Its Official: Penn State Basketball Hiring a General Manager, Per Report:
Penn State men’s basketball coach Mike Rhoades is hiring a general manager, according to a new report. Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68 site reported that Penn State is hiring former Rice Owls head coach Scott Pera as its general manager for men’s basketball. Pera was Rhoades’ associate head coach at Rice and replaced him as the program’s head coach in 2017.
Penn State has yet to announce the hire or what the job will entail. However, college programs are hiring general managers to manage revenue sharing budgets, determine player market value and negotiate contracts
Pera would bring head coaching experience to the role, along with a Penn State degree, Pennsylvania roots and a familarity with Rhoades. Pera most recently was the head coach at Rice, where he spent seven seasons and went 96-127 overall. Pera served as an assistant on Rhoades’ staff at Rice for three years and was the associate head coach before before taking over the program.
Before heading to Rice, Pera spent two seasons on the basketball staff at Penn. He also spent six years at Arizona State, beginning his career as the program’s director of operations. Pera then became an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
Pera, 57, was born in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and attended Penn State-Harrisburg. He began his coaching career at Elizabethtown College and then coached high school basketball in central Pennsylvania. Pera Led Annville-Cleona to a PIAA title in 1999. He also coached at Artesia High in California, where James Harden was on the roster.
Pera would join a Penn State basketball staff that recently hired Nittany Lions great Talor Battle and includes former Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery as director of basketball intiatives.
