Penn State's Mike Rhoades Determined to Establish Winning Culture 'Like MSU, Purdue'
When it comes to building a successful program in the Big Ten, there are plenty of examples from which Penn State coach Mike Rhoades can learn. He wants to find the same level of success that Purdue and Michigan State have enjoyed.
Rhoades met with reporters this week to talk about the upcoming season. When the topic of building Penn State into a prominent basketball program, the second-year leader of the Nittany Lions spoke highly of the cultures in East Lansing and West Lafayette.
"I believe we're going in the right direction," Rhoades said. "Look, we've got to win, man. We've had pockets of success, we don't have much tradition of Penn State basketball of sustained success. We've had pockets of success.
"I'm going to be unapologetic for trying to build a winning program that is going to be like Michigan State someday or Purdue someday. Why not?"
Purdue coach Matt Painter will be entering his 20th season at the helm of the Boilermakers. He's won five Big Ten regular season titles, two Big Ten Tournament championships and appeared in the NCAA Tournament 15 times.
Last season, the Boilers reached the National Championship Game and posted a 34-5 record.
In East Lansing, Tom Izzo has established himself as one of the top coaches in college basketball history. He led Michigan State to a national title in 2000 and has guided his program to 10 Big Ten regular season championships.
Michigan State has also won six Big Ten Tournament titles.
Rhoades is just in his second season at Penn State, finishing last year with a 16-17 record, including a 9-11 mark in league play. But he believes that the Nittany Lions built a strong foundation in 2023-24, one the team can lean on for success moving forward.
"The most important thing is, when you're going into your next season, there's a culture of work that we've put into it. Then you lean on that culture of work," Rhoades said. "And the work isn't just the way you play, it's how you act off the court, it's how you walk into the weight room, it's how you take care of your body. When you get into practice, it's how you compete, it's how coachable you are
"We like to say it's about following the plan our program has for you in all aspects of your life. That's where, in Year 2, you can springboard off of that. And we're going to win, we want to win. That's our plan."
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