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UNIVERSITY PARK -- The 2023 Penn State men's basketball team has an entirely different look from the 2022 team that advanced to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament last spring.
This year's team consists of many changes, including a new coaching staff and nine transfers, but the goal to make it back to the tournament remains the same.
New head coach Mike Rhoades is entering his 20th season as a Division I head coach after a six-year tenure at VCU, where Rhoades made three NCAA Tournament appearances and became the university's fourth-winningest coach with a record of 129-60.
"I am locked in," Rhoades said Monday during media day. "I'm in it for a long haul. I'm excited about that and I said this from the first day I got here, we're going to build this to last."
When it comes to expectations for this team, Rhoades said he is impressed with how the team's unselfishness and wants his team to shoot at a high rate.
Rhoades also preached the idea of building not just a team but a family.
"I want these guys to have real relationships with us beyond basketball," he said. "But when that player… sees that side of me instead of the side with the whistle in my hand, that's more important than anything that we're doing."
Three players Rhoades spoke fondly of were returning guard Kanye Clary, VCU point guard transfer Ace Baldwin Jr. and North Carolina transfer and Pittsburgh native Puff Johnson. The three also represented Penn State at Big Ten Media Day in Minneapolis earlier this month.
Johnson played at UNC for three seasons, where he won a national championship as a sophomore.
Rhoades said, "When he went in the portal, we jumped right on him, and he was very excited to get back to Pennsylvania. He has a lot of friends here at Penn State and was very familiar with Penn State."
Johnson won PIAA 5A player of the year and led Moon Area High School to the 2019 PIAA class 5A championship before transferring to play his senior year in Phoenix, Arizona, where his brother, Cam, played for the Suns.
Puff said the importance of being close to home was a big factor in his decision to transfer to Penn State.
"I've been away from home for so long, for three years, and being a plane flight away is way different than being a two-hour drive (away)," Johnson said. "I got to go home a lot during the summer, and that's something I never did in my college career. It's just a good reset when I know my family is close, and they can come up and see me."
Penn State's season begins in Johnson's hometown of Moon Township in an exhibition game against Robert Morris on Friday.
The Nittany Lions' home opener is against Delaware State on Monday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. In a game of local interest, the Lions host Saint Francis on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.