Tag: Kachi Nzeh

Penn State earns commitment from former Nebraska guard

Penn State basketball adds its third player from the transfer portal.

Although we are deep into the football offseason, Mike Rhoades and company are working to add to Penn State’s basketball roster.

The Nittany Lions have already signed two players from the transfer portal: [autotag]Kachi Nzeh[/autotag] and, most recently, [autotag]Yanic Konan Niederhauser[/autotag].

After adding two big men to the portal, Penn State stayed with the theme of adding size. This time, it was former Nebraska guard [autotag]Eli Rice[/autotag], a 6-foot-8 guard who averaged 4.2 points and 1.6 rebounds per game as a freshman this past season. Rice announced his commitment to [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] and Penn State with an Instagram post. Rice will have three years of eligibility remaining.

In limited minutes last year, Rice proved to be a decent shooter, hitting 37% of shots behind the arc. Rice should provide the Nittany Lions with solid rebounding numbers, given his size in addition to his long-range shooting.

The Tennessee native’s commitment leaves Penn State with one more scholarship to fill before the transfer portal closes.

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Best photos of Penn State transfer addition Kachi Nzeh

Check out the best photos available of Penn State basketball’s newest transfer portal addition.

After losing three big men from the roster, Penn State had a big need to add a center from the transfer portal. Head coach Mike Rhoades found a center out of the Big East, and he just so happens to be a Pennsylvania native as well. Penn State received a transfer commitment from Kachi Nzeh, and he will bring multiple years of eligibility with him to the Nittany Lions.

Nzeh is coming off his true freshman season with Xavier, where he managed to find some playing time to get some college experience under his belt. He will likely be thrown right into the mix to compete for a significant role on the court for Penn State next season.

Here are some of the best photos of Penn State’s newest addition out of the transfer portal.

Penn State basketball lands transfer center from Xavier

After losing three centers from last year’s roster, this transfer addition addresses a big need for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State and head coach [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] hope this offseason isn’t quite as crazy as last year’s when they had to put together an entire team through the transfer portal or else there wouldn’t be enough players to compete.

Despite being able to add some fairly high-profile players in the portal, Rhoades has stated he wants to build his program through recruiting, not transfers. It’s something that he did at VCU when he had a successful tenure there and that’s his strategy for building a sustainable program in Happy Valley.

In the meantime, Rhoades must utilize the portal since there was more roster turnover this offseason.

The Nittany Lions lost all three centers from the 2023-24 roster after Qudus Wahab graduated and Demetrius Lilley decided to put his name in the transfer portal alongside Favour Aire. The good news is that Penn State has found a replacement.

Rhoades and his staff landed Xavier transfer [autotag]Kachi Nzeh[/autotag] on March 30 after a quick process led him back to Pennsylvania where he played high school basketball.

The 6’8″, 230-pounder was a three-star recruit in the class of 2023, being ranked as a Top-150 player by 247Sports and the No. 2 overall recruit in the state.

Nzeh received some playing time as a freshman last year at Xavier. He appeared in 19 games and averaged 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds during his average of 9.9 minutes per game.

This is a win for the Nittany Lions as he decided to commit to Penn State despite having offers from schools like Creighton, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Miami, New Mexico State, Seton Hall, and TCU, among others.

With multiple years of eligibility remaining, Nzeh should finish his career in Happy Valley as he continues to develop.

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