Penn State Basketball continues to prioritize legacy recruit Royce Parham
As a traditional back to the rim scoring threat, 6-foot-8 Class of 2024 forward Royce Parham is an intriguing legacy recruit for Penn State.
Parham, who has bounced back from a recent injury and erupted for 39 points during North Hills (PA) a 78-74 victory over Chartiers Valley back in January, is the son of legendary Penn State Center Kim Calhoun.
Calhoun, now Kim Parham, cemented her illustrious career with the Nittany Lions as the program's all time leading shot blocker.
While Penn State was early in the recruitment of Parham and recently hosted the polished interior scorer/rebounder, his recruitment has taken off since September.
His development of a reliable 15-18 foot jumper and incorporation of a face up game to his arsenal has certainly added appeal to his overall package.
Parham has accumulated offers from the likes of Marquette, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Marquette, Maryland, Xavier, TCU, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and others.
Parham started his recruitment process as a lesser heralded guy without the same high expectations, hype, and hearsay as others at his position. The Pittsburgh native drew offers from local programs such as Robert Morris, Duquesne, and Pittsburgh.
Parham scored 35 points, including an efficient 13-of-17 at the free throw line, to help steer North Hills to a 76-70 victory over the aforementioned Chartiers Valley en route to a Section 4-5A title.
Parham's stock really took off during the summer, when he was able to display his deft passing and the downhill game and fluid athleticism which makes him such a unique prospect on the AAU scene.
Parham is a sky-riser with vertically explosive finishing and creativity around the rim. He's able to attack the run and score in transition with North Hills' frenetic attack.
Parham's stock appears to be on the rise. The four star recruit recently indicated that he will make a decision around Peach Jam, which is slated for July of 2023. He will likely generate more buzz and add on more high major offers to his list by then.
Parham visited Penn State in October, where he and 6-foot-6 Christ The King (NY) wing Dwayne Pierce (who has since committed to Iowa State) took in the "white out" football game.
Parham took another campus visit on Feb. 26. While he's taken recent visits to Marquette during the first week of February and Xavier on New Year's, Penn State appears to be as consistent as anyone throughout Parham's recruitment.
Conventional wisdom indicates that Parham is currently leaning toward PSU. As unpredictable as recruiting in, especially in today's climate and with Parham having plenty of time before his decision, PSU appears to be angling for front runner status.
Parham's recruitment could wind up being similar to that of former Auburn Center Austin Wiley. Like Parham, Wiley was a hotly pursued recruit whose mother starred at Auburn and sustained ties to the University long after authoring a legendary career there.
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