New Penn State men’s basketball coach Mike Rhoades picked up a boost to his roster building efforts on Monday afternoon as freshman guard Jameel Brown announced that he will withdraw his name from the transfer portal and return to Penn State for his sophomore season.
Brown entered the portal on March 29, just five days after Notre Dame hired now former Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry as its next head coach.
“I’m right where I should be,” Brown wrote on Twitter. “WE ARE.”
Brown effectively saw no meaningful action during his freshman season but was a sought-after prospect during his recruiting process, decommitting from Purdue when Shrewsberry took the Penn State job and eventually landing in State College as well. It is unknown if Brown was courted by Shrewsberry again to join him at Notre Dame. In any case, Brown signed on with Penn State’s 2022 class as the fifth-best prospect in the state of Pennsylvania according to the 247Sports Network.
Brown’s decision bring Penn State’s scholarship player count up to five, including former VCU guards Ace Baldwin Jr. and Nick Kern. The unit is rounded out by Kanye Clary and Demetrius Lilley, who will accompany Brown as Shrewsberry’s former players. It remains to be seen if Brown’s decision will influence fellow rising sophomore Evan Mahaffey, who also entered the transfer portal following Shrewsberry’s departure but has yet to announce a new home.
