Mahaffey transfers to the Poisonous nuts.
- Thread starter PSUWrestlingFanSince2011
- Start date
Really too bad. He showed a lot of athleticism, versatility and energy. I know he's from Dayton and going to OSU probably makes sense, but I was really hoping he'd stay.
So, he admits he had a great freshman year, then he transfers. LOL!
Because he's probably more interested in how the teams will be going forward, not what they did last season...historically, a move from PSU to OSU would be a big step up (and likely will be this upcoming season too, though hopefully we catch up at some point).
And let’s not get too carried away. Kid averages 2.8 points per game…that is literally one trip up the floor and a single made 3pt basket.
I believe that would have increased playigin Rhoades style because of Mahaffey's athleticism. He was a better fit with the Rhoades style vs Shrewsberry's slower style. We won't find out so need to ponder any further.
At least it's not football. But then our starters would struggle to make the 3-deep at tOSU if you believe the hype.
First, to Evan Mahaffey, thanks for a fun year and good luck at OSU. I'll miss you in blue and white!
Second, I get the impression that Coach Rhoades has been preparing for this with who he has been recruiting in the transfer portal, and has done a nice job of building a roster and filling most of the gaps left by the departed (not including the super seniors, those guys are not replaceable, we just hope one of two of our players can build a legacy of similar if not equal proportions). As Gene Hackman said in Hoosiers, "my team's on the floor"
Second, I get the impression that Coach Rhoades has been preparing for this with who he has been recruiting in the transfer portal, and has done a nice job of building a roster and filling most of the gaps left by the departed (not including the super seniors, those guys are not replaceable, we just hope one of two of our players can build a legacy of similar if not equal proportions). As Gene Hackman said in Hoosiers, "my team's on the floor"
Respectfully, PSU in 2022 has nothing to do with PSU in 2023.
New coach, departure of Lundy, Dread, Funk, Pickett, departure of entire recruiting class.
Aside from whatever friendships he may have created with other teammates that are still on the roster(ie Clary), there was nothing relevant about his PSU experience in 2022 that would apply to his decision to stay.
Frank Kaminsky averaged 1.8 his freshman year and became the National Player of the Year…some guys improve, and step it up when given an opportunity.
Mahaffey has a combination of skills that any team would love: good size/speed on a sturdy frame, can rebound as well as guard vs the 3, most points came on drives to the basket - where we are traditionally weak, and he played point guard in high school so he has a strong handle- especially for someone his size.
Most optimistically he could've been a PSU poor mans Mikal Bridges who redshirted and then averaged "only" 6.4 points his freshman year (or 2 3 point shots). PPG is not the only measure of value. Evan has tremendous upside-but no matter now- he gone.
A strong possibility. I did not realize he was from Cincinnati. I wonder if the Cincinnati Bearcats had any interest as they seem to almost always have decent BB teams.
Of course there are exceptions. But 99.9 % of kids with that level of performance are just that: middling at best. I saw zero potential for any offensive prowess. But what do I know.
At this point, he plays for the other team. Good luck to him - except when he plays the good guys.
Mikal Bridges? That’s quite a leap. Penn State was desperate for players. Mahaffey showed little to no potential to score tbe basketball. Many games he barely saw the the floor.
#1- the caveat was PSU poor man's version
#2- Bridges played in the same conference as the school I teach. Saw him plenty of times. I'd bet Mahaffey was a more dominant player in high school. Bridges was a back to the basket guy who was on a team from a wealthy school where the school team was their travel team. Under Dick Nolan they ran the same offense at every level for every team. They won a lot of 38-36 games with ball control and precision. Bridges was very, very good but no Bronny with hype So yeah...poor Man's Bridges...all credit to Jay Wright. Mikal developed in college.
#3- still no matter.....he gone.
#2- Bridges played in the same conference as the school I teach. Saw him plenty of times. I'd bet Mahaffey was a more dominant player in high school. Bridges was a back to the basket guy who was on a team from a wealthy school where the school team was their travel team. Under Dick Nolan they ran the same offense at every level for every team. They won a lot of 38-36 games with ball control and precision. Bridges was very, very good but no Bronny with hype So yeah...poor Man's Bridges...all credit to Jay Wright. Mikal developed in college.
#3- still no matter.....he gone.
I guess we’ll see…Mahaffey has a long, long way to go…he was a non-entity scoring and really showed zero signs of that changing.. (hence the long rides on the bench of a team that outside a 3 week run was sub-mediocre). This ain’t high school.
He was a true freshman who was forced to defend the other team's big man most of the time. He deserves more credit than you give him.
That’s when he played at all. Hey, nothing against the kid…but you are going to have to have quite a bit more offense than 1 basket per game to lose much sleep over.
Rhoades will get better with more upside.
