Penn State lands Davidson transfer Roberts Blums to bolster perimeter shooting

The offseason build for the Penn State men’s basketball program continues.

Amid a major roster overhaul that has included seven transfer portal departures and five additions, another piece was added Wednesday afternoon.

Roberts Blums, a 20-year-old Latvian combo guard who spent the past two seasons at Davidson, has committed to head coach Mike Rhoades and the Nittany Lions.

Blums joins Sunday pledge Central Connecticut State guard Jay Rodgers, Tuesday pledge Brant Byers, along with international small forwards Roko Prkačin and François Wibaut. Combined with the return of big man Ivan Juric, Penn State now has six scholarship-level players for its 2026-27 roster.

In Blums, Penn State is adding another piece it had as a deficiency last season.

Across 32 games with the Wildcats, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard shot 40.7 percent from 3-point range (77 of 189) and 45.6 percent from the field (136 of 298).

Blums represents a significant boost in both efficiency and volume. The Nittany Lions finished No. 271 nationally, shooting 32.4 percent from deep and averaging 6.9 makes per game – also ranked 271st.

“Inside-outside threes, kick-out or one-more threes, transition threes. When you’re open and you sort of tee it up, they’re the ones we got to make,” Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades said in January. “Sometimes when the shot clock goes down, you have to fire one up. Or maybe someone makes a great contest coming out of nowhere and it becomes a little bit harder.

“Not to put pressure on our guys, but that’s basketball. We’re kicking it to you, or a one-more to you, or you’re the guy off a ball screen – you’re open, you got to knock them down.

“That’s part of the game. That’s the responsibility to get in the gym, work on your game, and get extra shots before and after practice to feel good. But yeah, we got to make them. We got to make more of them.”

Originally from Latvia, Blums declared for the 2024 NBA Draft before landing at Davidson ahead of the 2024-25 season. Prior to that, he helped his team to Latvian League and Latvian Cup championships, according to his Davidson bio.

Blums knocked down six 3-pointers in a game three times this past season, including a 6-for-8 performance from beyond the arc against Richmond in January. He failed to make at least one 3-pointer in just four of 32 games.

Where things stand for Penn State

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

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