VCU basketball supporters are once again holding their breath as the college basketball coaching carousel rotates.
This time, it’s Mike Rhoades and Penn State, as the Nittany Lions want to replace Micah Shrewsberry with a new head coach.
Jeff Goodman, a national college basketball writer, stated that Rhoades will meet with Penn State on Sunday, and websites following the school’s private jet established that it briefly arrived in Richmond earlier that day.
Former VCU athlete Joey Rodriguez provided a photo of Rhoades attending his son’s basketball game in answer to his inquiry.
Rodriguez penned, “Rhoades update for the’sources’: he wants the Twitterverse to know he’s at the gym watching Chase score baskets.”
Internet reports link VCU coach Mike Rhoades to Penn State basketball vacancy.
Rhoades just completed his sixth season at Virginia Commonwealth University, his third appearance in the NCAA tournament.
His deal at VCU pays him around $1.7 million year, although it is up for renewal this year, since the majority of collegiate coaches have four-year contracts.
Interest from the Nittany Lions, who play near Rhoades’ hometown in Central Pennsylvania, will likely be financially beneficial for Rhoades, regardless of where he ends up coaching.
The Harrisburg Patriot-News claimed that the Nittany Lions, who qualified for the NCAA tournament this season, were prepared to pay “market value” for a new basketball coach, a departure from how the football powerhouse has always handled its basketball team. The annual market worth of a Big Ten coach is probably about $4 million.
Rhoades viewed VCU as a dream position when he came in Richmond, but the Atlantic 10 received just one invitation to the NCAA tournament this year, demonstrating the ever-changing nature of college basketball.
Rhoades and VCU athletic director Ed McLaughlin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.