Penn State Men's Basketball 2022 preview: Starters, Bench, Freshmen, & more

The Penn State Men's Basketball team will tip off year No.2 under head coach Micah Shrewsberry on Monday evening against Winthrop. The Nittany Lions will look to improve on a 14-17 record from 2021-22 under Shrewsberry and take the next step in the building of the program.

Entering the season, expectations are higher around the Nittany Lions, many college basketball experts believe that entering the season, the Nittany Lions can be a bubble NCAA Tournament team. If the Nittany Lions are going to do so, they'll have to take care of business with their manageable non-conference schedule as their Big Ten schedule will surely pose its fair share of challenges.

Let's take a look at the 2022-23 Penn State Men's Basketball team.

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Head coach: Micah Shrewsberry - 2nd season (14-17 overall record; 7-13 in Big Ten)
2021-2022 Team Stats:

PS/G (2021-22): 64.6
PA/G (2021-22): 65
Field goal %: 43.2%
Three-point %: 34.2%
Free throw %: 73.5%
Rebounds per game: 35.3
Assists per game: 11.9
Steals per game: 5.3
Blocks per game : 2.2
Turnovers per game: 11.8
Personal fouls per game: 15.4

Ratings entering the season:

ESPN BPI: 67
KenPom: 46
SAGARIN: 51
NET: 88

Key Losses: John Harrar, Sam Sessoms, Greg Lee
Key Returners: Jalen Pickett, Myles Dread, Seth Lundy
Newcomers: Camren Wynter (Drexel), Andrew Funk (Bucknell), Michaell Henn (Denver), Kebba Njie, Kayne Clary, Jameel Brown, Demetrius Lilley, Evan Mahaffey

Cam Wynter - Sr.+ - Guard (6-foot-2 / 200 lbs): The premier offseason pickup for the Nittany Lions is the former Drexel standout. For his career, Wynter has averaged 14.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. Last season for the Dragons, the Hempstead (NY) native averaged 15.8 points per game while shooting 43.4% from the floor.

Wynter has been solid overall in his career at shooting from beyond the arc with a career shooting percentage of 33.9% but is coming off a tough season in that regard, hitting just 27.8% of his three-point shots from last season. Shooting from deep is not a big part of Wynter's game, however, only averaging 3.5 three-point attempts per game.

Overall, Wynter will bring a strong scoring presence to the Nittany Lions this season and should be one of their scoring options boasting a career true shooting percentage of 51.9% and an effective field goal percentage of 47.7%.

Defensively, he's solid and has improved over the course of his career, last season, his defensive rating was 104.7 while posting a defensive win share of 1.1. He's also averaged 2.0 steals per game for his career.

Jalen Pickett - Sr.+ - Guard (6-foot-4 / 209 lbs): Pickett returns for his second season with the Nittany Lions after leading the team in scoring while boasting a 13.3/4.3/4.4 stat line from last season. An overall quality scorer, Pickett may not be terribly efficient in one area but finds a way to get the job. His true shooting percentage from last season was 50.2% while posting an offensive rating of 108.2.

Last season, Pickett struggled at times from three-point range, making just 32% of his attempts, averaging just under five attempts per game. For his career, the Rochester (NY) native is a bit better than his performance last season, a career 34.9% three-point shooter.

Defensively, Pickett posted a defensive rating of 104.3 last season, the highest of his collegiate career and quite the jump from his 95.5 defensive rating from his last season with Sienna. Though defensive rating is a perfect measure of individual performance, it provides a quality general indication. Pickett averaged 1.9 steals and 1.0 block per game last season while totaling a defensive win share of 1.3

Seth Lundy - Sr. - Guard/Foward (6-foot-6 / 220 lbs): Entering year four as a Nittany Lion, Lundy has improved in each of his first three seasons with the program and could be in for another big step forward this season.

Last year, Lundy posted career highs in both points per game and rebounds per game en route to a stat line of 11.9/4.9/0.7 with a shooting line of .395/.348/.867.

Like with Pickett, Lundy isn't a terribly efficient shooter as one can tell by his shooting line. For his career, Lundy is just a 39.5% shooter from the floor. He did, however, shoot a quality 34.8% from three-point range a season ago. He also posted a quality true shooting percentage of 53.5% and an effective field goal percentage of 50%.

Defensively, Lundy will get the job done and was all in all a better asset defensively last season than offensively. Last season, he recorded a defensive rating of 102.7 and a defensive win share of 1.2, the highest of his career.

