The Penn State men’s basketball team is only returning three players from last year’s squad.
Five of the players graduated, five left for the transfer portal, and one was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers.
So who is going to step up and be a leader on this year’s young squad? If you ask the team, the answer are the returnees: Freddie Dilione V., Eli Rice, and Dominick Stewart.
I asked Dilione and Rice earlier this month what kinds of leadership skills they are doing on and off the court. Dilione replied, “Talking more. Talking to the guys. Being more of a team.” He also stated how they are embracing the leadership “promotion” and taking things one day at a time.
Rice then answered, “For him (Dilione) playing last year he learned a lot. For me being on the sidelines, I learned a lot seeing it from the sidelines.” Rice suffered a season-ending ankle injury last year against Saint Francis (Pa.) on November 12. Rice continued, “I was just getting comfortable last year. Not even playing last year, I feel like I have gotten so much better like maturity-wise. I think I’m going to surprise a lot of people this year. I think as a whole group we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Dilione is a redshirt junior this upcoming season. He played in all 31 games last year while making 28 starts. He averaged 9.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.7 APG. Dilione scored in double figures in 17 games and led Penn State in scoring twice last year.
Rice, a redshirt sophomore, only appeared in one game last year before his season-ending injury. Before he got hurt he pulled down two rebounds in his debut against Saint Francis (Pa.).
Stewart, a sophomore, saw action in 24 games last year. He averaged 2.8 PPG and pulled down 1.1 RPG while averaging 8.2 minutes per contest.
I then asked Dilione and Rice if they have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder and extra motivation because of the turnover on the team. Dilione replied, “Oh yeah, for sure, I think it’s a big chip, just to prove to the people we’re a good basketball team and that we’re able to produce and bring the fans out.”
These three leaders will have a young, but very talented supporting cast behind them as they look to be on the prowl this upcoming season.
