Tag: Andrew Funk

Former Penn State guard Andrew Funk signs with Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls have rounded out part of their roster for the second-half of the season with a Nittany Lion.

The Chicago Bulls are looking to add a shooter to the roster, and they may have found one in the form of a former Penn State Nittany Lion. [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag], who spent one season with the Nittany Lions last year out of the transfer portal, has signed a two-way contract with the Bulls.

Each NBA team is allowed to have three players signed to a two-way contract. The Bulls had a spot open up after upgrading a two-way contract for Onuralp Bitim to a regular NBA contract.

Funk transferred to Penn State from Bucknell before the 2022-23 college basketball season, and he immediately became a three-point shooting force for the Nittany Lions. The former Patriot League standout helped Penn State reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011. Funk was on fire in Penn State’s first-round win over Texas A&M, Penn State’s first tournament win since 2001.

Funk signed with the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NBA draft. He played with the summer league team for the Nuggets and signed with the team in July, but he was waived by the Nuggets in October. Later that month he joined the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League.

Funk is one of three Penn State players from last season’s roster currently on an NBA roster. Seth Lundy is with the Atlanta Hawks and Jalen Pickett is with the Nuggets. Both were second-round draft picks of their respective teams in the 2023 NBA draft. Another former Penn State player, Lamar Stevens, is in his third season in the NBA. Stevens is a member of the Memphis Grizzlies

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Report: Chicago Bulls sign guard Andrew Funk to two-way contract

The Chicago Bulls have signed 24-year-old guard Andrew Funk to a two-way contract.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Chicago Bulls have signed guard Andrew Funk to a two-way contract. Funk has spent this season with the Grand Rapids Gold, the Denver Nuggets’ G League team, and has been one of the best three-point shooters in the entire league.

In 20 games with the Gold, Funk averaged 13.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 40.4% from the field and 39.6% from beyond the arc on 9.1 three-point attempts per game. The 24-year-old, 6-foot-5 guard went undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft before signing on with the Gold. Now, he’ll have a chance to help the Bulls improve one of their biggest weaknesses – shooting.

Before entering the draft, Funk played four years of college ball at Bucknell before transferring to Penn State for a fifth and final year.

Funk emerged as a truly reliable three-point specialist during his one season with the Nittany Lions. He averaged 12.5 points and shot 41.2% from distance on 7.4 three-point attempts per contest.

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Social media reacts to Penn State basketball’s upset of No. 12 Illinois

Penn State basketball’s upset of Illinois was trending on social media!

Penn State shocked many in the college basketball world with its effort on Wednesday night against no. 12 Illinois. A frenzied Rec Hall crowd was on hand to witness Penn State dictate the tempo for much of the evening and come from behind by as many as 14 points to spring an upset of the heavily favored Illini, leading to a court storming of the hallowed grounds of Rec Hall.

There is just something about these old venues that brings out the best in Penn State with wins this season in Rec Hall and The Palestra in Philadelphia, both in front of whiteout crowds hoping for a turning of the corner for the program moving forward.

Penn State’s win on Wednesday night was a big one as it elevated Penn State out of the bottom four seeds in the Big Ten basketball tournament seeding for the moment. Could this be a win that springs Penn State on the right momentum heading into the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament in a couple of weeks? We’ll see if the momentum can carry over, but this was an important one for Mike Rhoades and his crew.

Here is a look at some of the best reactions found on social media during and after Penn State’s big win in Rec Hall.

ESPN Events Invitational: How to watch Penn State vs. no. 13 Texas A&M on Thanksgiving

Before you completely stuff your faces with Thanksgiving dinner, here’s how to watch Penn State take on Texas A&M in the ESPN Events Invitational.

Get ready to add a little dose of Penn State basketball to your Thanksgiving menu. The Nittany Lions are down in Florida to participate in the ESPN Events Invitational for the Thanksgiving weekend, and it all begins on Thursday with a rematch with Texas A&M. Penn State and the Aggies will play in the opening game of this year’s ESPN Events Invitational with the winner moving on to play the winner of today’s FAU-Butler game, with the losing teams from each game meeting in the consolation side of the weekend tournament bracket.

Penn State comes into the game with a 4-0 record after picking up four straight wins at home in the Bryce Jordan Center. [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] is averaging a team-high 17.5 points per game and transfer [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr[/autotag]. is leading the Big Ten with 3.0 steals per game.

