Rhoades and the hoops team need to get going ASAP.
Athletic director Pat Kraft hasn't done a great job for the Nittany Lions over the past few years. Honestly, it kind of feels like Kraft hasn't done a good enough job to even keep his position, but that's a story for another time.
As of right now, it doesn't feel like Penn State is going to move on from Kraft for the time being, so there really isn't a whole lot to talk about here.
Regarding some other decisions that could be made, it's evident that a couple of the coaches in the athletic department are on the hot seat. At the top of that list would be head basketball coach of the men's program, Mike Rhoades, who simply hasn't done enough during his time in Happy Valley to suggest that he should have a job. I'm also of the belief that we need to give Rhoades some grace because of the lack of funds that Penn State is allocating to its basketball program.
Ultimately, in this NIL era, a lot of this is going to fall on how much Penn State is willing to spend on a roster. From everything reported and what Rhoades has said, Penn State is nowhere near the top of the Big Ten when it comes to that, and that's a major problem for a program like this.
Speaking to reporters recently, Rhoades knows that he's definitely on the hot seat. Whether that means that he'd actually be fired is one thing, but for the veteran coach, it's understandable that he's getting this question.
“You can only be controlling what you can control, and if you're worried about outside these doors, what people say and opinions, you are already beat,” Rhoades said per The Daily Collegian. “Nobody else matters, but inside this gym, it's always going to be like that. That's just how it goes, and all that other stuff to me is smoke.”
“This is the best part of my job, being in the gym and having fun. I'm always like this. It's been cool with these guys because there's a lot of teaching because we got all these new guys, but that's why you get into it.”
Rhoades had the right answer here, suggesting that he isn't really worried about that right now and is just focused on his kids playing the type of basketball that he knows they can.
However, if Penn State does start the season off on the wrong foot, especially with one of the worst nonconference schedules in the country, it does feel like a decision could be made sooner rather than later. Rhoades has to win games, and I think that's part of the reason why the nonconference schedule is as bad as it is.
