The Rhoades got a little bumpy this past weekend in Orlando, Florida, at the ESPN Events Invitational.

Penn State men’s basketball finished the tournament with three losses to then-No. 12 Texas A&M, Butler, and VCU. Mike Rhoades’ team now sits at 4-3 on the season with more questions than answers on how the rest of the season will play out.

Rhoades, Kanye Clary, and Puff Johnson met with the media on Tuesday afternoon to discuss its struggles over Thanksgiving break, a disoriented defense, a key injury, Bucknell on the calendar, and more.

On Inconsistent Defensive Play

Rhoades-led teams have prided themselves on their defense, and he’s tried to implement that mentality since taking over the job in March. In the ESPN Events Invitational, the Nittany Lions defense struggled in all three losses.

“Our defense failed us down there game after game after game,” Rhoades said. “We didn’t guard the ball. We had a lot of deflections, we had some guys really flying around, but our discipline guarding the ball really let us down.”

There were moments in all three games in Orlando that the defense on the court was nothing of the sort that Rhoades has described his team to have. Penn State’s opponents averaged over 87 points a game in those three defeats.

On Kanye Clary’s Injury

Penn State’s leading scorer went down with an arm injury early in its battle with VCU on Sunday trying to get through a screen. Clary eventually returned to the court in the middle of the second half, but his production from the previous six games didn’t return.

“He got hit in the elbow and got a stinger… He just lost feeling in his arm and hand and his fingers,” Rhoades said. “I’ve never experienced that before, but you coach long enough you go through it all.”

Rhoades reiterated that Clary’s injury shouldn’t be a problem moving forward, and he’ll have the green light from here out.

On Reflecting On The ESPN Events Invitational

There was a lot to be learned from the first in-season tournament of the Rhoades era — some worse than good.

“I think we were bummed out after the first loss and disappointed because I know how hard we played,” Rhoades said. “I thought we played extremely hard and competed. But the turnaround is less than 24 hours. You got to sort of flush it and move on.”

“I would say that it’s not the result that we wanted going down to Orlando… but if you get knocked down, it’s just a matter of how you’re gonna respond,” Johnson said.

On Starting Lineup Adjustments

Rhoades rolled out the same starting lineup in six of the seven games to start the season. Ace Baldwin Jr. was left out of the starting five earlier in the year due to a coach’s decision. Following three losses on the road, Rhoades addressed the idea of mixing up the rotation moving forward.

“I always say everything’s on the table. We’re not changing our makeup or foundation. But you know, sometimes you got to shake some things up,” Rhoades said.

Johnson is a name to watch for possibly entering the starting lineup as early as this Saturday against Bucknell. Johnson missed the first few games of the season due to an injury but was a candidate to start for Rhoades. With his injury behind him and recent struggles from teammates, Johnson could hear his name called out with the other starters for a change.

On Bucknell

The Bison have had a rough go of things to start the season and currently sit at a 2-6 record. Despite the record and lack of a big-time name, it will be a good matchup for Penn State to get the train back on the tracks. The matchup will take place at home after three losses with plenty of things to work on on both sides of the court.

“We got to get better in the next few days and just go out and work hard just get better,” Clary said.