New Penn State coach Mike Rhoades is coming off an Atlantic 10 championship this season at Virginia Commonwealth. Rhoades led the Rams to three NCAA Tournament appearances in six seasons.
Frank Franklin II | AP photo
Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Penn State hired VCU’s Mike Rhoades on Wednesday as its men’s basketball coach, bringing in the Pennsylvania native to take over a program coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than a decade.
The Penn State board of trustees approved a seven-year deal worth $25.9 million for Rhoades, who is from Mahanoy City in Schuylkill County and played in college at Lebanon Valley.
He replaces Micah Shrewsberry, who was hired away by Notre Dame last week. Both Rhoades and Shrewsberry are scheduled to be introduced at their new schools on Thursday.
“We will be bold, different and aggressive moving our program forward,” Rhoades said through Penn State. “We will play with great energy and excitement while always being relentless in our pursuit of making this basketball family into something special. I can’t wait to get to work.”
Shrewsberry, an Indiana native, was at Penn State for two seasons. The Nittany Lions went 23-14 this season, reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and won an NCAA game for the first time since 2001.
The Lions strived to hold onto Shrewsberry, but ultimately the lure of returning to his home state as well as Penn State’s slow adaptation to new financial realities from name, image and likeness rules were too much to overcome.
Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft announced last Wednesday that Shrewsberry informed him he was leaving for Notre Dame. A week later, he finalized his first major hire in Happy Valley by bringing in Rhoades.
Rhoades, 50, was 129-61 in six seasons at VCU, including three NCAA Tournament bids. He also spent three seasons at Rice, going 23-12 in the final year with the Owls before returning to VCU.
He was an assistant at the Richmond, Virginia, school from 2009-14 under then-head coach Shaka Smart.
”Mike Rhoades is one of the finest college basketball coaches in the country,” said Smart, now head coach at Marquette, through Penn State. “His combination of character, relationship building, competitive drive and basketball IQ is second to none in our industry. His teams defend at a high level, play with great passion, and demonstrate genuine relationships. Most importantly, Mike thrives at helping young men become grown men. Penn State just hit an absolute home run.”
Rhoades is expected to bring assistant coaches with him from VCU but also will be bringing aboard former Penn State star Joe Crispin, according to multiple reports. Crispin, one of the best shooting guards in school history, has been the head coach at Division III Rowan in New Jersey.
The new staff will have its work cut out for it in building a new roster. The bulk of Penn State’s NCAA Tournament roster is out of eligibility and a group of underclassmen has entered the transfer portal since Shrewsberry’s departure. In addition, all three signees in the 2023 recruiting class have requested release from their letters of intent, a group that includes Shrewsberry’s son.
TEMPLE HIRES FISHER
Shrewsberry’s top assistant, Adam Fisher, had received strong public support for the job from outgoing Penn State players, will instead be taking over another program in the state. Fisher was hired by Temple on Wednesday to become just the program’s fifth coach since 1973.
Fisher’s goal will be to turn around a program that hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2019.
Fisher replaces Aaron McKie, who was transferred out of the coaching job earlier this month after four seasons and a 52-56 overall record with no tournament berths. McKie is now a special advisor to the athletic department.
Fisher takes over a team in flux with six players in the transfer portal. Temple has yet to find any steady success in the American Athletic Conference.
Fisher spent eight years as an assistant with Miami before he joined Shrewsberry’s staff last season.
“I am confident we have found the right person to lead Temple men’s basketball,” athletic director Arthur Johnson said. “We look forward to welcoming coach Fisher to the Temple community and returning to the NCAA Tournament under his leadership.”
Fisher also worked as a graduate manager at Villanova under Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright from 2007-09.
The Owls have traditionally given their coaches significant time on the bench, though McKie’s tenure was the shortest since Ernest Messikomer from 1939-42. The next five coaches all lasted at least 10 seasons, notably Hall of Fame coach John Chaney’s tenure from 1982-2006.