When Mike Rhoades was initially hired in March of 2023 (on my birthday, no less) it felt at the time like a quality hire, and one that Penn State would not have been able to make in years past. After all, here was a guy who had been successful at multiple stops, including at VCU, where he took the Rams to three NCAA tournament appearances in six years and had just won the Atlantic-10 championship. It sure beat hiring someone who was head coach at East Tennessee State or Boston University or an assistant
with zero head coaching experience.
Unfortunately, things don’t always work out the way you hope, and it brings me no joy to write this, given that I am one who is especially patient when it comes to Penn State basketball coaches. However, it’s crystal clear at this point that Rhoades’ tenure in Happy Valley is cooked to a crisp, and it’s time to put it out of its misery.
Yes, it was expected that the team would have their struggles this season after losing several key starters from last year’s squad, but the manner in which they are losing games with a complete lack of offensive identity, lack of reliable perimeter shooters, lack of reliable post play, lack of competitive fire, and perhaps most indefensible for a coach who prides himself on being a defense-first guy: An absolutely atrocious defense.
Just how atrocious has PSU’s defense been this season? Try one that ranks 363rd out of 365 NCAA Divison 1 men’s basketball programs in KenPom’s “effective field goal percentage defense” category, as well as at or below 350th defensively in three-point percentage (360th), two-point percentage (347th), free throw percentage (348th), and block percentage (354th). They have given up over 80 points in nine of their 14 losses in Big Ten play, over 90 points in six of those losses, and twice they have given up over 100 points. It’s become a running gag to see a random opposing player who has been having an average at best season go off for 30-plus points and nail several three-pointers against this Nittany Lion squad, with Maryland’s Diggy Coit’s 43-point performance being the most notable.
Not only has this year’s PSU team been one of the most unwatchable in recent memory, but there isn’t much hope for the future. In today’s college sports climate, you can’t expect the most talented players to stick around while the coaching staff tries to recruit more talent to support them. The transfer portal will come calling, and given the trajectory of the program after three years’s worth of worsening results, Rhoades and staff will have a very difficult time replacing what they’re likely to lose, which will lead to more unwatchable basketball that those of you who are still sadistic enough to tune into at this point in the season will suffer through the Sisyphean task of suffering through again next season.
I realize the very last thing Pat Kraft wants to do is replace both the football coach, and men’s basketball coaches in the same academic calendar year. However, letting your biggest cash cow of a program outside of football flounder in this manner feels unacceptable. Whether it happens after the team gets knocked out in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament, or if it happens tomorrow and Joe Crispin gets named interim head coach with a chance to pull a pseudo-Terry Smith and get the team to play some inspired ball down the stretch, Rhoades’ time as Penn State’s head basketball coach must come to an end sooner rather than later.
