While most eyes following the Penn State basketball program are likely locked in on VCU transfer player Ace Baldwin, another VCU player is worth watching closely too as he works through his transfer process. Jalen Deloach is one of the many VCU players who entered the transfer portal after Mike Roades left the program to be the new head coach at Penn State.
Not surprisingly, Penn State is among the names at the top of his the list for Delocach as he weighs his transfer options.
“I played for coach Rhoades and he’s the reason why I came to VCU,” Deloach said to 247Sports when updating his thoughts on his transfer process. “Penn State is definitely one of my top choices right now. They’re a great option.”
Deloach played in 34 games for the Rams last season. The Georgia native averaged 9.7 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game. Other schools reportedly in his top six aside from Penn State are Florida State, Indiana, Miami, San Diego State, and, still, VCU. Two of those schools, Miami and San Diego State, are fresh off an appearance in the Final Four, with the Aztecs making it to the national championship game (both lost to UConn in the end). And Indiana is always a worthy threat with its basketball pedigree and history. Of course, a decision to stay put is not unprecedented, so VCU could still end up relying on Deloach if he decides to stay put.
Deloach has played two seasons at VCU, so he would have another couple of years of eligibility at his disposal if he ends up at Penn State.
Penn State has plenty of holes to fill on the roster for next season after seeing its own growing list of players enter the transfer portal. The Nittany Lions have two scholarship players currently on the roster after taking players in the transfer portal out of the equation, at least for now.
Deloach;’s teammate at VCU, and last season’s A-10 player of the year, Baldwin is trending toward a transfer to Penn State according to recent crystal ball predictions in the transfer portal. Given Rhoades is the head coach at Penn State with so many spots on the roster to fill, it is widely expected at least one VCU player will end up transferring to Penn State for the 2023-24 season.
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