Penn State Basketball: Puff Johnson Out for the Season, Mike Rhoades Confirms

Penn State basketball coach Mike Rhoades confirmed Monday that fifth-year senior starter Puff Johnson, who sustained a hand injury at Michigan State on Jan. 15, is out for the remainder of the season. Johnson has missed the last eight games, in which the Nittany Lions are 1-7. Rhoades said Johnson’s injury has led to a “tremendous loss” for the team.

“Losing him really hurts,” Rhoades told reporters in State College at his weekly media availability. “Other teams lose guys too, so I’m not making excuses, but we really miss him.”

Johnson, a 6-8 guard/forward, was among Penn State’s most versatile players. He averaged 10.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while playing a key role in Rhoades’ defense. Johnson played physically inside while being able to shoot 3-pointers and could swing between positions. He also was one of Penn State’s top leaders and “the best teammate,” as Rhoades said.

“It definitely was a tremendous loss, and I think you’re seeing why it was such a tremendous loss right now,” Rhoades said.

Penn State has won just one game since Johnson was hurt and has lost seven straight, including Saturday’s 75-73 home loss to Washington. After starting the season 12-2, Penn State is 13-13 and in last place in the Big Ten at 3-12. Fifteen teams make the Big Ten Tournament, so the Nittany Lions likely need to win at least four of their remaining five games to extend their season.

“Our mentality now is, let’s bring energy every day so we can be spoilers and still figure things out and reverse this,” Rhoades said. “Why not? That’s got to be our mindset. Are you going to fight or are you going to quit? That’s got to be our mentality.”

The seven-game losing streak is Rhoades’ longest at Penn State and the team’s longest since the 2018-19 season. Rhoades was asked Monday whether he worries about player retention and fan apathy during such a streak.

“Yeah, you worry about all that stuff because everybody wants to be around a winner,” Rhoades said. “But I also know what I signed up for and what I took over. We’ve had some great moments since I’ve been here of excitement, but we’re in a stretch right now and this is part of building a program. You go through peaks and valleys, and we’re in a valley right now and we’ve just got to keep grinding to see if we find some success out of it. But I think in today’s landscape, that’s always a concern. Everything is.”

The next step is Wednesday, when Penn State hosts Nebraska for a 6:30 p.m. ET Big Ten game at the Bryce Jordan Center. Rhoades said he’s sticking with his coaching model but also that he has to be better.

“I’m mad,” Rhoades said. “I’m disappointed in myself. I’ve got to get these guys to play better, I’ve got to help them more. My probably greatest crutch for me is, I don’t want to let anybody down. I want to do my part, so when you get results like this in a stretch like this, yeah, it stinks. But I’ve coached a lot of games through some periods of adversity that stretch you, and you’ve got to fight. There’s things that I know, that I believe in, that I know work at any level, and you’ve got to hang on that.”