Penn State basketball | Running the Floor: Analyzing Nittany Lions' portal additions

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – As the offseason rolls on, Penn State men's basketball has netted some much-needed reinforcements from the transfer portal.

Though coach Mike Rhoades lost some valuable pieces in Jameel Brown and Demetrius Lilley, he's added three new players thus far – Nebraska wing Eli Rice, Northern Illinois center Yanic Neiderhauser and Xavier center Kachi Nzeh.

Here's a look at the newest Nittany Lions and what they bring to the table.

Let's run the floor ...

Intriguing potential

Former IMG Academy product Eli Rice comes to Penn State with three years of eligibility remaining.

The 6-foot-8 Rice had his freshman season cut short at Nebraska as he missed the final 13 games with an ankle injury.

In 17 games, Rice averaged 4.2 points and 1.6 rebounds – scoring in double figures three times, including a season-high 16 points against Florida A&M this past November.

The lefty guard is very good at putting the ball on the floor and attacking off the dribble at his size. Almost 28% of his shots come at the rim and he connects on 54% of those shots. Rice is quick, aggressive and decisive off the bounce and shows the ability to handle contact going to the rim.

In addition to his slashing, Rice shows plenty of promise as a 3-point shooter. He shot 10-of-27 from beyond the arc at Nebraska and was particularly effective from the corners.

Comparing him to a current player on the roster, 6-foot-8 Zach Hicks, Rice excels at the things Hicks isn't as good at – ball-handling and creating off the dribble. Hicks is a proven shooter while Rice will need to show he can maintain his 37% accuracy with an uptick in volume, assuming he earns a prominent spot in the rotation or starts for the Nittany Lions.

Much-needed size

Looking to fill a void left by 6-11 Qudus Wahab exhausting his eligibility and the loss of the aforementioned Lilley to the portal, Rhoades picked up Swiss seven-footer Yanic Neiderhauser this offseason.

As a sophomore, Neiderhauser averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 24 games at Northern Illinois. He shot a respectable 54% from the floor and scored in double-figures nine times.

Neidherhauser is an intriguing interior piece in that he can do a bit of everything offensively. He does most of his damage around the basket as 75% of his shot attempts came at the rim for the Huskies, and he connects on 59% of those looks.

He's also capable of stepping away from the basket and shooting the ball with range. Though he shot just 29.2% from 3-point-land last season, he has a good-looking jumper with easy range.

At seven feet tall and 255 pounds, he's got the size to be effective around the goal on both ends. He moves well and is an excellent shot-blocker at 2.1 swats per game. Neiderhauser posted an 11% block rate at Northern Illinois.

Though he only shot 61% from the free throw line, Neiderhauser has the shooting mechanics to improve in that area. However, it will be interesting to see how good he'll be as a rebounder as he averaged 4.4 per game in just under 20 minutes a game. That number should stand to improve with more minutes, but Neiderhauser should allow the Nittany Lions to match up better against Big Ten bigs after getting torched by several of them last season.

With career-highs of 27 points and five blocks as a sophomore, Neiderhauser looks to be the early frontrunner to be the Nittany Lions' starting center next season.

Rotation piece?

Rhoades may have found a solid backup big man in Kachi Nzeh, a former four-star recruit out of George School in Upper Darby.

Nzeh appeared in 19 games with four starts at Xavier, averaging 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as a freshman. He scored a career-high 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting along with a career-high tying six rebounds in a career-high 28 minutes at Georgetown on March 2.

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Nzeh could be an effective piece for the Nittany Lions, specializing in offensive rebounding and finishing out of the pick-and-roll.

Nzeh made the most of his limited opportunities, converting 60% of his shots. The undersized center attempted 88% of his shots at the rim and made 61% of them. He excels at putbacks, boasting a 9.2% offensive rebound rate when he was on the floor.

As Rhoades wants to play fast and be more efficient on offense, adding an energy player that can finish to the big-man rotation was an important pickup.