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BB RECRUITING

Mikes Rhoades calls Ace Baldwin ‘the head of our snake’

Mike Rhoades has his star player, now must build the roster around him.

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Penn State basketball, Ace Baldwin
Mar 17, 2023; Albany, NY, USA; Virginia Commonwealth Rams guard Adrian Baldwin Jr. (1) dribbles the ball against St. Mary's Gaels guard Augustas Marciulionis (3) during the first half at MVP Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday, Mikes Rhoades and his Nittany Lions added the first key piece to its 2023-24 transfer portal recruiting class. Former A-10 Player of the Year Ace Baldwin is now committed to playing for PSU, and according to the Nittany Lions’ new head coach, Baldwin is going to be a key player in his scheme. The Lions’ newest addition is undeniably a massive move for the Penn State basketball transfer portal recruiting class.

Mike Rhoades lands Ace Baldwin from transfer portal

On Saturday night, Ace Baldwin announced that he would commit to his new school in the morning, though he did not end up announcing late in the evening. When the suspense had finally ended, Penn State had its top guy, and according to new head coach Mikes Rhoades, Baldwin is a crucial piece to the puzzle.

As a high school recruit, Ace Baldwin was rated as a three-star recruit by most outlets (four-star by ESPN) and generally ranked as a top 30-40 point guard in the class of 2020. Since arriving in Richmond to play for the VCU Rams, Baldwin shinned under Mikes Rhoades, eventually leading VCU to an A-10 title and tournament berth in 2022-23. Additionally, Baldwin won the A-10 Player of the Year Award and the Defensive Player of the Year Award for his stellar performance a season ago.

As a transfer recruit, Baldwin ranked as the No. 11 player in the portal by 247 Sports and was the Nittany Lions’ top target in the portal to kickstart the Mikes Rhoades-led rebuild of the program.

Baldwin is the key to Penn State’s future

If you want to know what kind of player Penn State is getting with Baldwin, look no further than what Rhoades had to say about him when the duo was still at VCU.

“He’s the head of our snake. He’s the competitive leader in our program. He’s that type of point guard that he makes an impact,” Rhoades said before VCU’s first-round game against Saint Mary’s. “I’ve always said that, from a long time ago, the best players, not because of their stat line, are the ones that impact winning in so many ways. The greatest compliment you can get in a team sport is you make those around you better. That’s Ace on a daily basis.”

The future of Penn State basketball is in good hands; now, Mike Rhoades must go grab more talent from the transfer portal to surround his star player with.



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BB RECRUITING

Penn State basketball offers top-20 recruit in the 2025 class

The Nittany Lions just offered by far the biggest name under Mike Rhoades’s young tenure at Penn State.

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Penn State basketball, top-20 recruit in the 2025 class
Jan 29, 2020; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions forward Mike Watkins (24) reaches for the rebound during the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

On Friday, Penn State basketball offered Alier Maluk, a Pittsburgh native who is a five-star in the 2025 cycle. This is a significant offer for the Nittany Lions, as Maluk is a top-20 overall recruit in the class of 2025. The offer comes as head coach Mike Rhoades looks to build out his traditional recruiting apparatus at Penn State, with five offers across the 2024 and 2025 classes coming this week.

Lions offer budding prospect Alier Maluk

Alier Maluk is a five-star prospect with a 99 overall rating in the 247Sports Composite rankings. The 6-10, 180-pound forward is the second-ranked player in Pennsylvania and a top-20 recruit in the 2025 class. 247Sports’ own rankings list Maluk as the second-best center in the country for the 2025 cycle.

As a sophomore at Pittsburgh’s Imani Christian Academy, Maluk recorded 15 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks per game. He helped lead Imani Christian to the Pennsylvania Class A state championship in March. Maluk has become somewhat of an internet sensation for his length and athleticism. He has even been dubbed by some as the “Baby Bol Bol,” in reference to the former Denver Nuggets and current Orlando Magic center.

Announcing the offer via Instagram on Friday, Mike Rhoades and Penn State now join a long list of earlier suitors for Maluk. On3 currently has Pitt and West Virginia as the early frontrunners in Maluk’s recruitment, with Ohio State and Penn State coming in third and fourth, respectively. Auburn, LSU, and Texas A&M are some of the other programs that have offered Maluk to date.

Penn State basketball building traditional recruiting structure

Two months into the job, Mike Rhoades has heavily utilized the transfer portal to build his first roster at Penn State. The Nittany Lions have brought in some of the top players from Rhoades’s VCU squad, including Ace Baldwin and Nick Kern. In addition, Penn State has targeted transfers with ties to the Keystone State, such as Puff Johnson, Zach Hicks, and Leo O’Boyle.

Now, Rhoades is also starting to build out his program’s traditional recruiting base. Maluk is the fifth offer the Nittany Lions have made to high school recruits this week. Other offers include Austin Swartz, Darrion Sutton, and Dellquan Warren in the 2024 cycle and Jordan Scott in the class of 2025.

In his first few months at Penn State, Rhoades’s actions echo his sentiments from his introductory press conference in March. The Nittany Lions have been aggressive in the portal but are now balancing that aggressiveness with traditional recruiting. “We got to go build a roster,” Rhoades said when speaking of the long-term success of the Penn State basketball program. “But I assure you this — we’re going to do it right, and we’re going to do it to last.”



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BB RECRUITING

Penn State basketball offers lengthy 2025 guard

Penn State is looking to get its 2025 recruiting off the ground with this latest offer.

