Sophomore guard Dominick Stewart was one of three players to return to Penn State for head coach Mike Rhoades’ third season in Happy Valley.

Stewart has seen his role increase for the Nittany Lions after playing very few meaningful minutes as a freshman. The Ocean Springs, Mississippi, native averaged 8.2 minutes per game, posting 2.8 points and 1.1 rebounds per contest a season ago.

The 6’5″ shooting guard has thrived when given more opportunities through the Nittany Lions’ first two games. Stewart finished with 18 points, making a living from behind the arc in Penn State’s road win against New Haven on Saturday.

“Since everyone is kind of a threat, I feel like there’s a lot of opportunities for me [for] catch-and-shoot opportunities,” Stewart said on Monday.

Being a great athlete and a premier shooter is a luxury for any team to have at the college level. That combination of skills is rare, and Rhoades and his staff have found that in Stewart’s game. Combine it with playmakers and solid ball handlers in the backcourt with Kayden Mingo and Melih Tunca, and you have a pretty good recipe for success.

“This year, we have a lot of people who can space out the floor, and with Melih’s [Tunca] high IQ and extreme passing, it really opens up the floor,” Stewart said.

Stewart started the first game of the season against Fairfield but struggled to find his footing in the opening minutes and did not return to the court until the second half. Despite being off the floor for an extended period of time, the sophomore found his groove in the final frame and provided a much-needed spark to the Nittany Lions to get the opening night win.

“[Stewart] is elite at catching and shooting behind the three-point line, and you’ve got to get him opportunities. He’s got to continue to run the floor, to get those shots, find windows, and play off his teammates. He’s just improving in all the facets of his life, not just basketball, and that’s why you go to college,” Rhoades said.

His leadership role with the 10 newcomers on the team has been important for Penn State’s success and will continue to be so. Stewart had a setback this offseason and underwent a procedure on his leg in August to make sure he was ready for the beginning of the season.

When the rest of the team went home during the break before fall workouts, Stewart stayed in State College to continue to rehab his injury.

“It was like an unfortunate situation, but I would just try and make the most the most of it, [and] to be there for my guys every day at practice, and then, like, while they went home for the summer, I just stayed here by myself,” Stewart said. “We got my leg back strong and got back right. So when it was time to come back, I was able to go.”

The hard work behind the scenes this offseason with the Penn State staff and trainers paid off on Saturday with his best performance in college thus far. Stewart scored all 18 of his points from distance, hitting on six of his eight attempts from three.

Penn State is expecting big things in year two from the kid from Mississippi. And the Nittany Lions will need him and the rest of their catch-and-shoot specialists to continue to hit their shots if they want to make some noise in the Big Ten this winter.

“I think [Stewart], especially since his freshman year, has just really bought into how we want to do things with our approach and continue to improve and get better,” Rhoades said on Stewart’s growth.