Mike Rhoades put his body on the line. He allowed himself to be dunked on by 7-footers and came face-to-face with shifty guards attempting to power through him for a score at Penn State’s practice viewing window on Wednesday. Rhoades has always been a different style of coach, and that’s evidently not changing in his second year with the Nittany Lion men’s basketball program.
Rhoades has described himself as a “pit bull with manners” when it comes to pushing the athletic administration for various improvements. And he displays just the same passion and aggressiveness whether in practices or games. The reality is, no one wants the Nittany Lions to succeed quite like Rhoades.
It doesn’t matter who may doubt him or his historically uncompetitive program. Rhoades is set on one thing: “We’re going to win.” He is persistent in doing everything in his power to do just that, and make the winning culture last “longer” than he’s around and when the “next coach comes in and builds on it.”
“I’m going to be unapologetic for trying to build a winning program that is going to be like Michigan State someday or Purdue someday,” Rhoades said on Wednesday. “Why not?”
It’s one thing to talk about winning, it’s another to actually win. Rhoades clearly has his sights set on something big, but he also understands it’ll take time to reach the kind of success he desires. His team is about as talented on-paper as any in his 29-year coaching career. So what’s the short-term goal on Rhoades’ quest for sustained success?
“Let’s beat teams in the Big Ten,” Rhoades said. “Let’s get to the NCAA Tournament.”
Here are some other key takeaways from Rhoades’ press conference on Wednesday.
Baldwin coming off ‘best’ preseason
There’s only success if there’s talent, and there’s no one more talented on the Nittany Lions than point guard Ace Baldwin Jr., the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. But it appears the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Baldwin is defining himself as more than just a great two-way player this offseason. Rhoades called Baldwin “the best” point guard in the country.
“I thought Ace, by far, had the best summer and preseason that he’s ever had,” Rhoades said. “Sometimes, as you get older, you see things a little clearer and (make) simple decisions. I never had to worry about Ace competing and wanting to win. But what I love about him — he’s taken a professional approach to improving himself and his game.”
7-foot transfer drawing hype
In some ways, there are similarities between Penn State’s roster this year and last year. For one, the Nittany Lions return a bulk of their corps — five seniors to be exact. But in other ways, the roster is starkly different, particularly at the center position, where Rhoades added two transfers and a true freshman this offseason.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser, a 7-foot, 250-pound transfer from Northern Illinois, has drawn some significant hype. That’s, one, because his frame hardly resembles any other Penn State player in recent memory. But also because of his ability to shoot, defend and space the floor. He should fit perfectly in Rhoades’ system.
“He can catch a ball at all different levels and make plays. He’s a very good passer for being 7-foot-1. He can score in the post. He can face up, he can dribble the ball. He sees the floor. He can pass it as a big guy. He steps out, hits 3-balls,” Rhoades said. “He’s getting better and better, because he knows that he has the green light to shoot it.”
Along with Niederhauser, Xavier transfer Kachi Nzeh and former four-star freshman Miles Goodman, who Rhoades said is “recovering” from an offseason injury, should increase the program’s stability at center.
Offense ‘better’ overall
Defense has always been at the core of Rhoades’ system, whether at VCU or with the Nittany Lions. But to keep up with the top Big Ten teams and compete for an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, it’s no secret that the team’s offensive output will need to improve significantly.
The offensive model that Rhoades, assistant coach Joe Crispin and director of player development Clay Conner have worked with this offseason should look similar to what Penn State ran last season, but the result is likely to be more efficient. Rhoades isn’t worried in the slightest that teams have caught on to his offensive ideology.
“I think it’s going to be harder because our seniors are better. We got better players that we brought in. We’re playing faster,” Rhoades said. “We got more guys that can dribble, shoot and pass and use ball screens and shoot threes in transition, and big guys that can move and step away.”
