Tag: Qudus Wahab

Penn State basketball wins final exhibition before start of regular season

Four Penn State basketball players scored in double figures in Friday night’s exhibition at Robert Morris.

Penn State basketball remained undefeated in exhibition games leading up to the start of the 2023-24 college basketball season after taking an exhibition matchup at Robert Morris on Friday night. Penn State topped Robert Morris by a score of 68-58 and led for nearly the entire game from start to finish.

Penn State jumped out to an 11-2 lead toward the start of the game. Robert Morris cut Penn State’s lead to 31-30 late in the first half and made a run at Penn State early in the second half before Penn State responded with a couple of runs of their own.

[autotag]Qudus Wahab[/autotag] was Penn State’s leading scorer with 15 points and 10 rebounds without a turnover. Star senior guard [autotag]Ace Baldwin[/autotag] added 13 points and had a team-high six assists in the exhibition. [autotag]Zach Hicks[/autotag] and [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] had 11 points and 10 points, respectively.

Penn State will officially start their season on Monday, Nov. 6 with a home game against Delaware State in the Bryce Jordan Center.

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Georgetown transfer commits to Penn State basketball

Penn State basketball adds former Georgetown big man Qudus Wahab from the transfer portal.

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.

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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5 potential Franck Kepnang replacements the Oregon Ducks should pursue via transfer portal

The Oregon Ducks could use a fourth big man to replace Franck Kepnang. Here are five names in the NCAA transfer portal who could be good fits.

The Oregon Ducks have seen more players depart via the transfer portal this offseason than they have brought in — a trend that Dana Altman is no doubt trying to rectify over the phone this month.

The latest loss, sophomore center Franck Kepnang, is a big one, not just in stature but in role. Kepnang may have only averaged 14.5 minutes per game last season, but he was a vital piece to the team on both offense and defense, and losing him leaves a big hole around the rim.

N’Faly Dante, Nate Bittle and five-star prospect Kel’el Ware is definitely an excellent trio of frontcourt stars, but this team is lacking a fourth big who can protect the rim, snare some rebounds and bring some energy and bravado to the second unit.

While no one can quite replace the unique personality Kepnang brings, there are more than a handful of standout big men in the transfer portal for Altman to reach out to.

Here are five who could fill a role similar to Kepnang’s — and a few would exceed it — should Altman find a way to work his magic and bring them to Eugene: