It’s no secret Penn State men’s basketball has little college experience on its roster to begin the 2025-26 campaign. Head coach Mike Rhoades brought in 10 fresh faces to Happy Valley this offseason.

Two of those new faces with the biggest responsibility for the Nittany Lions to have success this season are the freshmen tandem of Kayden Mingo and Melih Tunca. Mingo, a 6’3″ point guard, is the highest-rated recruit in program history, and Tunca is a 6’5″ combo guard from Istanbul, Turkey, who played professionally in the Turkish Basketball Super League last season.

The reins to the Nittany Lions’ offense are in the hands of both Mingo and Tunca this season. A lot will fall on the pair of young stars to get Rhoades’ offense in place and running efficiently.

There is no doubt that both freshmen have incredible talent when they lace up their shoes and hit the hardwood. But the transition from high school and overseas basketball is bigger than people realize when adjusting to the play style of college basketball.

“They’re both [Mingo and Tunca] dynamic guards, even though they’re freshmen, where they can pass, dribble, and shoot at a high level…There’s going to be a lot of growing pains with these freshmen, but also you’re going to see some ability from these guys right off the jump,” Rhoades said before the Nittany Lions’ season opener against Fairfield.

Mingo remained committed to Penn State as the 34th best player in the country and the second best player in New York, despite the poor finish by the Nittany Lions down the stretch of last season. The hype around Mingo is justified, and he will have plenty of personal success on the court this season, but it’s not often a freshman, even of his caliber, has so much team responsibility on his shoulders from the beginning.

Playing alongside Mingo, Tunca has been praised by the staff ever since arriving on campus this summer. Tunca won Young Player of the Regular Season honors in the Turkish Basketball Super League last season for his ability to score and pass the basketball. Playing off the ball and on the ball in Turkey, Tunca shot an impressive 55% from the field and 47.5% from deep across 30 games.

Even as young players, the duo sees the court and reacts to defenses well above their ages would suggest.

“Some guys see the ball screen reads like Kayden [Mingo] and Melih [Tunca] as freshmen, and some other guys aren’t going to get it until they’re sophomores, maybe not until they’re juniors,” Rhoades said.

The Nittany Lions’ offense will run through the two, good and bad, this season. Mingo shined in the two exhibition games last week. Meanwhile, Tunca sat out of both games with a sprained ankle, but the expectation is that he will be available either against Fairfield or shortly thereafter.

“For Melih [Tunca], he came down on a guy’s foot the first day of practice, and he was out for a period of time, and probably could have played this past weekend, but we wanted to make sure we were right, and we get him close to 100 [percent] as we can. But he’s just a basketball player, so he’s got to be out there, and he’s got to make plays,” Rhoades said on Tunca.

And that’s just what Mingo and Tunca will have to do this season — make plays. It’s a lot of weight on the shoulders of the young playmakers, but how well the team does will depend on how well the duo plays this season.

If the tandem can get things moving with the ball, it opens up good shots for guys like Freddie Dilione V, Eli Rice, and Dominick Stewart. It also makes the lives of Saša Ciani and Ivan Jurić inside much easier.

It isn’t fair to put so much responsibility in the hands of two inexperienced guards who have never played college basketball before, but it’s the reality for Penn State men’s basketball this season. And if the two can turn their undisputed talent into results, good things can happen for the Nittany Lions.