Penn State men’s basketball went back to The Palestra in Philadelphia on Sunday night for a non-conference showcase game against Pitt, and while the final score was close, it wasn’t an especially encouraging performance in Game 3 of Mike Rhoades’ fourth season at the helm.
Following the loss, the Nittany Lions are 2-1 as they retreat back to play lower-level competition with Mercyhurst, New Haven, and IU Indy up next. Not only will those matchups be a good chance to rack up a few wins, but they’ll be a great opportunity to fix a lot of the issues that popped up Sunday night.
Buckets:
1. Ivan Juric
Juric got two early fouls on Sunday night, so he spent much of the first half on the bench and only played 23 minutes in the game. In the first-half minutes when he wasn’t on the floor, you saw just how important he is to this team.
Backup center Tim Oboh played only two minutes in the game, so with Juric out, it was a lot of small-ball, and Pitt feasted in the paint. Juric was an efficient scorer, consistently getting to the line, the team’s leading rebounder with 13, and though he nor anyone else on the team recorded a block, he’s the only rim deterrent on this roster at all.
Juric needs to stay out of foul trouble, but when he does, he’ll likely be this team’s best player and definitely be its most important player.
Bricks:
3. Roko Prkacin
It’s not that Roko Prkacin played poorly in his first start for Penn State. He had an efficient 11 points on 4-6 shooting and went 3-4 from the free-throw line. He also added seven rebounds, two assists and two steals, and stayed out of foul trouble enough to play 31 minutes.
All in all, there were a ton of positives from his performance. But you also saw the limitations of his game against a team with real athletes. He had a nice drive for a layup, but most of his offense comes in transition or from the dunker spot, and when he isn’t beating the defense down the floor or isn’t the best athlete around the rim, the scope of his impact on the game shrinks dramatically. And his lack of shooting makes it difficult for the offense to stay spaced when he plays with Juric.
2. Thomas Allard
Allard made the quantum leap from D-II to Power Confernece basketball, and in his first matchup against a Power Conference opponent, he looked out of his depth. Theoretically, he should bring size and shooting on the wing, but the speed of the game is too much for him, and it’s affecting his shot. He went 0-3 from three against Pitt and had just one rebound with four fouls in 17 minutes.
There’s a very real chance he’s unplayable when Penn State faces any team with real athletes, and Pitt is far from the most athletic team the Nittany Lions are going to face.
1. Mike Rhoades
This roster construction isn’t entirely on Rhoades. He hasn’t had many resources to work with whatsoever, and even with them, it’s not easy to recruit to Happy Valley. Still, a group of mid-major all-stars with a few international imports just isn’t going to cut it in the Big Ten.
Rhoades tried to get bigger and tougher with a group of 3-and-D wings that could help set a stable floor in conference play, but this team completely lacks playmaking. Plus, those 3-and-D wings he brought in haven’t provided the switchable defense he seemingly hoped for because most of them aren’t Big Ten athletes.
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