Mike Rhoades stresses Ace Baldwin's competitiveness for Penn State

Ace Baldwin waited for the right time to attack, taking over late in a 89-79 victory for Penn State against Iowa this past week. The senior guard caught fire to close things out, scoring 13 of the Nittany Lions’ final 18 points as they closed the game on a 15-6 run.

Baldwin finished the game with 22 points, 18 of which came in the second half. It wasn’t because of a cold streak, but rather because he simply didn’t attempt many shots in the first. But as coach Mike Rhoades explained postgame, Baldwin simply has a feel for when to take over.

“He’s not afraid to be the guy to say, ‘all right, I’m gonna make a play and if it doesn’t happen it’s on me,'” Rhoades said. “He’s hard on himself, but he also works on his game and he has that elite competitiveness. I wish I could say it’s coaching. It’s not. It’s an innate ability to go make a play when it’s needed. It’s a level of competitiveness that not everybody has. I think he’s an outlier in that area.

“He’s gonna do whatever it takes to win because winning is the most important thing to him. He’s not a good loser, but I don’t mind that because he wants to win that bad.”

The win against Iowa marked the third straight for Penn State, though it would go on to lose against Northwestern on Sunday. The Nittany Lions now sit at 12-12 (6-7 Big Ten) and have some work to do as they enter the final month of the regular season.

Ace Baldwin has been a key player for Penn State this season after transferring in from VCU. He has started 22 of 24 games so far and ranks second on the team with 14.1 points per game while leading the Nittany Lions in both assists (5.4) and steals (2.8).

But while Baldwin has the ability to take over a game, he’s willing to do whatever it takes for the team to win. That, in Rhoades’ mind, is what separates him as a player.

“Ace will play a game and not score a point and if this team wins, he’s good,” the coach said. “That’s how important winning is to him. There’s some guys that wanna score and think, ‘I hope we win, but if I have a good game.’ If we lose, Ace doesn’t talk to anyone for two days. That’s how competitive he is.”