Penn State blowing a 16-point second-half lead to Minnesota Saturday night wasn’t the only cause for concern.
Two players, Kanye Clary and Nick Kern, left the game with injuries.
Clary, a bench player on last year’s NCAA Tournament team, has developed into Penn State’s top offensive weapon.
The second-year sensation is one of the Big Ten’s scorers, placing sixth in the conference in scoring average with 18.4 PPG. One of the five players ahead of him is Illinois’ Terrance Shannon Jr., who has only played in 14 games. Clary has played in all 20 of Penn State’s, but his status for Game No. 21– scheduled for Wednesday night at Rutgers— is in question.
Rhodaes said in his weekly presser Monday afternoon that Clary is day-to-day.
Penn State has struggled to win with Clary, losing 11 of its last 16 after a 4-0 start, and it will be much more difficult without him.
On a more positive note, it appears that Kern will be good to go.
“Nick will be available,” Rhoades said, “so we’ll go from there.”
Kern is Penn State’s fourth-leading scorer, averaging 8.1 points per game.
Rhoades on Kanye Clary and Nick Kern's injury status:
"Kanye is day-to-day, we'll leave it at that. And Nick will be available, so we'll go from there."
— Joe Tuman (@JTuman21) January 29, 2024
Rhoades, who was also Kern’s head coach for two seasons at VCU, has complimented Kern over both their first seasons at Penn State for his energy.
In Penn State’s 87-83 upset over then-No. 11 Wisconsin earlier this month, Kern had 15 points.
“He’s just not afraid of the moment,” Rhaodes said earlier this month, “he’s not afraid to compete. Even if he makes a mistake, he’s making it more on aggression. He’s coachable, he wants to win and that’s why I like him so much.”
If Clary’s out for an extended period of time, Kern and everybody else will take on bigger roles.
