It’s been nine months since Ace Baldwin Jr. officially transferred from VCU to Penn State to follow Mike Rhoades. Since then, like the team itself, it’s been an up-and-down start for Baldwin and the team.

The Nittany Lions picked up huge wins over Ohio State and Michigan, but they also recorded two close overtime losses to Georgia Tech and Maryland with a dismal home loss to Bucknell. They sit at 8-7 overall with a 2-2 conference record, and the road ahead is only uphill.

With a hill to climb, consistent, high-quality play from Baldwin, the team’s linchpin, is essential.

He’s averaging 13.6 points per game, second on the team behind breakout star Kanye Clary. As the true point guard on the team, Baldwin has excelled in other areas like assists and steals where he has posted 65 and 38, respectively, both team highs, and a Big Ten high for steals.

He also earned big points in the clutch department and shows up massively for when the blue and white need it most.

ACE IN THE CLUTCH pic.twitter.com/DYEqa5gse2

— Onward State (@OnwardState) December 10, 2023

While the highs can be great, the lows can be bad, too, which was on display earlier in the season. It’s not the stats that take a hit, but the leadership on the floor.

Just over a month ago, Rhoades removed Baldwin from the starting lineup and called it a “coach’s decision.”

“I need a better Ace,” Rhoades said. “I love that kid with every fiber in my body, but at all levels, I need a better Ace. We all do.”

Rhoades and the team needed a better Ace, and for him to do that, he had to be better not only when he was playing on the court but behind the scenes and in practices. Baldwin managed to do that and has been an outstanding player for the Nittany Lions since.

Other than a bad performance against Michigan State, which Rhoades admitted to saying was a bad performance by the entire team, Baldwin has played fantastic. His playmaking has improved, and he’s setting others on the floor up for success.

His defensive prowess has increased, too. Baldwin has totaled 39 steals since December 6.

After this weekend’s victory over Michigan at The Palestra, Baldwin spoke about what was working for him in his outstanding performance.

“Don’t be tight,” Baldwin said Rhoades encouraged him to do. “Just have joy, and I felt as though I enjoyed this game, and I just was having fun out there”

“Fun” was dropping a team-high 25 points, four assists, three steals, and shooting an efficient 8-13 from the field. During Tuesday’s media availability, Rhoades discussed Baldwin’s bounce-back game and reiterated his advice for Baldwin.

“Just play a game and have fun, bring joy to the gym every day,” Rhoades said. “When I think you get older, you want to just play, and sometimes you don’t play as well. He’s really hard on himself to the point that, at times, it hurts him. A lot of really good players are like that. When he doesn’t play well he gets frustrated at not playing well. It’s tougher for those guys type of guys like that to let it go.”

Rhoades wants his team to be competitive and get hard on themselves when they’re not playing well. But at the same time, he wants his players to have fun.

“One reason why he is a good player and he’s so well respected is because he’s so darn competitive and tough on himself,” Rhoades said. “But I wish he would just continue to just work on the balance of that. Bring more joy to yourself playing basketball. It’s still supposed to be a game. It’s supposed to be a lot of fun.”