Penn State Basketball: Nittany Lions in Mix for Nation’s Leading Rebounder

Penn State basketball is in the top five and among the favorites to win the services of big man grad transfer Kevin Marfo, a source confirmed on Friday. The Nittany Lions are looking to replace senior Mike Watkins for the 2020-21 season.

Penn State joins Minnesota, Texas A&M, St John’s and VCU in the final stretch.

Marfo would certainly be a solid get on paper, the 6-foot-8, 245 pound big man led the nation in rebounds per game last season while at Quinnipiac with just over 13 a contest. While the MAAC might not be the Big Ten, a regular and dominating consistency on the glass is hard to overlook, especially for a Penn State team that struggled at times to grab crucial rebounds.

During this past season the Bergenfield, New Jersey native pulled down 15 or more rebounds on eight occasions including a 21-rebound effort against Monmouth. He also averaged just over 10 points a game. Marfo began his career at George Washington before transferring to Quinnipiac where he played the past two seasons.

Picking up Marfo would mean some scholarship shuffling for Penn State moving forward. The Nittany Lions have already lost reserve guard Kyle McCloskey to transfer earlier in the week while coach Pat Chambers and staff are expected to add three new freshman faces as well as JUCO transfer Valdir Manuel, who committed to the program in October.

The Nittany Lions are also awaiting the eventual enrollment of Abdou Tsimbila who was slated to join Penn State this season but struggled with an aspect of his enrollment requirements.

What Marfo’s potential addition means to all of this remains to be seen, but it’s safe to assume that the 2020-21 roster will have plenty of new faces.