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Penn State hoops to set to host prolific scoring guard

nate-mug-10.12.14by:Nate Bauer•04/24/23•

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(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Needing to build a roster in his first weeks as Penn State basketball’s new head coach, Mike Rhoades and staff are continuing the effort this week. And, they’re doing so by playing host to an array of transfer portal and prep visitors.

This weekend, that will again take shape with a newly cemented transfer portal visitor. Noah Thomasson, a senior pursuing a bonus year of eligibility after two seasons at Niagara, will visit Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

It will be his third visit this spring. He already took a trip to San Francisco and, most recently, checked out Georgia. He is also expected to visit Pitt.

Earlier Monday afternoon, Thomasson released a top five that included the Nittany Lions. His other finalists include San Francisco, Georgia, Pitt, and St. John’s.

Noah Thomasson resume

Thomasson is coming off an outstanding 2022-23 season at Niagara. He averaged 19.5 points per game over 31 starts and games played, averaging 36.4 minutes. Important to the Nittany Lions, he also knocked down 38.6 percent of his 3-point attempts. For the season, he made 54 of his 140 shots from beyond the arc.

Though Thomasson can shoot it from deep, 3-pointers aren’t his volume shot. Rather, a scorer at every level of the floor, Thomasson knocked down 231 of his 480 field goal attempts last season (48.1 percent). He also rebounded (3.8 rpg) and dished out 3.5 assists per game against 2.5 turnovers per game.

Penn State roster building

Penn State continues to pursue an extensive roster building approach in its first weeks of Mike Rhoades’ tenure with the program. Inheriting a roster depleted by losing its top five scorers from the 2022-23 NCAA Tournament season, the Nittany Lions have worked their five-man Class of 2022, the high school ranks, and the transfer portal.

Early yields have included transfer portal pickups from VCU in the form of Ace Baldwin and Nick Kern. Interspersed with those additions, Penn State retained Kanye Clary, Demetrius Lilley, and pulled Jameel Brown back from the transfer portal. Most recently, the Nittany Lions also picked up Zach Hicks from Temple in the transfer portal.

Decisions remain for Evan Mahaffey and Kebba Njie, each of whom has explored the transfer portal after their first seasons at Penn State.

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