Penn State Men's Basketball 2022-2023 Roster Preview: Guards
The Penn State Nittany Lions' men's basketball program will get their season on November 6 against Delaware State. That being said, the Nittany Lions will first have an exhibition matchup against Robert Morris on Friday evening in Moon Township.
As the season draws near, Happy Valley Insider is here to break down the Nittany Lions' roster, starting with their guards.
Kayne Clary:
- 2022-23 PER: 10.6
One of a few players to return to Happy Valley this season following Micah Shrewsberry's departure, Clary returns after playing in 32 games for the Nittany Lions last season.
The Virginia Beach native averaged 3.7 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game last season across 10.4 minutes per game. Last season, Clary recorded four double-digit scoring efforts including a 17-point performance against Maryland in February.
Heading into the season, Clary is expected to take on a much bigger role in his second year with the program. How much he'll start remains to be seen, but the 5-foot-11 guard is expected to play a bigger role for the Nittany Lions this season.
"Kanye already naturally played the way we want to play," Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades said at Big Ten media day regarding Clary. "Fast and aggressive with the ball. A lot of ball screens, fast in the open court."
Ace Baldwin Jr.
- 2022-23 PER: 18.0
The biggest pickup of the offseason for the Nittany Lions, Baldwin is entering his first year with the Nittany Lions after following Rhoades from VCU to Happy Valley. Baldwin will have two years of eligibility to play with the Nittany Lions.
The 2022-2023 A-10 Player of the Year was a major name in the transfer portal this past offseason. For the Rams last season, Baldwin averaged 12.7 points, 5.8 assists, and 2.9 rebounds a game. He shot 42.1% from the floor, including 34.2% from three-point range. In 30 games played last season, Baldwin recorded 21 double-digit scoring efforts including a 37-point performance in February against St. Louis and a 28-point performance against Vanderbilt last November.
Not only a scorer, Baldwin Jr is a great defender, being named the 2022-2023 A-10 Defensive player of the Year last season. He's only one of four players in A-10 history to win the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year award in the same season, joining Pepe Sanchez (1999-2000, Temple), David West (2001-2002, Xavier), and Stephane Lasme (2006-2007, Massachusetts).
Beyond the surface statistics, Baldwin posted a career high offensive rating of 109.6 last season while also posting a defensive rating of 94.5. His 54% true shooting percentage was the highest of his career last season, thanks in part to shooting a career best 79.5% from the free throw line.
Baldwin will be a keystone piece of the Nittany Lions starting five this fall. The two-time All-A-10 selection will be crucial to the program's success this season and is the type of player that can take over a game. That being said, it will be intriguing to see how the Nittany Linos will plan on making up for when Baldwin has an off night. Last season, Baldwin had nine games in which he shot 33% or less on five shots or more.
D'Marco Dunn
- 2022-23 PER: 9.7
Dunn comes to Penn State after spending the last two seasons with North Carolina, playing in 50 games. In those 50 games, Dunn averaged 1.9 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 0.3 assists including averaging 2.7 points a game last season across 27 games played and averaging 10.2 minutes per game.
The 6-foot-4 guard out of Arizona recorded one double-digit scoring effort in his career in Chapel Hill, a 14-point day against Louisville last season. Dunn in his first season with the Tar Heels struggled shooting, making just 29% of his shots from the field. Last season, that number improved to 42.4% including 32.4% from the three-point range (12-for-37). He also shot 60% from the free-throw line (6-for-10).
Defensively at North Carolina, Dunn didn't have too many flashes, posting defensive ratings of 108.2 and 105.1. He forced eight steals and six blocks over his 50 career games.
That being said, the former-four star prospect Lions should have many more opportunities to show off his talents with the Nittany Lions. Mike Rhoades believes that playing time could be the difference maker for Dunn.
"Just a versatile guard, can score in different ways. I think he could be an elite defender," Rhoades said about Dunn at Big Ten media day. "He just needs playing time. He played behind some very good players at Carolina."
"I think D'Marco could be a guy that surprises a lot of people, and he's growing, he's maturing," Rhoades added. "He has probably gained about ten pounds this summer and got a lot stronger, but he has great freedom now to go be a player and not worrying about making mistakes or looking over his shoulder. I think he fits our style tremendously.
So I think he's a good player right now. Six months from now, a year from now I think he could be very, very good. So we're really excited to have him. Perfect fit for what we're trying to do."
Nick Kern Jr.
