Penn State Basketball’s projected starting lineup in 2022-2023

Penn State Basketball’s big men

Small Forward and Power Forward

These positions are listed together because for the last few years, Penn State Basketball has somewhat used these positions interchangeably.

Despite being listed as a guard on Penn State Basketball’s official roster, Myles Dread has predominantly played small and power forward.

Even though Seth Lundy is listed at 6-foot-6 compared to Dread’s 6-foot-4, Lundy more often played small forward and Dread power forward.

Either way, both will be pushed by incoming freshman Evan Mahaffey.

It’s unlikely Caleb Dorsey, who saw very limited minutes last year even though the rash of frontcourt injuries and issues will be in the starting lineup mix.  So, it’s most likely the small and power-forward starters will be the familiar faces of Lundy and Dread.

VBR Confidence Percentage: 99% and 80%, respectively

Center

Well, now things get interesting.

The issues down low behind now graduated John Harrar were well documented.

Greg Lee was injured more often than not, Jevonnie Scott had eligibility issues and then foul trouble issues and Jalanni White wasn’t able to provide much of anything either.

Only Scott returns next year and at just 6’7″, is he really capable of anchoring a team under the basket on either end of the floor?  He averaged under 7 minutes a game, averaging more fouls (1.5) than points (1.4) per game.

Penn State Basketball has recruited this position nicely, as incoming freshman Kebba Njie is one of the highest-ranked recruits in school history, and fellow center incoming freshman Demetrius Lilley had an excellent scholastic career in Pennsylvania.

But, you don’t see first-year players starting in the frontcourt very often and there’s a reason for that.  The physicality of banging on the glass with 22 and 23-year-old players is not easy for an 18-year-old. And no matter how good Njie or Lilley may be, there’s going to be a steep learning curve.

So, who the heck will be the starting five for the 2022-2023 Penn State Basketball team?

Keeping in mind, it’s more than possible to play a two-guard three-forward lineup as opposed to the more traditional two-guard, two-forward, one-center lineup in today’s college basketball game.

But, even if we bring Dorsey (6-foot-7 and 235 pounds) back into the mix, he’s not a true big that can playback to the basket.

Lilley is a solid six-foot-ten but only weighs 230 pounds. Njie is even smaller at six-foot-eight and 205 pounds.

So, then we go back to the six-foot-seven and 250-pound Jevonnie Scott.

Is he ready to take a SIGNIFICANT step forward? Not if I’m the one naming the starting lineup.

The starting center for the 2022-2023 Penn State Basketball is not on the roster right now.  VBR Confidence Percentage: 66.7%

Keep an eye in the coming days for Penn State Basketball’s best transfer portal targets!