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Penn State Men’s Basketball: Four Roster Questions Heading Into Offseason

After a historic 2022-23 campaign Penn State men’s basketball will head towards an offseason of change no matter how the status of head coach Micah Shrewsberry shakes out. The questions will quite obviously change if Shrewsberry opts to take over a different program, but even if Shrewsberry stays at Penn State the Nittany Lions will have plenty of obstacles and roster management challenges to overcome.

Here are four of the biggest questions facing Penn State’s roster right now, under the assumption that Shrewsberry does not take a job at a different program this offseason. First, to set the table, a general overview of known incoming and outgoing players.

  • Outgoing: Myles Dread, Andrew Funk, Cam Wynter, Jalen Pickett, Michael Henn
  • Incoming [Recruits only]: Carey Booth, Braeden Shrewsberry, Logan Imes.

What Will Seth Lundy Do?: Lundy has the ability to exercise his extra year of eligibility and return to Penn State for a fifth year. Lundy said he was undecided about his future following Penn State’s loss to Texas – whether or not that’s true aside – it speculatively seems like Lundy would only return if Shrewsberry does. Lundy’s defensive abilities, size and three point shooting make him an interesting NBA prospect and the feedback he gets regarding his NBA draft status might be informative but time is never on the side of guys coming back for a fifth year. Best guess is that Lundy enters the NBA Draft process, but the potential for him to be an even bigger piece of Penn State’s offense in 2023-24 could prove useful to his draft stock.

Portal additions: Roster numbers will dictate how much room Penn State has to play with this offseason but it stands to reason Shrewsberry would add at least three portal players at a minimum. That number could go up depending on how the rest of the current roster shakes out. Penn State is already hosting some portal prospects and more will be on the way as the NCAA Tournament moves along. It will be hard to match the portal success of Cam Wynter, Jalen Pickett and Andrew Funk but Penn State will certainly try to replicate the production – and perhaps more importantly – the experience those plays brought to the table. It’s hard to imagine Penn State pulling out another All-American from the portal, but never say never. Safe to say size and ball-handling will be key here. Seven-footers don’t grow on trees but you can at least give the trees a shake.

Caleb Dorsey, Dallion Johnson and Demetrius Lilley: This trio was on the outside looking in of Penn State’s equation all season. Dorsey and Johnson in particular seemed to be players who were posted for bigger roles on this team and that never really panned out. Johnson could play his way back onto the floor as a three-point shooter, Dorsey with his size and athleticism. For his part Lilley still looks a bit from being in the sort of shape he needs to be to really impact Penn State’s upcoming season. The offseason can work wonders, but Lilley might still be the odd man out. All three could stay, all three could go. This group will inform how much portal shopping Penn State does.

Kebba Njie, Evan Mahaffey, Kanye Clary, Jameel Brown: While the trio above might head for the hills, this quartet should be key to Penn State’s future as long as they all stay put. Njie and Mahaffey in particular both have a role to play moving forward while Shrewsberry clearly trusted Clary in big spots, especially the back half of the season. Brown for his part wasn’t really part of Penn State’s rotation but appeared plenty happy to play his role as an up-and-coming prospect. Brown and Shrewsberry had a relationship coming from his recruitment at Purdue, so he might be more willing than some young players to trust in his coach and be patient about the process. All four of these guys should be happy about their futures at Penn State if Shrewsberry returns. But never say never in a transfer portal world. Especially depending on how Penn State gets out of said portal.