Evan Mahaffey’s versatility adds different dimensions to Penn State

Story posted January 11, 2023 in CommRadio, Sports by Matt Scalzo

Evan Mahaffey came to Penn State capable of playing every position, but the freshman is learning to play naturally as his role continues to expand.

A 6-foot-6 product of Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mahaffey came to Penn State as a three-star recruit in Micah Shrewsberry’s first recruiting class.

During high school, Mahaffey did it all for the Crusaders, finishing with a 64-12 record over the last three seasons, including being the team’s starting point guard.

In his final campaign with Moeller, he averaged 15.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 blocks per game, garnering plenty of attention across the state.

A finalist for the Mr. Ohio basketball award, Greater Cincinnati League Conference Player of the Year, Ohio Player of the Year by Cincinnati.com and Division I first-team All-Ohio.

During the offseason, there was a lot of buzz around Mahaffey in Happy Valley with his ability to impact the game without having to score.

Early in the season, the biggest issue was to stop thinking, but coach Micah Shrewsberry alluded to his coaching style, making it difficult to focus on his game.

“He needs to play without thinking so much, and that's hard, right? Because nothing's been set,” Shrewsberry said. “I think that's probably the hardest thing for guys to adjust to when they haven't ever played for me is I’m pretty random.”

The second-year coach was described as a “mad scientist” by Big Ten Network broadcaster Kevin Kugler during Penn State’s game at Michigan on Jan. 4.

Shrewsberry talked about his decisions and substitutions that can happen on a “whim,” and that adjustment has been hard for the freshman.

“Evan could be in with Kebba. He could be in with Caleb. He could be standing next to Myles, right? You don’t know who you’re going to play with,” Shrewsberry said. “Evan’s versatility allows us to do that because he’s got to be able to play a lot of different roles.”

The talented freshman has improved as the year has progressed, but he agrees with his coach that clearing his head is the biggest hurdle for him.

“Slowing down my mind throughout the game,” Mahaffey said on where he has to improve the most. “It’s a good thing to stop thinking as much, just playing natural.”

Slowing the game down is a common issue for most freshmen when they get to the collegiate level as senior Myles Dread dealt with the same struggle in 2018, but he learned and since has become one of the key cogs for the Nittany Lions.

“Just playing with freedom. Mistakes happen, and understanding that the stakes aren’t the end of the world,” Dread said. “I used to get really down on myself for missed shots or missed defensive assignments.”

Learning and growing as a player is paramount for Mahaffey and his importance in the program moving forward. Through 15 games this season, he is averaging just 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game.

“You can only give him so much, right? You can’t give him the keys,” Shrewsberry said. “He needs to focus on what he’s doing. Once he does that, we’ll be able to give him more and more responsibility.”

Mahaffey has turned a corner in the last three games against Iowa, Michigan and No. 1 Purdue, taking massive strides offensively, notching 21 points and nine rebounds in 55 minutes.

He has improved his career-high in each game, with six points against Iowa, seven versus Michigan and eight at the Palestra against Purdue.

“Coming off the bench as a freshman, you’re out there to help those older guys who have been there,” Mahaffey said. “Rebounding, screening, whatever it is, I’m trying to make sure I do it. So, if I want to play, that’s what I’m going to do.”

While his offense took time to get going, his defensive ability has been on display, especially in the last trio of games, with four steals and three blocks.

Penn State prided itself on its defense last season and carried it into this year. However, the last three opponents have scored over 70 points, when the blue and white allowed just one team to score more than 70 in the 12 games prior.

“Defensively, right now, we’re not very good,” Shrewsberry said. “But he gives us a different element where he can pressure the ball on the perimeter. He’s got long arms. He’s active. He’s hard to throw the ball around. He can get steals and deflections just by being there.”

Matt Scalzo is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email matt.scalzo8@gmail.com or mms7477@psu.edu.

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Matt Scalzo

Third Year / Broadcast Journalism

Matthew “Matt” Scalzo is a third-year from Ridgefield, Connecticut majoring in broadcast journalism. Matt is a Basketball Insider, broadcaster and writer for the sports department. With CommRadio he has called football, hockey, basketball, baseball, volleyball and lacrosse games. Matt has called matches for Penn State Women’s Volleyball on both TV and radio. He has written countless articles and appeared on podcasts, live shows and is a host of the Chi-Town Sit-Down with Thomas English, which covers everything Chicago sports. Matt spent the 2022 summer as the Drector of Broadcasting & Media for the Sanford Mainers in the NECBL. If you want to contact him, email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).