Penn State men’s basketball has been struggling lately. It is last in the Big Ten standings, the only team in the conference without a conference win, has not won a game in 2026, and is currently on a seven-game losing streak.

The Nittany Lions’ last win came against NC Central on December 29. Since Mike Rhoades became the head coach after Micah Shrewsberry’s departure at the end of the 2023 season, Penn State has failed to meet expectations after it made the NCAA Tournament. In Rhoades’ three years as head coach, the blue and white have finished with 15 or more losses, failed to make the Big Ten Tournament a season ago, and have shown signs of regression so far this season after finishing with a winning record last season.

Due to Penn State’s struggles during the Rhoades era, two staffers debated whether Rhoades should remain the head coach after this season or if it’s time for a leadership change in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Fernando Martinez: It’s Time To Move On From Mike Rhoades

While I do think Mike Rhoades is a nice guy and a good coach, I think it’s been proven that he’s not the right fit for Penn State hoops.

When Rhoades became Penn State’s head coach, the expectations were high since he led VCU to three NCAA Tournaments and had a record of 129-61 in six seasons with the Rams. A lot of his success at VCU was because of playing in the Atlantic 10, which is a weaker conference than the Big Ten. He is nowhere close to living up to expectations, and there are four more seasons left in his contract after this year.

Ever since Micah Shrewsberry left the Nittany Lions in 2023 after leading them to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, the team has significantly regressed. Not only have the blue and white not made the NCAA Tournament, but they have also struggled in the Big Ten. They missed the Big Ten Tournament last season, have lost 11+ games in conference play, and 15+ games in the first two seasons under Rhoades. Along with that, most of their wins have come against weak non-conference competition.

This season, they are on track to finish last in Big Ten play, just one year removed after the Nittany Lions finished with a winning record and won two games against ranked opponents. Instead of building on the momentum of last season, they have significantly regressed, and now, they might not win a game in conference play this season. They have lost six games by double-digits, including four by more than 20 points. This is embarrassing for a program that should have a lot of resources.

Pat Kraft made the move to hire Rhoades because he is a “proven winner at multiple levels” and “a tremendous recruiter and talent developer throughout his career.” Not only has he struggled to win games, but he has also struggled with recruiting and talent development despite the addition of Kayden Mingo, the highest-ranked recruit in program history, this season. In the offseason, he managed to get only two transfers from the portal and had to fill out his entire roster with inexperienced international players. Due to these struggles, there are eight freshmen on the roster and just one player with college experience, Freddie Dilione V. That is just not the formula to win games and attract incoming recruits to commit to Penn State.

Rhoades did a great job attracting Mingo to commit to Penn State. However, he must do everything in his power to attract Dylan Mingo, the No. 6 prospect in the 2026 class, to commit if Penn State hoops wants to have a bright future. If he can’t pull it off, there is a high chance that Kayden Mingo transfers, and the future of Penn State hoops gets worse. This could be the lifeline in his job, but the team has to start winning as soon as possible if it wants to attract recruits and keep Kayden Mingo.

Pat Kraft has proven that he is not a patient guy and is dedicated to bringing championships to Happy Valley in all Division I sports. He made the bold move to fire James Franklin halfway through the football season when his buyout was $49 million. After former Penn State men’s soccer head coach Jeff Cook resigned at the end of last season, he hired Rob Dow, who won the 2024 national championship at Vermont, to a soccer program that has struggled in the last two seasons. If Penn State men’s basketball doesn’t start winning soon, don’t be surprised if Kraft makes the bold move of moving on from Rhoades and giving him his buyout of $6 million.

I don’t expect Rhoades to deliver results any time soon, and for that reason, I think it’s time to move on from him when the season comes to an end.

Brandon Hurley: Give Mike Rhoades More Time

Let’s frame it how it is, folks: Penn State has never been a basketball school. We are known for a lot of things: wrestling, volleyball, football, and hockey, just to name a few. Basketball? It’s definitely not up there.

First, let’s start with Mike Rhoades. Rhoades is known for inheriting notoriously bad programs and turning them around. Rice? He took the program from 12-20 to 23-12, its best record since 2005. He definitely did not have the best recruits then. At VCU as well, he had quite the record of 129-61 in six seasons. VCU is also a known basketball school, which definitely helped the record, but the point persists. He can work with what may seem like rough programs. There’s no reason why this would not happen here. Rebuilds take time. And let’s just say, Penn State’s program is a pile of bricks.

The matter really needed to be discussed here about the history of Penn State hoops. Historically? The program is roughly at .554 overall in games and .371 in conference games. The only time in the last 30 years that Penn State hoops has gone above .554 or .371 was with Micah Shrewsberry in his two years at Penn State. The argument that Rhoades should be removed is absolutely beyond me, considering there are longer-tenured coaches in the history of basketball at Penn State who have been kept around.

Even removing just the records from the whole equation, we have to understand that recruiting for a historically rough program is never going to be easy, and as we all know, recruits tend to lead to better conference play. Kayden Mingo is the highest recruit ever for Penn State hoops, which bears the question from the doubters, “Why is Penn State not better?” Regardless of Mingo’s classification, he is just a freshman. He is doing great for what he has, but that’s not going to dramatically change a program. Give Rhoades a few more years to really do his best in the recruiting field, I’d say snagging a high-level prospect with a program like ours is quite the achievement.

Recruiting takes a while. It’s never done in a season or two. You have to really work hard for the younger classes. Will Penn State be returned to basketball relevance any time soon? Maybe not. It will take time. The last time we won a conference title was before we were even in the Big Ten, all the way back in 1991. The fact of the matter is, no coaches since joining the Big Ten for Penn State have won a conference championship. Does that mean they all should have been fired? No, it does not.

All in all, my opposition will continue to harp about how bad Rhoades has done for our team. I only ask you, the reader, a question. Has he really done a horrible job with a notoriously awful program? It’s up to you.