Texas A&M is also 4-0 coming into the ESPN Events Invitational and they come in as the highest-ranked team in the tournament. Ranked no. 13 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, the Aggies are led by Wade Taylor IV with 17.0 ppg and has a couple of other players averaging double-digit points per game with Tyrece Radford (15.5 ppg) and Henry Coleman III (13.3 ppg).

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Penn State eliminated Texas A&M from the NCAA Basketball Tournament last March with a 76-59 victory over the Aggies in the first round of the tournament. [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag], now in the NBA’s G-League, scorched the Aggies with 27 points with eight three-pointers. [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] added 19 points with 8 assists and 7 rebounds in the win. Penn State has undergone some drastic changes since that tournament win, however, and the Aggies will have a bit of revenge on the mind.

Here is how to watch the game while stuffing your face with some turkey and mashed potatoes and whatever else is your favorite side dish on Thanksgiving.

Penn State vs. Texas A&M Men’s Basketball

  • Date: Thursday, Nov. 23
  • Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN

Here is the full schedule of games for the entire ESPN Events Invitational.

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Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy sign NBA deals with their teams

Former Penn State basketball stars sign NBA contracts

The NBA dreams of [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] and [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] are continuing to become more of a reality after they officially signed their deals with the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks.

After being drafted in the second round by the current NBA champions, Pickett helped show off the new jerseys that the Nuggets will be wearing to celebrate their first championship.

Michael Scotto, NBA writer for HoopsHype and USA TODAY Sports reported that Pickett signed a four-year, $8.3 million deal. The first three years of the deal are fully guaranteed as well.

The Hawks announced that they signed Lundy to a two-way contract but did not disclose the terms of the deal. Lundy will most likely see the majority of his rookie season on the College Park Skyhawks, the G League affiliate of Atlanta.

Both Pickett and Lundy will get their first taste of NBA basketball when they play in the Las Vegas Summer League starting on July 7th.

Pickett will also be joined by a familiar face on the Denver Nuggets Summer League roster. [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag] will be lacing them up for the defending champions with hopes of signing a contract of his own with the Nuggets or another team in the league.

Pickett, Funk, and Lundy will all be in action on the first day of games July 7th. The Nuggets face the Milwaukee Bucks and the Hawks face the Kings.

The Penn State teammates will play against each other Sunday, July 9th at 9:30 p.m. ET on NBATV.

All the games can be found on either the ESPN family of networks or on NBATV.

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Andrew Funk lands NBA Summer League deal with NBA champs

Penn State’s Andrew Funk signs NBA summer league deal with champion Denver Nuggets

Thursday night was a historic night for Penn State basketball when Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy became the first Penn State duo to be drafted in the NBA draft in the same year. But another member of last year’s roster is looking to pursue a career in the NBA this summer. [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag], one of Penn State’s top three-point shooters last season, will head to the NBA Summer League with a contract with the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets.

Funk will join his former Penn State teammate Pickett with the Nuggets. The Nuggets, who have former Penn State basketball star Calvin Booth as general manager, traded with the Indiana Pacers in order to select Pickett early in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft. Clearly, Booth was watching plenty of Penn State basketball, and Funk could find a role in the NBA with his shooting skills.

Funk transferred to Penn State from Bucknell last year, and he quickly fit into the Penn State offense with his hot three-point shooting. Funk converted 41.2% of his three-point shots last season to help Penn State end its NCAA Tournament drought and make a run to the Big Ten championship game and second round of the NCAA Tournament.

In addition to being reunited with his former Penn State teammate, Jalen Pickett, Funk will also be teaming up once again with a former high school basketball teammate, Collin Gillespie, who went to Villanova.

Funk merely landing a summer league deal is another testament to how successful Penn State basketball was last season. Sending three players off to the NBA in the same year is unprecedented for the program, and it will be fun to track the progress these three players (Pickett, Lundy, and Funk) in their professional careers moving forward.

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Penn State’s next move yet another critical one for future of basketball program

Penn State’s next coaching hire will be a big one for AD Pat Kraft as it looks for a new basketball leader

The life of a Penn State basketball fan has been a painful experience for many supporters of the program over the years. And just as it seemed the program was about to hit a turning point in favor of more regular success instead of waiting a decade for a shot at experiencing the NCAA tournament, Penn State once again finds itself at a potential critical fork in the road. The departure of head coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag], who reportedly agreed to a lengthy contract at Notre Dame after two seasons in Happy Valley, leaves Penn State in a position of need for a head coach who can continue down the path Shrewsberry was paving without having to take a major detour.

