Penn State coach Mike Rhoades announced Monday that the program has dismissed leading scorer Kanye Clary, who was the seventh-highest scorer in the Big Ten this season. Clary, a sophomore who signed with the school as a three-star recruit in 2022, did not travel with the team to Nebraska this weekend. Rhoades did not provide a reason for dismissal.
"We'll move forward and focus on the task at hand," Rhoades said. "It came to a point where as a coach, I decided to move on."
Clary started the first 20 games of the season but missed several games due to injury, during which Penn State reeled off a three-game winning streak. When he returned from injury on Feb. 8, he was no longer in the starting lineup and played 23 or fewer minutes in three consecutive games. His last game with the team came on Valentines Day when he played 23 minutes and scored eight points in an 80-72 home loss to Michigan State.
Clary signed with Penn State in 2022 and committed to the program under then-head coach Micah Shrewsberry before Shrewsberry last offseason was hired away by Notre Dame. He did not start any games last season and averaged only 3.7 points per game, but Clary was considered a big retainee for Rhoades entering his first year after flashing promise late in the season.
The dismissal of Clary likely means Rhoades will continue to rely heavily upon Ace Baldwin Jr., who Rhoades brought to Penn State with him via VCU. Baldwin has averaged 17.2 points per game over his last five games and leads the team in minutes played on the season. It could also open the door for sophomore Jameel Brown and junior D'Marco Dunn to see an uptick in usage and fill the void in the backcourt in Clary's absence.
Penn State fell to 12-14 on the season and 6-9 in Big Ten play after a 68-49 road loss to Nebraska on Saturday .