-2022-23 PER: 14.9
After spending two years with Mike Rhoades at VCU, the St. Louis, Missouri native made the move to Penn State. Kern averaged 5.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game last season across 35 games and 19 starts for VCU. He had a standout performance last season against Fordham with 17-points while also recording three other double-digit scoring days against UMass, Saint Louis, and Richmond.
While the numbers may not jump off the screen, the 6-foot-6 Kern was a very good shooter for the Rams last season, shooting 62% from the floor. He won't be someone who takes too many shots from beyond the perimeter, totaling just 15 three-point attempts on 191 career field goal attempts. He's a career 66.7% free-throw shooter (36-for-54). He shot well from the charity stripe as a freshman, making 13-of-16 attempts but struggled last season, making 23-of-38.
While Kern hasn't had huge offensive impacts, his impacts can be felt on the defensive side of the ball. For his career, he has a 94.8 defensive rating across 66 games and 931 minutes played, while posting a defensive win share last season for VCU of 1.3 and a defensive box plus/minus of 2.9.
Perhaps Kern's offensive game takes a step forward now with the Nittany Lions, but at the very least, the St. Louis native should provide strong defensive efforts when on the floor for the Nittany Lions.
Jameel Brown
-2022-23 PER: 5.7
Another returner from last season, Brown will look to develop a bigger role for the Nittany Lions this season after playing in 14 games last season. Brown had a tough going when on the court last season, shooting just 3-of-16 from the floor in 64 minutes played. He did average a rebound per game across his 14 games, including four games in which he recorded multiple rebounds.
Puff Johnson
-2022-23 PER: 5.7
Another North Carolina transfer, Johnson was the first former Tar Heel to commit to play for Mike Rhoades and the Nittany Lions. The transfer for guard out of Moon Township is expected to play a vital leadership role for the Nittany Lions this season. Mike Rhoades during Big Ten media day called Johnson a “natural leader” and has been voted a team captain.
During three years at North Carolina, Johnson averaged 3.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.3 assists across 65 career games. Last season, the Pennsylvania native averaged 4.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in 27 games and two starts. During his career, Johnson has recorded six double-digit scoring efforts. Two of those scoring efforts came in the NCAA Tournament. In the 2022 NCAA Championship game against Kansas, Johnson was one of five Tar Heels to score double-digits as he shot 5-for-9 from the floor for 11 points. Unfortunately for Johnson, the Tar Heels would fall to Kansas, 72-69.
That being said, that experience with an elite program like North Carolina is experience that could be vital to Penn State this season as the Nittany Lions try to manage the ups-and-downs of a tough schedule, especially within conference play.
RayQuawndis Mitchell
-2022-23 PER: 13.8
A Minnesota native, Mitchell is now on his fourth school after spending time at Idaho, Illinois-Chicago, and Kansas City. His senior season with the Kansas City Roo's last year was the best of his career, averaging 17.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. A volume shooter, Mithcell shot 34.5% last season across nearly 15 attempts per game. For his career, he has shot 34.3% from the floor, 30.5% from three-point range and 83.0% from the charity stripe.
"We are really excited to have RayQ in our family here at Penn State," Mike Rhoades said about the addition of Mitchell in a press release this offseason. "He brings us experience and ability that is needed on the perimeter. RayQ fits our style of play and our approach. I can't wait to get him on campus and get to work with him."
Bragi Gudmundsson
A bit of an unknown, the Icelandic guard comes to Penn State after playing for U.M.F. Grindavik in the Iceland-Subway League last year, the highest level of play in Iceland. For Grindavik, Gudmundsson averaged 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists across 25 games. He also played for the U16 and U18 Icelandic National Teams.
Has two brothers, Jon Axel Gudmundsson and Ingvi Gudmundsson who both played college basketball in the states at Davidson and Saint Louis. Jon Axel had a very productive career with Davidson before returning overseas to play basketball professionally. Ingvi played two games for Saint Louis in 2018-19 before leaving the program.
What Gudmundsson will bring to the Nittany Lions to a degree remains an unknown. Projecting how European players will translate to the North American style is never easy but there's never been a better time for European and international players in general to have success in the United States. With the NBA season getting underway, the NBA has 125 international players, roughly 27% of the league's total player count.
Walk-ons: Dan Conlan, Andy Christos
Both walk-ons, Conlan has appeared in nine games for Penn State over the last two years but is still looking for his first career points. Christos has played in six games including two last season and like Conlan is looking for his first career basket.
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