Yanic Konan Niederhauser made school history on Wednesday night by becoming the first Penn State basketball player to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft. Niederhauser was the 30th overall pick of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Konan Niederhauser is the third Penn State player to be selected in the NBA draft in the past three seasons. He follows in the footsteps of Jalen Pickett (2023 to the Denver Nuggets) and Seth Lundy (2023 to the Atlanta Hawks). Before Konan Niederhauser’s first-round selection by the Clippers, Pickett had been the highest-drafted player from the Nittany Lions as the 32nd pick overall in the 2023 NBA draft, in the second round.
Konan Niederhauser spent just one season with Penn State as a transfer from Northern Illinois. He averaged 12.9 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. He earned All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition and led the conference with 2.31 blocks per game. There seemed to be some question on whether or not he should declare for the NBA draft or not following the season, but he clearly made the right decision after working out at the scouting combine and getting some positive feedback about his results.
This is a milestone moment for a Penn State basketball program that has had rare moments in the basketball spotlight, but can be a valuable recruiting tool for head coach Mike Rhoades moving forward. Rhoades is entering his third season under Mike Rhoades, and he is once again rebuilding his roster. Now, with a first-round draft pick under his belt, recruiting players could get a little bit easier. And three draft picks in three seasons is worth bragging about for a program looking to maintain some successful stability in the college basketball world.
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