Probing The Portal: Big Men In Focus (4.5.23)

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The Nittany Lions appear to be after size and length in the portal.

DELOACH DOWN TO SIX

We start with VCU transfer Jalen DeLoach, who has trimmed his list of possible suitors to a final six.

Despite the fact that DeLoach says a decision is coming soon in his tweet, that doesn’t appear to exactly be the case. He has an official visit set up to Indiana for April 14 and is in the process of setting up others before making a final decision in late April or early May, according to Dushawn London of 247Sports. Lots of time, and visits, before anything happens with this one.

COHEN BACK IN THE MIX

Back on March 20, Penn State hosted St. Francis big man and NEC Player of the Year Josh Cohen for a visit. The Nittany Lions had just gotten back from Des Moines, and Shrewsberry was already hard at work on building out the 2023-24 Penn State basketball team.

That was until the whole Shrewsberry-leaving-for-Notre Dame thing. Yeah, bit of a wrench in the plans for Cohen. But the good news? New Penn State coach Mike Rhoades is apparently interested in Cohen too, who will make his way back to Happy Valley for a visit next weekend.

Good sign that Cohen is interested enough in Penn State to make another visit, though I am surprised in Rhoades’ interest. Cohen isn’t exactly fleet of foot, and Rhoades really puts a premium on active, athletic defenders across all positions. Obviously though, the Nittany Lions have a completely open roster so getting a caliber of player like Cohen is probably the smart move even if it isn’t a perfect fit.

PENN STATE PURSUING UVA BIG

Part-time Virginia starting center Kadin Shedrick entered the portal last week, and the Nittany Lions are among a number of colleges to be involved in the early going.

Shedrick began the season as Virginia’s starting 5, starting 14 of its first 15 games and averaging 8.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.8 BPG during that span. He really saw his role drop in the middle of the season, averaging only 10 MPG during an 11-game stretch. Towards the end of the year, Shedrick earned back a heavier role — he averaged 21 MPG during the conference and NCAA tournaments — but he’s now (likely) in search of a larger, more consistent role.

Honestly, Shedrick is a nice player. Good size and length at 6-foot-11, 231 pounds. He’s an above-average athlete who does enough to hang with wings on the perimeter. The 10.2% block rate is obviously impressive. He won’t do a ton offensively, but he’s a very solid starting five for a program like Penn State.

RICHMOND NATIVE IN THE PORTAL

Former five-star prospect Efton Reid made his way into the transfer portal for the second time in his career yesterday afternoon.

Reid, who is originally from Richmond, played at LSU in 2021-22 but opted to transfer to Gonzaga following the Tigers’ coaching switch. Reid was hoping to expand on his solid freshman campaign where he averaged 6.3 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 19.6 minutes per night, but he could never break into the rotation in Spokane. With the Zags, Reid only played in 25 games for a total of 116 minutes.

While Penn State hasn’t been connected to the 7-foot-0, 240-pound Reid yet, the Richmond connection could play a factor here. And like Shedrick, Reid is likely looking for consistent playing time — something Penn State would be more likely to promise than some other high ranked schools.

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By: Patrick Koerbler
Title: Probing The Portal: Big Men In Focus (4.5.23)
Sourced From: www.blackshoediaries.com/2023/4/5/23670495/probing-the-portal-big-men-in-focus-penn-state-basketball-jalen-deloach-kadin-shedrick-bsd
Published Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2023 13:15:00 +0000

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