Class Breakdown: Penn State's '22 class up to 17th after Lilley pledge
With two more commitments over the span of a week, Penn State Nittany Lions basketball's 2022 recruiting class has now swelled to five pledges.
That would be tied for the largest class the Nittany Lions have signed in the Rivals era, which began in 2002, and it currently ranks as the largest in the nation among power conference programs.
After Lilley's commitment, the Nittany Lions now own the 17th-ranked class in the country.
Let's break down the class, below:
Demetrius Lilley is the latest prospect to announce his commitment to Penn State, doing so on Friday afternoon. Lilley, a three-star center out of Lower Merion in Philadelphia, picked the Nittany Lions from an offer list that also included Texas A&M and Saint Joe's, among others.
Lilley was on campus during Ball State weekend for an official visit. He gives the Nittany Lions a physical option in the paint who is also capable of scoring near the rim. He's listed at 265 by Rivals, but reports indicate he has dropped some weight and could be closer to the 230-pound mark.
Kebba Njie announced his commitment to Penn State basketball last Saturday, selecting the Nittany Lions from a group of three schools which also included Butler and Kansas State. Njie's announcement came roughly a week after his official visit to the State College.
Njie, Penn State's first big man commit in the 2022 class, considers himself a modern day big.He hopes the display the confidence necessary to bring the ball up and make plays for his teammates, while also getting physical in the post. He is one of two Rivals150 commits in this class for the Nittany Lions.
Jameel Brown previously committed to Purdue in December of 2020, but de-committed after former Purdue assistant Micah Shrewsberry left to take the head coaching job at Penn State. He holds 18 offers at the time of his commitment, including Ohio State, Auburn and Nebraska. He never announced a final group before committing, but Penn State, Virginia, Minnesota and Notre Dame were the four schools he visited this summer.
Brown plays his high school basketball at The Haverford School and played for Team Final on the AAU circuit. He shoots the ball from range very well, and can also finish at the rim when needed. He is listed at 6-foot-2 but his actual height is around 6-foot-4. He can play physically when necessary and will bring a true combo-guard skillset to the Nittany Lions.
Ohio shooting guard Evan Mahaffey was the second verbal commitment in Penn State basketball's 2022 class. He selected the Nittany Lions from among nine scholarship offers, including the likes of Cincinnati, West Virginia and Virginia Tech. He took visits in June to Penn State, Kansas State, Xavier and Loyola Chicago. He did not play on the AAU circuit at all this summer after suffering a torn meniscus.
Mahaffey's greatest asset is his versatility. He led his conference in blocks last season, standing at 6-foot-6, and frequently found himself defending the opposition's best player. Mahaffey has great ball-handling skills and is also an excellent distributor. The next step for him at the high school level is becoming the first option from a scoring perspective at Moeller, after playing in a team with two other Division I commits last season.
The first verbal commitment of the Shrewsberry era at Penn State was Virginia point guard Kanye Clary, whose offer list included Norfolk State, James Madison, Hampton, Old Dominion and Texas A&M. Clary, a three-star prospect, went under the radar up until this summer, where he produced a fantastic showing at the Peach Jam tournament against elite AAU competition.
Clary is a true point guard but has no trouble creating for himself, either. At 5-foot-11, he is perhaps a bit undersized for the Big Ten level but he doesn't hesitate to play a physical game. He is a fantastic defender and frequently guards players much bigger than him at the high school level.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel