New-look Penn State basketball team takes shape: BWI Photos
The new-look Penn State men’s basketball team took to the hardwood in front of reporters for the first time this offseason this week. Returning are five key pieces to last year’s rollercoaster debut of achievements and setbacks for new head coach Mike Rhoades. And, with them, they have an influx of eight new scholarship players – four through the transfer portal and four in the Class of 2024 – to integrate this summer on the roster.
Explaining the program’s offseason work, which began with organized work more than a month ago, Rhoades painted the picture of a team coming together and putting in the effort.
“We’re trying to do a couple times a week where we get on the court with these guys for like 45 to 50 minutes, and just go as hard as we can. Some days it’s live action, some days it’s just teaching, skill development. We’ve been breaking it down. Each week’s a little bit different,” said Rhoades. “I think our guys are responding to that. Everything changes, so you gotta change with it. But to me, the biggest thing in the summer is how can we keep these guys really excited about getting better and building ourselves as individual players but as a team. And I think they’ve done a very good job of answering that question with us.
Granted access to the fully assembled team on Thursday, here’s a first-look at the team during its partially opened practice session.
BWI Photos: Penn State men’s basketball practice – July 18, 2024
Buzzworthy: Inside Penn State basketball’s summer of change
From Thursday’s inside report on the program:
Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades said so much in what he didn’t say. Meeting with reporters on Thursday afternoon in the Bryce Jordan Center’s South Gym ahead of their summer practice session, he described the dynamics that have been taking place for the past month.
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Effectively, five returning keystones, mixed with eight newcomers, had coalesced quickly. And with it, the type of program he’d sought a year ago at this time, harried by a race to fill 10 scholarship roster spots in two months, could come to fruition.
“We’ve had a lot of good work. We have a group of guys here that have been living in the gym this summer. So I’ve been really, really proud of that,” said Rhoades. “I like our approach. I like how well these guys have meshed with eight new faces. And I think the older guys, our five seniors, have done a really good job of bringing the young guys along, getting them to understand what we’re trying to do around here.
“So I think it’s been a productive summer. I think there’s been a lot of work. I think there’s a lot of guys that have already improved their bodies and their skill level is getting better. We got a couple more weeks here, but let’s get a little bit better every week and I think we’ve been doing that.”
Translation: The program struggled to cultivate the same environment a season ago. Carryover players had trouble meshing with Rhoades’ VCU transplants and the eight other transfers into the program. And, the shared sense of purpose demanded of any team’s success was admittedly difficult to obtain.
