Penn State Basketball couldn’t have started the year much better, with an undefeated 4-0 start, as they head south for the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando, Florida.
New Head Coach Mike Rhoades has already started making his footprint on the Nittany Lions program, consistently reiterating that he is in it ‘for the long haul’ (a refreshing change from the previous guy).
One of the issues consistently brought up was the NIL, the Name Image and Likeness issue that essentially allows collegiate athletes to be paid.
“Like it or not, it’s here,” Rhoades said, during an event hosted by StateMediaPSU. “I love it that our guys have opportunities to help themselves, support their families. We have to be competitive.'”
Great way to kick things off for @PennStateMBB last night. 🤝@CoachRhoades is working really hard to fire up the fanbase and turn Penn State into a Top 25 team this year‼️
As he explains, it all starts with embracing and navigating the NIL landscape while upgrading the current… pic.twitter.com/DDliT3KZr5
— State Media (@StateMediaPSU) November 7, 2023
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Perhaps even more interesting, Rhoades outlined a unique philosophy and strategy to use NIL as part of his Penn State Basketball success plan.
“I don’t want to be the best at it,” Rhoades said. “I don’t want to buy players. But, what I want to do is compete against people, so we’re very supportive of the NIL for our guys. WE want to give them great opportunities to brand themselves, put themselves out in the community.”
It was recently announced under the Penn State NIL ‘Happy Valley United’ that former Bucknell Coach Pat Flannery would lead the new basketball NIL arm.
Despite statements towards the contrary from the last head coach, it appears things are going pretty well for the basketball NIL under Mike Rhoades thus far.
What’s Next for Penn State Basketball
The Nittany Lions head down south to the ESPN Events Invitational tournament, where they will play No. 12 Texas A&M on Thanksgiving at 12:00 pm.
The Aggies are a familiar opponent, as Penn State defeated them in the first round of the NCAA Tournament just a year ago. Of course, Penn State returns little from that roster and the Aggies line-up looks quite familiar.
Penn State will undoubtedly be an underdog, but Penn State has played a virtual flawless start to the year. The Nittany Lions will play either Butler or No. 19 Florida Atlantic on Friday, and then for either first, third, fifth, or seventh place on Sunday.
The goal for Penn State Basketball is to find two wins in Orlando.
All seven teams in the tournament (which include Iowa State, VCU, Boise State and Virginia Tech) are significantly better than any of the non-conference opponents Penn State has played thus far.
It won’t be easy but we’ll know a lot more about this Nittany Lion basketball team in just a few short days.
MORE: Mike Rhoades Already Making Recruiting Waves
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NittanyCentral is his second reporting job following the Men's Basketball program. He co-founded and co-hosts the Shots Gotta Fall - The Penn State Basketball Podcast (the premiere, the best, the only) with Steve Travis.
Smith's most proud moment covering the team was seeing the national No. 9 ranking during Pat Chambers' last year. His most embarrassing moment was spending almost a thousand dollars to travel 2,000 miles in 46 hours to watch the Nittany Lions lose to Temple in the 2011 NCAA Tournament (screw you Juan Fernandez).
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