Whoever becomes the next head coach of the Nittany Lions will have a good amount of work to do right off the bat. Seth Lundy declared for the NBA draft. A pair of players entered the transfer portal. And [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag], [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag], and [autotag]Myles Dread[/autotag] are key players departing the program as well. The transfer portal can ease the pressure with the right conversations and decisions being made with the roster, just as Shrewsberry did right from the start of his brief tenure in State College.

But the real work will have to be done on the recruiting trail, which is a bit more difficult to start given the timing of everything. And the possibility Shrewsberry will lure any top targets to South Bend after initially working on them for Penn State is a real possibility to consider.

Ultimately, what Penn State athletics director [autotag]Pat Kraft[/autotag] is tasked with doing is not necessarily finding the big splash hire for the sake of generating headlines, but finding the right coach for the job. Players have already voiced their support for [autotag]Adam Fisher[/autotag], one of Penn State’s top assistant coaches under Shrewsberry and a former assistant at Villanova and Miami. This turns out being the first major hire for Kraft since being named the school’s athletics director in succeeding Sandy Barbour, who brought Shrewsberry to Penn State.

If you need to have some confidence in Kraft’s ability to identify a good coaching candidate, take a look at some of his notable hires at previous stops. He hired Matt Rhule to be the head football coach at Temple in 2013, and it’s pretty safe to say that worked out pretty well for all parties involved. After Rhule left Temple for Baylor, Kraft hired Geoff Collins to keep things going with the OPwls program, resulting in back-to-back winning seasons. He did hire Rod Carey to be Temple’s next football coach after Collins left for Georgia Tech, so 2-1 isn’t too bad.

Kraft’s men’s college basketball coaching hire at Temple, following the resignation of Fran Dunphy, was thought to be a solid hire with Aaron McKie. McKie was an easy pick for the Owls, but he was just let go by Temple after his fourth season on the job with just one winning season. His coaching hire for the Boston College program, Earl Grant, hasn’t quite panned out for the Eagles after two seasons, although they did win three more games this season compared to the previous season. Hooray for progress?

But Penn State has deeper pockets and more to offer with its financial abilities compared to Temple and Boston College. Penn State still has a long way to go to being a regularly competitive college basketball program, but now is the time to change the narrative.

Penn State has dug deep into the pockets of its football program, which is admittedly the lifeblood of the entire athletics department and has been for decades. It has a history of hiring national championship-caliber programs like Cael Sanderson (wrestling) and Russ Rose (women’s volleyball). It has invested heavily in building a men’s ice hockey program from near scratch and has quickly built a budding NCAA contender in just a matter of a handful of years.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, should be standing in the way of Penn State giving Kraft the green light on making the absolute best hire possible and ensuring the next head coach will have the full financial backing to improve facilities, NIL opportunities, and more for the future stability of the basketball program.

Penn State shouldn’t settle for a coach to go through another rebuild that leads to a return to the NCAA tournament a decade from now. It needs a coach who will keep Penn State fielding a competitive roster through recruiting and the transfer portal for years to come. A step back in the 2023-24 season can be understandable, if not anticipated and expected, but it is beyond time to accept mediocrity as the standard for Penn State basketball.

So when Penn State announces who the next head coach will be, don’t expect a big splashy hire. Instead, look to see how the school and its leadership are committed to a long-term vision for the program that doesn’t waste time in turning words into actions.

The time is now, Penn State.

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Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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NEC Player of the Year visiting Penn State

It sure seems as though Micah Shrewsberry is planning to be at Penn State next year judging by this key transfer visit.

It’s been a packed March for Penn State basketball.

First, it was their run to the conference tournament title game, then it was upsetting Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament and giving two-seeded Texas a scare in the second round.

Now, Penn State fans sit by their phones hoping to hear news about an extension for head coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag]. John Rothstein of CBS Sports previously reported Penn State is expected to make a long-term commitment to Shrewsberry.

While waiting for any update regarding a possible extension, there has been some great news for the Penn State basketball program.

The Northeast Conference Player of the Year is in the transfer portal and was scheduled to meet with Shrewsberry and Penn State on Monday.

[autotag]Josh Cohen[/autotag] is a 6’10” upcoming senior who played at Saint Francis (PA) last season. He averaged 21.8 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 58.5% from the field.

