Kachi Nzeh, like many players who transferred to Penn State this offseason, didn’t have to wait long to hear from head coach Mike Rhoades and the Nittany Lions.

Coming from Xavier, Nzeh said he had a positive experience playing for the Musketeers. For reasons out of his control, Xavier ran out of roster spots, and Nzeh hit the transfer portal.

Penn State reached out immediately. Rhoades, while coaching at VCU, had gotten to be one of Nzeh’s top four teams out of high school. As Penn State’s head coach, he got Nzeh to commit to being a Nittany Lions within 45 minutes of a visit to campus.

Since Nzeh’s coming to Penn State, Rhoades said he’s had heart-to-heart conversations with his new forward about Nzeh’s experience at Xavier and what he can improve on. Rhoades said he sees value in a player taking what he learned at one school and stacking it on top of lessons taught at Penn State, as has been the case with the many transfers who have come in the last two years.

One big improvement for Nzeh: his weight.

Nzeh’s weight has fluctuated for some time. Coming out of high school, Nzeh said his weight jumped from 210 pounds to 240 in a span of two months. When he arrived at Penn state, Nzeh and the coaching staff worked do figure out an ideal weight that would keep him strong but allow him to get up and down the court as needed. As of the start of August, Nzeh weighs 230 pounds, which he said was lean muscle.

That weight change was shown at Thursday’s practice viewing session, as Rhoades demonstrated his team’s full-court press in front of attending media. Just as last year’s Nittany Lions had to, Nzeh and this year’s crop will be running, and running a lot.

“Definitely hit me real quick,” Nzeh said about adapting to the press. “It’s kind of [Rhoades’] style that you just have to be ready for that, be in shape. When I first did it, [I was] just trying to figure out different parts of the press, being able to play multiple positions, and be a versatile defender. It was definitely a transition. It’s a different type of cardio that you have to have in order to play that type of defense.”

Assistant coach Brent Scott, who coaches Nzeh and the other forwards, said Nzeh’s on-court play has been helped by a confidence boost since arriving in Happy Valley.

“I think like any any player, when you’re excited, when you’re happy, it builds your confidence,” Scott said. “I think that’s just the biggest thing for him and just gaining this confidence and being happy and being in a really good place because he’s an awesome, young man.”

That confidence, Nzeh said, has come from coaches and players alike.

“Coach, every time after practice, he talks to me and tells me how he believes in me. He believes in our team, he believes in everyone’s abilities,” Nzeh said. “Of course, like you have guys like Zach, Puff, Nick, and all the older guys give us younger guys and transfers the confidence to play our game and use what we’ve been working on all summer.”