There is no real Penn State Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
There isn’t even a ring of honor or wall of excellence, per se.
This is, after all, Penn State and most of the sports icons and idols play across the street from the Bryce Jordan Center, not in it.
But there is a group of Penn State basketball players that every so often gets a new member added to it. It’s a bit hard to describe beyond pointing out is members by the likes of D.J. Newbill, Talor Battle and even Jalen Pickett. It’s a collection of names that make caring about Penn State men’s basketball worth something — or anything.
This week, Ace Baldwin Jr. has done his damnedest to make it on that Collection, List or Group – or whatever we’re calling it.
In two road performances, Baldwin spearheaded Mike Rhoades’ squad to its first two away-from-Happy-Valley wins with stat lines that don’t necessarily blow you away but are enough to make you embrace the transfer guard in the way you’ve embraced Lamar Stevens, Shep Garner and the likes.
So welcome to the List, Ace.
Baldwin, who followed Rhoades to State College from VCU, has been a scrappy addition to a line-up in a season with no real expectations thanks to a new coach and essentially new roster. Yet any expectations for any ounce of success this year were sown into the former Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in the preseason.
He was going to be the clear leader of this team if it were to do something that was going to hold your attention this year. And on Wednesday, he did that with a double-double by way of leading Penn State with 15 points and 10 assists in a not-so-pretty-but-relatively-Penn-State-basketball win over Rutgers.
With Kayne Clary, the team’s other leader and leading scorer out once again against Indiana, Baldwin’s 22 points paved the way to a comeback win over the Hoosiers. It was the first time in nearly 10 years that the blue and white captured a victory in Bloomington.
Throughout the season, Baldwin has lived up to hype and cemented himself into Penn State fans’ hearts by way of playing up in moments like the one we saw on Saturday afternoon. He has played tough, ranking in the top 10 in the country in steals, and the Baltimore native’s three pointer to capture the lead within the first few minutes of the second half set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. He then backed it up with 13 second-half points and two steals to seal the win.
At Penn State, it’s hard, and most of the time felt unrealistic, to ask much of any particular men’s hoops team. It’s a program that has lived in the shadow of the school’s football program. Players like John Amaechi and Calvin Booth are now more known for what they’ve done after their time is over in State College. But even in the roughest of years, it’s the celebration of players like Newbill, Battle and Stevens that have made caring about this team worth it.
There is something inherently infectious – even comforting – about the way those guys have played that makes it a joy to watch.
Battle did it by making the program nationally relevant – even for a moment – at the end of the 2000s.
Newbill did it with several big shots against Ohio State in the middle part of the 2010s.
Tony Carr, Stevens and Garner earned it collectively with their hustle later in the decade.
And Pickett (and we will throw Andrew Funk’s name in there too) did it by returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years last season.
It is a staple of Penn State men’s hoops in its current era to find a guy or two that can make it enjoyable to watch the Nittany Lions. So seeing that process happen seemingly in a week with Baldwin has made another up-and-down year of basketball in Happy Valley somewhat worth it.
Barring an even more impressive run than the one last year’s team went on, Penn State will likely not make the NCAA Tournament this year. That probably would have been an unrealistic ask by even the most optimistic entering this season. Again, after all this is Penn State men’s basketball we’re talking about. It will probably yank your heart out in some surprising but not really surprising way later on this season.
But it was not unreasonable to ask that it be fun along the way. And right now, like those before him, Baldwin is providing that enjoyment to put his name where there’s always room for one more on the List.
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