3 Reasons Penn State Basketball Isn’t going to play this postseason
By Evan Smith
Nittany Lions’ newcomers offering little …
The transfer portal is part of today’s collegiate athletic landscape, love it or hate it.
When (deep breath) Jamari Wheeler, Myreon Jones, Izaiah Brockington, Abdou Tsimbila, Patrick Kelly and DJ Gordon announced they would not return to the program, and recruits Elijah Hutchins-Everett, Taquan Woodley and Houston Mallette de-committed, incoming Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry would have to work the transfer portal hard in order to field a roster.
Here’s what Penn State Basketball has gotten out of its transfer portal newcomers:
Jalen Pickett
the biggest prize of his portal haul, Pickett has played nearly every minute in the blue and white and by most accounts has done a nice job for the Nittany Lions. His end of shot clock heroics have saved the offense time and time again even if his shooting has cooled off.
Grade: B+
Greg Lee
has been decent when he plays, but he missed time to start the year and is now injured again, missing the last four games. Averaging 7.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game is solid but he’s only played in 10 of 24 games.
Grade: B-
Jalanni White
providing more backcourt depth was essential, but White has barely played recently. He’s averaging 2.7 points and 2.9 rebounds a game on just 12 minutes per game and has struggled not fouling defensively.
Grade: C-
Jevonnie Scott
another player who missed a lot of time (Shrewsberry stated he was eligible back in December but he didn’t play until mid-January), he’s only played 9 games and averaged 6.8 minutes and has also struggled with committing fouls.
Grade: C-
Jaheam Cornwall
the sharpshooter of the group has been by far the biggest disappointment. Despite starting for almost half the year, Cornwall has shot an ABYSMAL 22.2% from three point range and has been a sieve defensively despite numerous opportunities to remain a key rotation player.
Grade: D-
Overall, a ‘B’ transfer portal from Micah Shrewsberry would have been enough to qualify for post-season action but this haul simply has not lived up to the billing.
