Report: Penn State forward Mason Blackwood plans to enter transfer portal
Easter Sunday giveth, and Easter Sunday taketh away for the Penn State men’s basketball program. And ahead of the transfer portal opening on April 7, the latter proved true for the Nittany Lions.
After welcoming the additions of forwards Roko Prkačin and François Wibaut from the international market Sunday afternoon, Sunday evening brought a report of an impending transfer exit. Sam Kayser reported on Twitter that Mason Blackwood, the Nittany Lions’ 6-foot-7 forward, will enter the transfer portal.
Blackwood is Penn State’s second reported departure of the offseason cycle, joining senior guard Freddie Dilione among those publicly reported so far.
This past season, Blackwood appeared in 26 games as a true freshman. He averaged 2.6 points in 12.2 minutes per game, shooting 49.1 percent from the floor. He also added 1.8 rebounds per game.
- 1New
Inside Lasch
What happened with Jenkins?
- 2
Trimmings
'27 recruiting stock watch
- 3Hot
Pre-snap read
Inside PSU DT reset
- 4
Will Wood
QB trainer breaks down PSU commit
- 5Trending
New RPM
Logged for PSU
Get the On3 Top 10 Newsletter in your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
His playing time fluctuated throughout the season, but as the Nittany Lions dealt with frontcourt injuries in the heart of the Big Ten schedule, his role expanded down the stretch. After logging 23 minutes in a February loss at Nebraska, he followed with 18 minutes against Ohio State on Senior Day at the Bryce Jordan Center and 19 at Rutgers on March 8 to close the regular season. He then made his first career start against Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament.
Asked about the decision to start Blackwood against the Wildcats, Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades pointed to his development late in the season.
“I thought the last three weeks he’s been playing harder than others and his physicality and just the way he competes. He gave us 20 minutes today,” said Rhoades. “He’s going to get better and better. He cares so much. He works very hard. He’s very competitive. He’s got a body, a big, strong body. I thought his defense was good today. We need a little more offense out of him, but I thought he did some good things. I’m proud of him.”
Talk about it with our premium members in the Lions Den message board, here.