Mike Rhoades opens up on feelings of celebrating with family after Illinois win

It has been a tough season for Penn State in Year 1 under Mike Rhoades, but the Nittany Lions had a real bright spot earlier this week.

Penn State upset No. 12 Illinois 90-89 on Wednesday, battling back from a double-digit second half deficit to earn a last-second win thanks to three clutch free throws by Zach Hicks.

Nittany Lions fans stormed the court after the win, as Mike Rhoades celebrated with his family. It was a special moment for Rhoades, his wife and kids. He spoke about what it meant to him after the game.

“This is hardest on my wife. This is hardest on my kids. They allow me, and they support me, to do my passion,” Mike Rhoades said. “They’re on this trip. I’ve never coached a game without [my wife] Jodie. Think of that. It’s been a lot of wins and three kids. My three kids have seen the world because of basketball. And Chase is with me with his buddies here. They get to storm the court. I mean come on.”

Penn State improved to 13-14 (7-9) with the victory and still has a chance to finish at least .500 in Big Ten play.

Wednesday was not just a special night for Rhoades. It meant a lot to everyone associated with the Penn State program.

Rhoades believes there will be plenty of other moments like that over the next several years as he continues to work to build the Penn State program up.

“You wanna share this with everybody,” Rhoades said. “You want to share it with Penn State. You want to share it with your families. You want to share it with everyone and you want people to be a part of it. So it’s always that way. Family, to me, is not blood. Family, to me, is all of us in this together putting our heart and soul into it and having fun doing it, because we only get to do it one time.”

Mike Rhoades breaks down final possession of Illinois win

Mike Rhoades was elated with the huge win Penn State was able to hold on for against No. 12 Illinois on Wednesday.

The Nittany Lions refused to quit, and defeated the Fighting Illini by one point in the contest, on the back of three free throws from Zach Hicks to give them the lead late. It was an ultra-clutch moment and one that Rhoades took some time to break down following the win.

“We wanted to set a high-screen, a flat-screen for Ace [Baldwin Jr.]. Get downhill. Get downhill and see everybody. He didn’t get down as far as I thought. Hey, let’s go get a two. That’s fine. The pressure is on them. But we have even Puff [Johnson]. Shooters out there. So let’s space the floor. If we can get an edge. Ace made the right play. Good timing,” Rhoades explained. “Zach [Hicks]. I’m just really proud of him. Because we all know he’s a heck of a shooter. He hasn’t shot the ball like he’s capable of, and what we’ve seen in the past. But he’s worked so hard. He comes into practice every day. He’s never late. He’s always shooting extra. He’s working hard. First time in his life he’s ever played defense like this. He rebounded, the first half, he had all the rebounds for us. We didn’t have many, but he had them. So he got his moment, and he took advantage of it.

“It’s one thing to make one or two, but to make three like that? That’s, I said that must be, he’s from Camden, his Camden confidence showed up. That was a proud moment for him.”