off the court connections lead the way for his first Penn State team.
“Basketball is the easy part,” Rhoades said Tuesday afternoon. “Because that’s why we’re all here. Basketball is what brought us all together, so we all have basketball. That’s the easy one. It’s off the court. It’s dealing with different ages of young men, different personalities. Some guys are a little further along in life than others.”
It helps that Rhoades’ group will feature two players more than familiar with him and his staff. He earned commitments from Ace Baldwin Jr. and Nick Kern Jr. this spring, who spent the first part of their college careers with him at VCU.
That has allowed for some cultural continuity to set in. He can rely on Baldwin and Kern to act as a form of coaches on the court. They know the expectations, they know the values and they know what the practices are supposed to look like, giving Rhoades the chance to let them guide the other players when they need to.
“(Baldwin) knows what to expect,” Rhoades said. “Nick, too. Some of our drills, they jump to the front of the line. The lingo, the terminology, they’ll explain it to the other guys, which is great. Ace just has a great feel with people. I just think he does a good job of knowing how to get along with people. And Ace doesn’t pull any punches either. He wants to win and his competitiveness I think really leaks to everybody else.”
Baldwin is expected to take hold as the undisputed leader of the 2023-2024 team, and for good reason. He was last year’s Atlantic-10 player of the year at VCU and comes in as the most heralded and most accomplished player on the roster from an individual accolade standpoint.
His teammates are already looking to him at times and he’s embracing that role. He’s even seeing the necessary growth compared to when he initially got to campus.
“I feel way more comfortable than when I first got here,” Baldwin said. “It just was all new to me. So I was quiet at first, but now I’m vocal and me and the guys we’ve just got better bonds.”
Finding what works
The on the court aspect may be easier, but Rhoades and his staff will have to figure out what the strengths and weaknesses of this group are and will have to do it while evaluating many of them in person on the fly. Baldwin and Kern are the easiest evaluations and fits, but Rhoades has to fit everyone else in and find where the 2023-2024 team will butter its bread.
Defensively that’s clear. The team will be a traditional team he’s coached in the past — there will be an emphasis on ball pressure, creating chaos and making life difficult at every turn for opposing offense.
The other end of the court is a little bit less clear because Rhoades has had teams play differently depending on his talent available.
He laid out exactly where the Nittany Lions are right now on offense.
“I think we have guys who can make some plays with the ball in their hands, without a doubt,” Rhoades said. “We are shooting the ball pretty well right now. I like that a lot. I think guys are doing a good job, especially early as a new team, sharing the basketball. ... We’ve got to finish better at the rim. And I don’t mean big guys, I mean everybody. We have guys who can really drive it and I think guys that can get to the rim.”
Some of that positive shooting should come from additions like Leo O’Boyle, who comes in as a marksman from deep. He’s the type of specialist that could really open the floor for the team and allow players like Baldwin to get to the rim and finish.
While he lacks the foot speed to be an elite defender, he brings other skills to the table that should allow him to be playable on that end of the court.
“He can really shoot so we like that,” Rhoades said. “And he’s tough. What he lacks in foot speed he makes up in toughness and in skill. ... He works really hard. The guys really respect him.”
Summer workout observations
Penn State opened up its Tuesday afternoon practice to the media after Rhoades and select players spoke. Here’s what we saw in the hour-plus in the practice gym.
- This team is noticeably different than the one from last year from an athletic standpoint. There’s a lot of athleticism and a lot of length that is going to play well on defense in Rhoades’ system.
- Baldwin was defending with the kind of aggression you’d expect in drills. He’s excellent on the ball and is going to make life miserable for Big Ten point guards this year. His shot is a little unorthodox, but they went in at a good clip from deep during shooting drills.
- RayQuawndis Mitchell was stronger than expected. He’s got good size at guard and is a high-end athlete. It’ll be interesting to see how he goes from being the No. 1 option to a secondary option. If he takes to it, he could have a major impact this season.
- Leo O’Boyle is another guy who looked bulkier than expected. He can clearly shoot and that strength should help him out at the defensive end, where he doesn’t move his feet all that well.
- The lone returners from last year’s team — Kanye Clary, Demetrius Lilley and Jameel Brown — all appear to have made progress. Lilley has lost significant weight and looks much more nimble. He showed a lot of touch from deep and could be the backup to Qudus Wahab at center this year. Clary told the CDT he’s working on his shot and mainly focusing on his confidence rather than mechanical changes. Brown looks to have added some weight and continues to progress as a three-level scorer while being a good shooter from deep.
- Kern said he’s been working on his shooting and has been hitting more of them in practice. He looked more comfortable as a shooter in practice.
- Johnson looks like he could be a very good shooter for this team and clearly has the size and length to excel defensively. If his shot starts falling from deep more than it did at North Carolina, he could be a major difference maker this season.
- His UNC teammate D’Marco Dunn is an excellent athlete and has more upside than anyone on the roster at this point. There’s a world where he makes a bigger impact than anyone on the roster this year. He’s that level of scorer and should be good defensively under Rhoades.
- Former Miami center Favour Aire is raw, but clearly has the athleticism to dream on at the position. He also showed some touch from deep with a clean shooting stroke during drills at the end of practice.
