4 transfers Penn State basketball missed out on

Now, to the shooting problem. Penn State ranks 307th in three-point percentage at 30.5% and 172nd in three-pointers made per game with 7.4. Kanye Clary is hitting at 37.4% from deep, but no other player is shooting better than 35%. 

On the wing, Penn State has Nick Kern Jr. shooting 15.4% from three, Puff Johnson 26.4%, and Zach Hicks shooting 29.3%. Even Ace Baldwin Jr. and D’Marco Dunn are both in the low 30s, which means there is very little space to operate in the paint. 

A year ago, Penn State relied heavily on three-point shooting and spacing, but that immediately went from a strength to a weakness. Rhoades did not prioritize shooting in the transfer portal and his guards, specifically Clary, are paying the price now. Khalif Battle, who was in-state at Temple, could have solved the problem. 

Penn State has plenty of depth in the backcourt, but at 6-foot-5 Battle is more of a wing who could easily play with both Baldwin and Clary without sacrificing on the defensive end. This year at Arkansas, Battle is shooting 39.7% on 3.9 attempts per game and averaging 11.2 points, but if he joined Rhoades at Penn State he could shoot at a much higher volume and take pressure off Baldwin, who was forced to become the team’s secondary scorer behind Clary. 

In 2021-22, Battle shot 48.8% from three on 6.1 attempts, so is the type of shooter who could carry the offense for spurts and maybe even steal a game if he gets hot. Penn State doesn’t have a player like that on the roster.