Penn State Basketball ’24 Target Royce Parham Commits to Marquette

On Wednesday, North Hills star forward Royce Parham committed to Marquette and head coach Shaka Smart over Pitt, Penn State, and Xavier.

Smart and his staff have been all over Parham throughout his high-school career. The Golden Eagles extended a scholarship offer to Parham in September 2022 when Smart visited Pittsburgh to watch his practice. Since then, Parham traveled to Milwaukee to watch Smart’s Marquette squad play against Butler, and Smart again visited Pittsburgh to watch Parham compete for North Hills. Now, Parham has announced his pledge to become a Golden Eagle at the next level.

Parham, a 6-foot-8 forward, is ranked as the No. 68 player in the class of 2022 by the 247 Sports Composite. He averaged more than 29 points per game this season for North Hills, leading the Indians to a 21-7 record.

Parham joins Ohio prospect Damarius Owens in Marquette’s 2024 class, which previously ranked as the No. 25 class in the nation with Owens on board.

Given recent events, Penn State fans would love for anybody to commit to their basketball program. Coach Micah Shrewsberry left Happy Valley for Notre Dame last month, and all three of Penn State’s ’23 signees requested releases from their letters of intent afterward. Shrewsberry’s son, Braeden, is already following his dad to South Bend. Carey Booth, Penn State’s top-rated signee and the second-highest-rated signee in school history according to 247Sports, is undecided, as is Logan Imes, a three-star from Zionsville, Indiana. 

A player like Parham, especially, would have pleased Penn State fans. For one, he’s a Penn State legacy. His mother, Kim– whose maiden name is Calhoun– is PSU women’s basketball’s all-time leader in blocked shots. Parham is also a stud on the court. He’s the No. 68 player in the 2024 Class according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. With one year at North Hills still to play, Parham has 1,527 career points. He averaged 28.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and three blocks per game the past season. 

Now, Penn State’s first commit of the 2024 cycle will have to be somebody else.