4 transfers Penn State basketball missed out on

Mike Rhoades was forced to build a patchwork roster in the transfer portal last offseason, but he missed out on these four players who could have Penn State in Big Ten contention midway through conference play.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Mike Rhoades / Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

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player. Jalen DeLoach. Jalen DeLoach. 527. . F. Junior. . From: VCU. Jalen DeLoach

Rhoades brought Baldwin and Kern with him from VCU, but he failed to convince DeLoach who was third-team All-A10 selection Jalen DeLoach. It seems as though parting ways was a misstep for both parties. DeLoach is only averaging 3.7 points in 12.4 minutes with two starts for Georgia, and Rhoades has about three playable forwards.

DeLoach wouldn’t have brought the shooting that Penn State desperately needs, but he’s the defensive force the Nittany Lions are missing. Penn State is 138th in defensive efficiency and Rhoades has never made the tournament with a team that ranked outside the top 10 in defensive efficiency.

Last year, VCU was sixth in the country defensively, and DeLoach played a massive role in the Rams’ success on that end. He averaged 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.1 assists a game at 6-foot-9. Puff Johnson and Zach Hicks, Penn State’s other bigs have combined for five total blocks all year, and both average less than a steal a game.

Hick and Johnson haven’t provided any shooting, so if there isn’t going to be space on offense, at least Penn State could be stifling on the defensive end with a non-shooter like DeLoach who can impact the game in other ways.

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