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Penn State basketball, lengthy 2025 guard Jordan Scott
Mar 18, 2023; Des Moines, IA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions guard Seth Lundy (1) drives against Texas Longhorns forward Dillon Mitchell (23) during the first half at Wells Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a busy offseason for Penn State basketball. From a coaching search to a roster rebuild, the Nittany Lions look a lot different in May than they did after their NCAA Tournament appearance in March. But after hitting the transfer portal hard after taking over as head coach, Mike Rhoades has started to settle into the job. As a result, we’ve started to see more news on the conventional recruiting front in recent weeks. This includes a recent offer made to lengthy 2025 guard Jordan Scott.

Turbulent offseason for Penn State basketball

Penn State basketball was in shambles this offseason. Head coach Micah Shrewsberry, who had just taken his team to the Round of 32, left for Notre Dame. All of Penn State’s 2023 commitments followed Shrewsberry out of State College. One of those commitments was Carey Booth, son of Penn State legend and Denver Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth. 

Penn State’s best players graduated. Others transferred elsewhere. Penn State was down to just two scholarship players. This was not what the Nittany Lions had in mind after going to March Madness for the first time since 2011.

Everything was going wrong for the Nittany Lions. That was until they hired VCU’s Mike Rhoades to replace Shrewsberry. Rhoades and his new staff have been very busy since his hiring in March. Penn State has rebuilt the roster with eight transfers, one high school recruit, and two players from last year’s team. 

Penn State looked like it had no chance to get back to March Madness. Now they have a coach who took his team to the NCAA Tournament three of the last four years with a transformative roster in place. The sky could be the limit for Penn State basketball under Rhoades. But, to continue this upward trajectory, Rhoades and his staff must look towards the future. 

What does Penn State’s future look like?

Penn State’s roster for this upcoming season will feature three seniors – Qudus Wahab, Leo O’Boyle, and Rayquawndis Mitchell. There are four juniors, four sophomores, and one freshman. There will be a ton of veteran experience on the court for this year’s Nittany Lions.

But right now, Penn State doesn’t have any commitments in the class of 2024 or 2025. Rhoades and his staff are in the process of recruiting talented high school players who they think will build on the team’s success moving forward. One of these players is a newly offered recruit, lengthy 2025 guard Jordan Scott.

Penn State offers lengthy 2025 guard Jordan Scott

Jordan Scott is a lengthy shooting guard from Reston, Virginia. The 6-5, 165-pound Scott is starting to build out his college offers list. Penn State, along with Illinois, Pitt, Iowa, Washington, and East Carolina, among others, have recently offered Scott. 

Currently, 247Sports doesn’t have the rising junior guard ranked in its database. But it’s still early in Scott’s recruitment, and he has two more seasons of high school basketball left to play and grow his prospect profile. 

It makes sense for Penn State to offer a player like Scott. Rhoades has spent most of his coaching career in Virginia and has many ties to the state. Further, Virginia is a hotbed for Penn State recruiting in sports like football. Along with Rhoades’s connections, offering Scott now should hopefully help the Nittany Lions make early inroads during this recruitment process.



Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at basicbluesnation@gmail.com or direct message us on our social media. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the market’s fastest-growing Penn State sports outlets!

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BB RECRUITING

Penn State basketball recruiting: Major transfer portal target to visit this weekend

The Penn State basketball team is going to host one of its top transfer portal targets on a weekend visit.

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Penn State basketball recruiting, Noah Thomasson, transfer portal
Nov 24, 2017; University Park, PA, USA; General view of the Penn State Nittany Lions logo on the court at the Bryce Jordan Center prior to the game between the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past two days, Penn State basketball recruiting has received two significant commitments. Puff Johnson, who previously played for UNC, and Qudus Wahab, both former four-star recruits, have committed to Mike Rhoades’ revamped Penn State squad via the transfer portal. With these recent acquisitions, Penn State’s basketball program has gained some much-needed identity and direction since Micah Shrewsberry’s departure in March. The program has the potential to grow even further this weekend as they host a critical transfer portal target, Noah Thomasson of Niagara, for a recruiting visit.

Penn State basketball recruiting to host major transfer portal target on a recruiting visit

Noah Thomasson, a talented player at Niagara, is seeking to advance in the college basketball world, and Penn State Nittany Lions have recently been announced as one of the finalists. Noah Thomasson was not considered a star recruit out of Richmond, TX when he was in high school, and he initially committed as a member of the 2021 recruiting class.

In his most recent college basketball season, Thomasson emerged as a leading scorer in the MAAC Conference, averaging 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. Regardless of where this transfer portal target ultimately lands, Thomasson desires an opportunity to compete in the NCAA Tournament.

Mike Rhoades’ roster is taking shape

When Micah Shrewsberry left the program last month, the Penn State basketball roster was in disarray. The new head coach, Mike Rhoades, inherited only two scholarship players and an unhappy fan base. Despite this, Rhoades has already begun to assemble a solid roster. With the recent commitment of four-star center Qudus Wahab, the Nittany Lions have secured five transfer additions in addition to the three returning players from last year’s squad.

While there are still a few open spots, landing Thomasson could be a significant win for Penn State basketball. There is still ample time for Rhoades to finalize his roster, and he is taking things one step at a time. With Thomasson’s commitment date scheduled for May 10th, there is still some waiting left before Penn State basketball knows its full roster for the upcoming season.



Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at basicbluesnation@gmail.com or direct message us on our social media. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the market’s fastest-growing Penn State sports outlets!

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