Well, that didn’t take long. True freshman point guard, Kayden Mingo, has already received national recognition. Per Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi of ESPN, Mingo is considered a Top 50 newcomer to have the most impact on his team this college basketball season. This not only includes freshman, but it also includes transfers. Mingo was ranked No. 48 on the list. Not bad for a freshman who has only played in one college basketball, exhibition game so far.
But last Sunday afternoon in Dayton, OH, Mingo shined in his college debut. Penn State played in their first exhibition game against the Dayton Flyers. Take a look at Mingo’s first college highlights below.
The 6′-2″ rising star finished the game with a team-high 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting. He also registered 3 rebounds and 4 assists.
Coming out of Long Island Lutheran High School in Glen Head, New York, Kayden Mingo was a four-star prospect and the No. 34 ranked recruit in America.
When the point guard visited State College on his recruiting trip , Mingo recalled the visit to Penn State’s athletic website.
“I loved the time I spent at Penn State on my visit,” Mingo said. “It felt like home and like a place I can grow at in different ways.”
Mingo is part of the No. 26 ranked recruiting class in the country, the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history.
He was also voted by his peers a team captain for this upcoming season. This really shows the impact and the respect that he has already earned from his teammates and coaches.
After Mingo committed to Penn State, coach Mike Rhoades told the website that Mingo “will bring an elite level of talent and competitiveness to the floor.”
“But he is equally as impressive as a young man and student off the floor,” Rhoades said. “Kayden can defend, score, facilitate, and attack to both create for himself and others at an impressive level. Kayden possesses our type of work ethic and competitive drive, and we can’t wait to get to work with him and welcome him into our Penn State family.”
Kayden Mingo will play in Penn State’s second and final exhibition game this Sunday in State College against Shippensburg at 2:00 P.M. Then it gets real when the Nittany Lions open up their regular season against the Fairfield Stags on Monday, November 3 at 7:00 P.M. inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
Stay tuned to Nittany Sports Now for all of your Penn State men’s basketball news.
