On Wednesday afternoon, head coach Mike Rhoades spoke with local media members to discuss the upcoming 2024-25 season.
During the 30-minute presser, Rhoades touched upon a range of topics including Penn State’s identity, his returning seniors and what he and the team can build off from last year.
Most notably, though, Rhoades spoke plainly about his intentions for the basketball program.
“I told [president Neeli Bendapudi before I took the job that] I’m going to be a pit bull with manners,” said Rhoades. “I’m going to be unapologetic for trying to build a winning program that is going to be like Michigan State someday or Purdue someday…”
In only his second season, there is tangible evidence that Rhoades and his staff are well on their way to building a successful basketball culture.
Last season, the Nittany Lions won nine Big Ten games, tying a record for the most conference wins by a first-year head coach in program history.
Took the W from ❌isconsin.#WeAre pic.twitter.com/TdDqWcIp62
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) January 17, 2024
“Last year we put a foundation down,” said Rhoades.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“We had some good play in the Big Ten that supports that we belong and that we know where to take [the program].”
“We’re going to [continue] to win. We want to win.”
Rhoades knows, though, that in order to build a sustainable culture of success, it’s about being future-oriented.
“It would be great if we could start right now and start building sustainable success but nothing’s guaranteed… [Being] committed to winning isn’t just saying what we got to do to win [today], it’s building something that’s going to last hopefully longer than all of us…”
That mindset of cultivating winning habits over time has made Mike Rhoades a successful head coach everywhere he’s been, and it will be the key to building Penn State into a top team in the Big Ten.
During the 2023-24 season, Penn State went 16-17 (9-11), finishing 11th in the Big Ten.
