Penn State adds Buffalo transfer Tim Oboh in roster rebuild

Following a disappointing and difficult 2025-26 season, Penn State men’s basketball head coach Mike Rhoades insisted his program needed to change. To do so, major moves would come through roster construction as it looked ahead to his fourth year.

Already well underway with the graduation of Josh Reed and transfer exits for seven Nittany Lions, the program has been extremely active in reshaping its roster. To date, Penn State has announced the retention of Ivan Juric, added two more international pieces, and secured three transfer portal commitments.

Sunday, another addition became public.

Tim Oboh, a 6-foot-11 center who entered the transfer portal following two seasons at Buffalo, announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions. Originally from England, he has represented his country in both the U16 and U18 European Championship tournaments.

“The world we live in now, you want to give yourself a chance. You want to give your team a chance to be successful. So it’s hard,” said Rhoades. “The reality is when you’re really young in Power Four basketball, you’re at a disadvantage. So we need to address that, and we need to get our young guys bigger, better, and stronger.”

In Oboh, the Nittany Lions are hoping to check multiple boxes from that wish list.

Last season, he averaged 21.1 minutes across 32 games for the Bulls, posting 8.5 points per game to go along with 1.5 blocks and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 61.1 percent from the floor.

The effort followed a true freshman campaign in which he averaged 12.3 minutes over 30 games, scoring 3.9 points per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and adding 2.3 rebounds.

Pointing to the construction of many of the teams Penn State struggled to compete against, Rhoades’ latest addition comes on the heels of Saturday evening’s decommitment from the program’s only Class of 2026 recruit, Jamison White.

At present, that leaves Penn State with seven players with at least one season of college basketball experience, along with two internationally experienced professionals.

“That’s it. You’ve got to be old. You’ve got to be old because everybody else is,” said Rhoades last month. “The best teams in our league and the best teams in the country are old and experienced. We’ve got to address some of that.”

Where things stand for Penn State

Guards Jay Rodgers, Reggie Grodin, Roberts Blums, Brant Byers
Wings Roko Prkačin, François Wibaut, Chris Lotito
Bigs Ivan Juric, Sasa Ciani, Tibor Mirtic, Timothy Oboh

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