People always make excuses like "it is a football school" and "it is far away from basketball hotbeds".
However, I think that, if Penn State forked out the money and got the right coach, they could be pretty good. They are in the same region as several basketball hotbeds, and many football schools have had fine runs on the court. The trouble is, they haven't done that in ages. The last rock-solid coach they had was Bruce Parkhill. He did some fine things despite having the small, old Rec Hall to sell in recruiting.
However, I think that, if Penn State forked out the money and got the right coach, they could be pretty good. They are in the same region as several basketball hotbeds, and many football schools have had fine runs on the court. The trouble is, they haven't done that in ages. The last rock-solid coach they had was Bruce Parkhill. He did some fine things despite having the small, old Rec Hall to sell in recruiting.