Cohen would provide some much-needed size and rebounding that the Nittany Lions were clearly lacking this season. The track record of transfer players impacting the program positively could play a huge role in landing the NEC Player of the Year.

The success of [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag], [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag] and [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] last season should comfort any player in the transfer portal who is looking for their next home.

Cohen has two years of eligibility remaining, making him a desired transfer target for multiple programs around the country.

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Penn State’s season ends against Texas in the second round

Penn State bows out of the NCAA Basketball Tournament in loss to Texas

Regardless of what the results were going into the NCAA Tournament, this team electrified Penn State fans across the country.

An amazing early March winning streak was capped with a run to the Big Ten Tournament where they were a possession away from winning the championship game. That firmly put them into March Madness for the first time since 2011.

The team wasn’t just satisfied with being in the dance, they wanted to perform. And they did in the first round, dominating seventh-seeded Texas A&M for their first tournament win since 2011.

Unfortunately, the magical season came to an end on Saturday night as the Nittany Lions fell to the two-seeded Texas Longhorns, 71-66.

The matchup was going to be tough for the undersized Penn State squad. Texas has been playing its best basketball of the season down the stretch. They dominated the Big 12 Tournament and won the championship in a decisive manner.

After Penn State’s hot shooting night on Thursday, they started this game off cold. They were held to single digits for the first 12 minutes of the game. Their defense was the only reason why they were still able to keep it close early on. Despite only nine points 12 minutes in, the deficit was two points.

Texas was able to get some separation right before half. Penn State went into the locker room trailing 23-31.

There were moments in the second half where it looked like the Longhorns were going to run away with the game. Penn State wasn’t shooting well and they could not stop Texas big man Dylan Disu.

However, they kept hanging around and hanging around, continuing to compete on both ends of the floor.

With just over six minutes remaining, they cut it to 54-55 after back-to-back threes by senior [autotag]Myles Dread[/autotag].

One minute later, Penn State took their first lead since two minutes into the game after [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] hit two free throws. In the next possession, [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] stole the ball and scored a layup on the other end to put the Nittany Lions up 58-55.

Texas called a timeout to regroup. After the timeout, it was Disu time. He scored six straight points to put the Longhorns back up by three. They continued on a 10-0 run that put them up by seven points with under a minute remaining.

That was the nail in the coffin for Penn State.

The matchup was a difficult one going into the game. If they shot the ball like they did against Texas A&M, it could have been a winnable one. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Penn State finished the game shooting 41.7% from the field and 28.6% from three-point range. [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag], who was sensational in the first round, was 5-14 from the field and 2-10 from three.

Wynter had a team high 16 points. Dread, the all-time Penn State leader in games played, scored 12 points in his final game. [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the last game of his sensational college career.

Disu had a game-high 28 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Sir’Jabari Rice added 13 points off the bench and Marcus Carr joined them in double digits with 10.

It was a tough way for the season to end, knowing that if a couple shots that are normally made go into the hoop this game, Penn State could be playing in the Sweet Sixteen. But that’s the fickle game of basketball. Sometimes they fall, and sometimes they don’t.

Now, all eyes are going to be on what Penn State will look like next season. This roster was the most experienced in the country. Losing the multiple impact seniors will require a roster overhaul to bring players in from the transfer portal to pair with the talented underclassmen.

All of that is a moot point if Penn State can’t keep coach Micah Shrewsberry in State College. It should be a top priority of the athletic department to secure him as head coach for the long haul.

There is clearly an appetite for Penn State basketball and having an elite head coach is the start of building a consistent program. Hopefully, the athletic department sees it the same way.

Let’s celebrate this team, players and coaching staff for giving Penn State fans an amazing season!

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Photos from Penn State’s NCAA Basketball Tournament second-round game

Check out the photo album from Penn State’s second-round matchup in the NCAA Basketball Tournament vs. Texas

Penn State’s men’s basketball season saw its season come to a close with a loss to the Texas Longhorns in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday night. A good effort saw the Nittany Lions put up a good respectable fight against the region’s second-seed and a win was there for the taking in the final minutes of the game, but Texas proved to be the better team and was able to capitalize on miscues by Penn State to pave their own path to the Sweet 16.

It was a tough night offensively for the Nittany Lions with three-point shots simply not falling for the team most of the night, a stark contrast to their first-round victory over Texas A&M. But the Nittany Lions took fans on a fun ride over the past month and the future could remain bright for more postseason fun like this in years to come as the program heads into a critical offseason.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s second-round matchup with Texas from Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday.