The good news just keeps on rolling in for the Penn State basketball program. It was looking like it was a dire situation after their roster for the upcoming roster was depleted after graduations from their top players and others entering the transfer portal.
There were legitimate questions if new head coach [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] would be able to piece together a roster for the 2023-24 season, let alone one that could compete in the Big Ten conference.
On Wednesday, Penn State secured the commitment of North Carolina transfer [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag]. On Thursday, Rhoades and his staff added another player through the transfer portal with the commitment from Georgetown transfer center [autotag]Qudus Wahab[/autotag].
That is now five transfer players who have left their programs and will be playing for Penn State this season. The basketball program is no stranger to adding talent through the portal, but getting this many players via transferring is something unprecedented for the program in recent memory.
BREAKING: Penn State basketball adds big man Qudus Wahab out of the NCAA Transfer Portal.https://t.co/5UtQOfRYef pic.twitter.com/22lubR1XO6
— Tyler Calvaruso (@tyler_calvaruso) April 27, 2023
Wahab is a 6’11” 245 pound center who played his high school basketball in Virginia. Originally from Nigeria, he moved to the United States to focus on basketball. As a prospect in the class of 2019, he was a four-star recruit and ranked as the 124th overall player in the class according to 247Sports.
In his freshman season at Georgetown, Wahab saw the floor immediately. He appeared in 32 games, starting seven of them. He was a perenial starter his sophomore season at Georgetown before he decided to transfer to Maryland for the 2021-22 season. After one season in College Park, he transferred back to Georgetown this past season play for Patrick Ewing after Maryland went through a coaching change. He’ll use his final year of eligibility in State College for the upcoming season.
In his four seasons of college basketball, Wahab has averaged 8.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 20.9 minutes per game.
The size that he will provide the program is something that will be welcomed by many Penn State fans. The size disadvantage the Nittany Lions have had over the years has been palpable. Even as a one year player, Wahab should be able to provide a boost on the glass and interior defense that hasn’t in the program for a while.
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