JUCO Big Man Won’t Attend Penn State

Valdir Manuel, considered one of the top JUCO big men in the country, won’t play for Penn State according to basketball source reporting to Lions247.

Manuel, who stands at 6-foot-10, was scheduled to report to Penn State by July 1st.

The sudden news continues in the long, strange recruitment of Manuel that started as he came out of high school. Manuel originally committed to Seton Hall in early 2018, but never signed a letter of intent. He then shifted to St. Joe’s in July of that year, but ended up decommitting and attending Harcum College, a junior college program in Pennsylvania.

Manuel committed to play for St. John’s in December 2018, but with that program parting ways with coach Chris Mullin, he was back on the market five months later.

He originally committed to Penn State in October 2019 over offers from West Virginia and Rhode Island.

The situation leaves the Nittany Lions thin in the frontcourt. With Manuel out of the picture, Penn State has John Harrar (4.3 points and 4.6 rebounds last year) as the only true center on the roster. Expect some small ball from Pat Chambers’s crew this coming season.