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The Penn State men’s basketball team is in Week 6 of summer workouts with a new roster. Center Ivan Jurić is the only returning starter for head coach Mike Rhoades, who officially added nine new players to the team so far this offseason.
Through all that change, Rhoades now has a roster with more experience heading into the 2026-27 season. Rhoades, Jurić and Miami (Ohio) transfer Brant Byers spoke to the media Tuesday on a Zoom call for the first time this summer to discuss the state of the program.
Here’s what we learned from the availability as the Nittany Lions prepare for Rhoades’ fourth season as head coach.
Penn State prioritized getting older
Rhoades had one of the youngest teams in college basketball last season, and it showed. Penn State went 12-20 and finished last in the Big Ten.
After pointing out that the rest of the conference focused on getting “bigger and older and deeper,” Rhoades said he has to learn from his decisions in 2025-26. He said that he never wants to have the youngest roster in college basketball.
While he signed six players with at least two seasons of collegiate experience this offseason, Rhoades still feels Penn State is behind when it comes to NIL, particularly compared to the average Big Ten team.
“We're at the bottom [of the conference],” Rhoades said of Penn State’s NIL budget. “No coaches are going to say they have enough, right? Everybody wants more in this arms race, this and that. It is what it is. You got whatever you're given, you got to try to do the best that you can with it, and make no excuses, and figure it out.”
Jurić, one of three returning players, felt like last season’s team had talented players but struggled with inexperience. He said the biggest difference this year is that the team is much older and has players who have transferred from “winning cultures.” He said that should help Penn State in “50/50” games.
Byers transferred in from a Miami (Ohio) team that went undefeated during the regular season. Two of the biggest things he learned with the RedHawks were staying consistent every day and keeping the outside noise out.
With Byers bringing his own lessons learned, along with the rest of the transfer additions, he said that will help Penn State.
“I think it’s an advantage just because there's so many different experiences coming into one locker room,” Byers said. “I think if you can use all those experiences and put it towards one goal, I think that that can help and that can really boost the progress you can make in a short amount of time.”
Penn State is still waiting on two commits
Penn State is still awaiting the arrivals of international commits Roko Prkačin and Francois Wibaut, who have yet to sign with the program. NCAA rules prevent Rhoades from discussing unsigned players, so his answer was quick when asked for an update on Prkačin and Wibaut.
“Nope,” Rhoades said.
Prkačin and Wibaut played professionally in France this past season, which lasted until mid-June for them. It’s unclear if that professional experience could impact their eligibility with the Nittany Lions. There are only 2.5 weeks left of summer workouts, so they might not arrive on campus until the fall semester unless they sign sooner.
In other eligibility news this summer, former Penn State player Josh Reed is part of a group of Ohio players suing the NCAA for another year of eligibility under the new 5-in-5 model. Rhoades said he couldn’t comment on Reed’s situation when asked if he’s had conversations about adding him to this roster if he becomes eligible.
Reed and the other players suing in Ohio were recently granted a preliminary injunction that could make them eligible for next season. Legal battles like this led Rhoades to say the college basketball landscape is changing every day.
“Five-for-five, judges involved, conferences doing whatever they want, some days there's rules, some days there's no rules,” Rhoades said. “Every day's different. Accept it, figure it out, try to make the best that you can for Penn State basketball and go from there. We'll see as we move on. Today's going to be different than tomorrow, and vice versa.”
‘Really excited for Brant’
Byers is arguably Penn State’s most noteworthy transfer addition. He averaged 14.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 39.2 percent from 3-point range last season at Miami (Ohio).
Rhoades said he’s “really excited for Brant,” who makes the jump to the Big Ten level. Byers is from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, so he jumped on the opportunity to play for the team he grew up watching.
“It's been great so far,” Byers said. “I got no complaints. A big part of why I came here is obviously I'm from Pennsylvania, so Penn State basketball has always been kind of personal to me growing up. I've always been a fan, and then coach Rhoades and the staff also just made a pitch that I couldn't turn down.”
Jurić improving heading into sophomore year
Jurić was a standout throughout his freshman year with the Nittany Lions. While there were growing pains on defense, he still averaged 10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game despite typically playing against bigger and older competition at center.
Juric announced his return to Penn State in April, attributing his decision to the plan the coaching staff has for him. He expects to have a “bigger role” this upcoming season and is working to prepare for that.
“As we all know, rebounding and then probably the defensive stuff — that's the parts I have to improve on the most,” Jurić said. “That's what we've been working on this summer.”
Rhoades said Jurić has put on 40 pounds since arriving at Penn State last year. He was listed at 7-foot and 250 pounds last season, and he said he doesn’t feel underpowered anymore.
“I'm right where me and my strength coach want me to be, really improved a lot at the beginning of last year,” Jurić said. “Could feel at times like getting probably overpowered by some of the other bigs, but as the season went on, and I just kept working and putting on more pounds and more muscle, just became easier.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/pennstate as What We're Hearing About Penn State Basketball This Offseason.
