Pat Kraft reaffirms faith in Mike Rhoades amid struggles: 'I'm not looking for a quick fix'

Penn State is going to give Mike Rhoades the time that he needs to make something of their basketball program.

At a press conference on Monday, AD Pat Kraft was asked about the job being done by Rhoades in University Park. He began to answer but then asked for some more optimism in return

“Yeah, you know, looking at it, it’s still the – what, are you giving up on him, John? I mean, c’mon!” Kraft exclaimed. “We still got the tournament. We’ve got to win these games.”

Towards the end of his second season with the Nittany Lions, Rhoades is 31-30 overall (14-23 in the Big Ten). That includes a record of 15-13 (5-12) so far this year where they started at 12-2 before going 1-11 from early in January through the middle of February.

Still, Kraft isn’t yet ready to just move on from the tenure. He still has belief in Rhoades moving forward that he can get the program where they want it to be.

“Mike has done a remarkable job. I just, I told him the other day after a tough loss. I went in to talk to him, more as a therapist, and I said, Mike? Look at the expectations that he has built to go to the tournament every year is a step forward. I don’t know if that was the case all the time for Penn State Basketball,” Kraft said. “You guys have seen him. No one is more frustrated and bottled up like Mike is right now. I’m not making excuses and he wouldn’t either. Like, we got to get better. But I’m not looking for a quick fix. I’m looking to do this the right way.”

That’ll start with improving the roster moving forward so they’re better able to handle their conference with yet another season at or below .500 in the Big Ten.

“We’ve got to build depth. You’re playing in the Big Ten. It is physical. It is a tough conference. Guys can’t play 40 minutes a game. You get hit a little bit with the injuries. I’m not making excuses. That’s part of the game. But you’ve got to find a way to get through that,” said Kraft. “I think, if you’re going to build a roster in this day and age? It’s hard. You’ve got to find the right people. I love our kids and I think he’s understanding that and growing.”

Kraft said that without being done with this season either. They’re currently well out of the NCAA Tournament and, if it started today, Penn State would not make it into the new format of the Big Ten Tournament. Still, with three games to go at only a game and a half back, the Nittany Lions are still focused on the postseason.

“Look, we’ve got everything in front of us still. That’s what’s crazy about basketball, right,” said Kraft. “Make no buts about it. The NCAA Tournament is the objective and he knows that. I would worry if he was worried about that, talking to me about something else other than that. The guy is talking about winning the Big Ten Championship. Hey, man, how about we just, you know, let’s get in the tournament, you know. But you want your coaches looking at that that way and that’s where we’ve got to continue to help him but we’ll get there.”

Penn State, although not a program that’s been consistently relevant in men’s basketball, wants to be under Rhoades. It’s just still taking a bit longer with Kraft believing they’ll get there with him as the head coach.

“I think it’s still a work in progress. Like, I just tell everybody just, like, stick with us, sweat with us,” said Kraft. “I’m more than ever confident in what he can do here. But we’re not looking short-term. I want to build this so that it’s a consistent tournament (team).”