Skip to main content

Penn State maintains momentum as Kanye Clary announces return

nate-mug-10.12.14by:Nate Bauer04/13/23

NateBauerBWI

penn-state-maintains-momentum-kanye-clary-announces-return
Penn State guard Kanye Clary maintained his commitment to the program on Thursday. (Daniel Althouse/BWI)

Penn State basketball celebrated its continued momentum Thursday afternoon with a social media splash. Kanye Clary, a second-year point guard for the Nittany Lions, announced he’s sticking with the program via Tweet.

In his debut season, Clary played 10.4 minutes per game and averaged 3.7 points. He finished the year hitting on 43.4 percent of his shots. He also added five made 3-pointers on 17 attempts.

Clary’s shooting numbers were only part of the story, though. A stat-sheet stuffer and an ignition to a Nittany Lion offense that occasionally got stuck in the mud, the Virginia native attacked the basket as a complement to Jalen Pickett coming off the bench.

To former Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry, Clary’s value offensively shined as the program came to play its best basketball in February and march.

“He helps us. It opens things up just because people are scared,” Shrewsberry said, pointing to Penn State’s shooters as the other side of the poison pill. “Kanye’s value really goes up because he’s playing a lot of one-on-one basketball in the middle of the floor or on the side of the court, playing off pick and rolls. And him getting to the basket now is gonna force people; you gotta make decisions what you want to do.”

Maintaining Penn State’s momentum

Clary’s announcement moves another name into the “solid” column for new head coach Mike Rhoades and his staff. On Easter Sunday, that first boost was created with the transfer commitment of VCU star and reigning A10 Player of the Year, Ace Baldwin. The Nittany Lions built on it late Wednesday night with another Rams transfer, Nick Kern. And, in Clary, three intentions have eliminated all doubt as to what the program has moving forward.

With those three in tow, Rhoades and the program continue to work on more. Three of Penn State’s other true freshmen, Kebba Njie, Evan Mahaffey, and Jameel Brown, have entered the transfer portal but have not yet shared their intentions. The program is working to secure the re-commitment of all three players. The other piece of the Nittany Lions’ true freshman class, Demetrius Lilley, has not entered the transfer portal and, at present, appears to also be sticking with the program.

Earlier Thursday, we evaluated an up-to-date roster reset for the Nittany Lions.

You may also like