Myles Dread - Sr.+ - Guard/Forward (6-foot-4 / 235 lbs): There is a chance that instead of dread starting for the Nittany Lions, they instead would start Andrew Funk. That being said, Dread is intriguing coming into this season.

While he only posted a stat line of 6.2/2.7/1.4 last season for the Nittany Lions, There is no doubt that when Dread was on the floor, Micah Shrewsberry's team was much better offensively. Dread posted an offensive rating of 116.7, the highest of any returning Nittany Lion and only behind John Harrar's 126.3 from last season.

Overall, offensively, Dread shot 40.5% from the floor last season, the best of his career, he also shot 40.7% from a three-point range, once again the Nittany Lions' top returner in that regard. Defensively, Dread provides quality defense while averaging a steal per game. Last season, he posted a defensive rating of 105 while also recording a defensive box plus/minus of 3.4, the highest of his career.

Kebba Nije - Fr. - Forward (6-foot-10 / 237 lbs): A top 150 in the 2022 recruiting cycle, Njie comes to Happy Valley with high expectations surrounding him. The first year for Njie may have it's fair share of ups and downs but could become a major piece of the Nittany Lions' future success starting in 2023-24.

Andrew Funk - Sr.+ - Guard (6-foot-5 / 220 lbs): The Warrington (PA) native will finish off his career with the Nittany Lions after spending the last four years at Bucknell. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 17.6 points per game last season for the Bison and has averaged double-digit points in each of his last three seasons. A quality shooter, Funk is coming off a shooting line of .432/.363/.761. He also averaged 3.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists last season. Funk will have the opportunity to carve himself out quite the role with the Nittany Lions and as stated above could be a starter for the program as well.

Michael Henn - Sr.+ - Foward (6-foot-8, 244 lbs): Henn comes to Penn State after spending time at UC-Davis, California Baptist, Portland, and Denver. For his career, the Spokane (WA) native has played in 117 games including 72 starts. He's coming off a career-high stat line of 8.8/4.6/1.8 with the Denver Pioneers. Henn can do a little bit of everything shooting 46.8% from the floor last season but has posted three-point shooting percentages of 39.7% and 38.0% over his last two seasons.

Dallion Johnson - Jr. - Guard (6-foot-3 / 180 lbs): Johnson was mostly a role player for the Nittany Lions last season, playing in 29 games, starting 14, and averaging 14.6 minutes per contest. Johnson's primary role was being one of the team's go to three-point shooters when on the floor. Out of his 104 total shot attempts, 74 were from beyond the arch, he hit 36.5% of those shots while averaging 3.7 points per game.

Caleb Dorsey - Jr. - Forward (6-foot-7, 235 lbs): Dorsey saw time in just 12 games last season and isn't likely to have a big role this season either. When on the floor last season, he made just 3-off-11 shots from the floor including going 3-for-9 from deep.

Here's what our analysts here at Rivals had to say last year about the Nittany Lions 2022 recruiting class and each prospect.

Kebba Nije - Fr. - Forward (6-foot-10 / 237 lbs): “High upside big that has all the tools but is a little raw as things stand. Strong kid, quick but needs development from a skill perspective, A guy that could be good in his second year.” -- National Hoops Recruiting Analyst Rob Cassidy

Jameel Brown - Fr. - Guard (6-foot-4 / 188 lbs): “Every bit of 6'4 with the potential to be an excellent shooter with deep range. Can guard multiple positions and is tough. Has to continue to refine ball handling and decision making, but provides size, versatility and shot making in the backcourt.” -- National Hoops Recruiting Analyst Dan McDonald

“Brown played on a loaded Team Final grassroots team that boasted five Rivals150 players and still managed to stand out from time to time. He’s incredibly versatile and can play multiple positions, including point guard if need be. He has solid length for the position and can impact the game on the glass as well as the offense end. He’s the type of player that could make an instant impact at Penn State because he’s done the work in the weight room to be ready for the college game from a stealth perspective.” -- National Hoops Recruiting Analyst Rob Cassidy

Demetrius Lilley - Fr. - Forward (6-foot-10 / 260 lbs): "Lilly led his Lower Merion (PA) team to the 6A PIAA State semifinals in 2021 averaging 20.6 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. This was a big season for the skilled 6-foot-9 junior as he showed up with a re-shaped body this past May, dropping all the way down to the 240-pound range. He has a great motor, which paired well with his ability to attack off the bounce and make shots from each level. As the numbers show, the re-shaped frame has made Lilly a new type of prospect.” -- Rivals Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw

Evan Mahaffey - Fr. - Guard/Forward (6-foot-6, 200 lbs): “Mahaffey is a player who really knows how to play the game, and it is this natural IQ that allows him to be a jack of all trades type of wing. Offensively, his teammates do a great job cutting off him in the half court, as he has good court awareness. Mahaffey is also a great cutter himself, often finding himself with wide open layups in half court sets. Defensively, he is able to use his athleticism, length and competitive nature to defend up and down a lineup. The fact his dad was an accomplished college player makes sense, as Mahaffey just has that knack.” -- Hoops Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw

Kanye Clary - Fr. - Guard (5-foot-11, 192 lbs): “Clary is a pretty intriguing prospect and was the first commitment for coach Shrewsberry and you can see why he likes him. The class of 2022 prospect appears to be a little bit on the shorter side, listed at 5-foot-11, but he’s more like 5-foot-9 or 5-foot-10. However, don't let that height distract you from the fact that he has pretty darn good handles and a pretty quick first step that allows him to either drive and score or drive and kick at will. He also isn’t afraid of contact and has a soft touch even when fouled at times during games. Clary seems like a pretty solid guard and can create his own offense at will, he will also create some mismatches with his speed. Now, what can he work on? I mainly question his defense and how good he can be on that end of the floor as he will be going against some pretty big guards throughout Big Ten play. Overall not a bad player at all, reminds me a little bit of a guy like former Fordham / current Clemson guard Nick Honor, a smaller guard who can score on the drive and hit the occasional three if needed.” -- Nittany Nation publisher Richard Schnyderite

Dan Conlan - Sr. - Guard - ( 6-foot-4 / 186 pounds): Conlan played in three games last year and totaled four minutes of action time.

Andy Christos - Jr. - Gaurd (6-foot-5 / 186 pounds): Christos played in four games last season with nine minutes of time on the floor.

Ishaan Jagiasi - Sr. - Guard (6-foot-1 / 197 pounds): The team's resident Tik-Tok star, Jagiasi played in two games last season.

The Nittany Lions' non-conference schedule starts off with two should-be wins against Winthrop and Loyola (MD) before they take on the Butler Bulldogs on Nov.14 as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The Bulldogs are coming off a 14-19 record from a season ago but are not a team to take lightly, this will be a quality early-season test for Micah Shrewsberry's program.

They'll then take part in the Charleston Classic starting on Thursday, November 17. Also taking part in the Charleston Classic is Old Dominion, Virginia Tech, Colorado State, South Carolina, Davidson, and College of Charleston.

Following their trip to Charleston, they'll return home for a November 25 clash against Lafayette before traveling back to South Carolina just a few days later to face off against Clemson as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Big Ten play starts on December 7 against Michigan State with a matchup against Illinois just a few days later in Champaign. They'll return to non-conference action on December 18 against Canisius before also playing Quinnipiac and Delaware State on December 22 and December 29 respectively.

Starting on New Year's Day, it will be all-conference games from there on and out starting with a matchup against Iowa at home. The Nittany Lions' regular season schedule is slated to end on Sunday, March 5 against Maryland before the Big Ten Tournament is set to begin on Wednesday, March 8.

Here's the Nittany Lions' complete 2022-23 schedule;

Overall, the Nittany Lions should be improved from a season ago. The transfer portal additions of Camren Wynter, Andrew Funk, and Michael Henn should all pay dividends early and throughout the season and that's without adding an underrated 2022 recruiting class that features a few high-upside talents.

As stated at the beginning, taking care of their non-conference slate with as little of slip up possible will be their biggest key to long-term success this season. The Big Ten conference slate isn't going to be easy and they have a tough start to the heart of their conference schedule come the new year. If they hope to make the tournament, they'll have to get through the non-conference slate likely with two or three losses at most and they'll also likely have to pull off some upsets in conference play as well. If the Nittany Lions can get through the regular season at around 18 wins, they'll have a good chance at going dancing this March as long as they can win a conference tournament game or two.

If they do get there, it will come heavily on the newcomers in Wynter, Funk, Henn, and their true freshman. While Pickett, Dread, and Lundy will all be major factors, the depth the Nittany Lions have entered the season could be some of the best they've had in recent memory. This Penn State team could be one of the bigger surprises nationally as the season progresses.

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