Ace Baldwin Jr., the team’s star point guard, had a fantastic Monday despite Penn State and coach Mike Rhoades having a difficult January and February.
The senior received two national prizes in acknowledgment of his achievements. Baldwin was added to the midseason watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, which is given to the best player in the country, and was named a semifinalist for the Bob Cousy Award, which is given to the best point guard in the country.
Ten semifinalists were selected by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to receive the Cousy Award. Fifty players were added to the U.S. Basketball Writers’ Association’s watch list for the Robertson Trophy.
Baldwin, a native of Baltimore, has led Penn State in scoring (14.1 points, 7.8 assists, and two steals per game) this season. In addition to having the fourth-best assist percentage in the nation, he has the fifth-best free throw percentage (93.3%). Baldwin’s 16 assists against Coppin State on December 14 set a Penn State single-game record for the season.
Similar to Penn State, Baldwin had a scorching start to the 2024–25 campaign but has since cooled off, particularly after playing below his best for a while. In addition to having the second-worst 3-point percentage in his five seasons (30.8%), he has the worst shooting percentage of his career (37%).
Baldwin is the only active Division I player with at least 1,500 points, 700 assists, and 300 steals. He is also the current Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
The Nittany Lions are now 13-9 overall and 3-8 in Big Ten play after losing three in a row and seven of their past eight games. They could be one of three teams to miss the Big Ten Tournament since they are tied for the second-worst conference record.
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Max Ralph