Penn State men’s basketball adds Temple transfer Zach Hicks as roster rebuild continues

Penn State basketball is reforming its roster piece by piece after Micah Shrewsberry’s departure.

Zach Hicks, a 6-foot-7 forward from Temple, will transfer to the Nittany Lions, he announced on social media on Thursday.

Hicks is the third portal addition by new head coach Mike Rhoades. VCU guards Ace Baldwin Jr., last season’s Atlantic-10 player of the year, and Nick Kern have also joined their former head coach in Happy Valley.

Hicks, who has two years of eligibility remaining, is a good get after spending the last two seasons at Temple. As a sophomore, Hicks averaged 9.6 points per game and went 35.6% from 3-point range while starting 32 games. As a freshman, he averaged 8.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 28 games off the bench.

After adding Hicks, Baldwin and Kern from the portal, Penn State is up to six confirmed scholarship players on the roster for next season. Kanye Clary, Demetrius Lilley and Jameel Brown, who initially entered the portal, are set to return.

Evan Mahaffey and Kebba Njie, key role players in Penn State’s Big Ten and NCAA tournament runs, are still in the portal but could also return.