It’s been 30 years since he led the school to a national championship, and the old Lynch Memorial gym has been replaced by a modern arena, but the atmosphere was just as electric Friday night when Mike Rhoades stepped on the basketball court at Lebanon Valley College.
The LVC alum, now head coach at Penn State, led his Nittany Lions to a 79-64 win over Lafayette before a sellout crowd at LVC’s Sorrentino Gymnasium. The roughly 1,650 in attendance clearly favored the Lions, who were officially the visiting team.
The charity exhibition game kicked off the 2024-25 season for the Nits and the Leopards. It will not count toward either team’s official records or statistics.
All proceeds benefited Hope Within Ministries and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Hope Within Ministries brings primary health care to uninsured low-income residents of Lancaster, Dauphin and Lebanon counties.
Rhoades, a Mahanoy City native, starred at LVC from 1991 to 1995. He led the Flying Dutchmen to the 1994 NCAA Division III national championship, a 66-59 overtime victory over NYU, and was named the tournament’s co-outstanding player.
The slick point guard was the 1995 USA Today Division III National Player of the Year, a two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches All-American, a three-time NABC All-Region player, and a three-time Middle Atlantic Conference Player of the Year.
He was the school’s leading scorer until 1999, and is still tops at LVC in assists, free throw percentage, and steals. His No. 5 jersey is one of only five retired by the school.
After graduating from LVC, Rhoades set out on a coaching career that started as an assistant at Randolph-Macon, and was followed by highly successful head coaching runs at Division 1 schools Rice and Virginia Commonwealth. His VCU teams made the NCAA tournament four times and made it to the Final Four in 2011.
Rhoades’ record in 20 seasons as a head coach is 389-206, a .654 winning percentage. PSU fans hope he can bring the same success to the Nittany Lions’ perennially mediocre basketball program.
Penn State led throughout the game, and by as much as 20 in the second half. The Lions’ superior quickness, strength, and depth gradually wore down the scrappy but outgunned Leopards, who managed to pull within one late in the first half.
Penn State’s season officially opens on Nov. 4 with a home game against Binghamton.
The Lebanon Valley College Flying Dutchmen will kick off their 2024-25 campaign on Nov. 9 when they travel to Langhorne to take on Cairn University.
Read More:
- Rhoades brings Penn State to alma mater Lebanon Valley for exhibition game
- LVC grad Mike Rhoades, a man on the run, tries to get Penn State up to speed
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