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In an effort to replace Tony Carr and Shep Garner, Pat Chambers has been busy on the grad transfer recruiting trail. This weekend, Penn State will host two of the top grad transfer options in the country, Illinois forward Michael Finke and Chattanooga guard Nat Dixon.
Chattanooga grad transfer Nat Dixon and Illinois grad transfer Michael Finke will both visit Penn State this weekend, per a source.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 16, 2018
Finke is a 6-foot-10, 235-pound forward who averaged 9.8 PPG and 4.6 RPG, and really has the ability to stretch the floor. Having a career three-point shooting percentage of 36.1% on 293 attempts, Finke seems like he’d be a tremendous fit next to Mike Watkins, and could allow Penn State to play Lamar Stevens at the 3 more often, giving the Nittany Lions one of the bigger lineups in the Big Ten.
Meanwhile, Nat Dixon is a 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard who averaged 13.8 PPG for Chattanooga last season. Dixon is a prolific scorer from the outside, making 2.1 threes per game on 5.4 attempts. With the loss of Garner, Dixon should have the ability to step in immediately, and help space the floor the same way Garner did for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State is also in the mix for Albany’s Joe Cremo, who cut his list to five teams last week.
Albany grad transfer Joe Cremo has cut his list to Creighton, Oregon, Gonzaga, Texas, and Penn State, per a source. Visits Creighton this weekend.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 11, 2018
The 6-foot-4 Cremo might be the best grad transfer in the country, putting up 17.8 PPG and shooting a ridiculous 45.8% from three on 166 attempts, but the competition for Cremo’s services will be stiff. Gonzaga, specifically, has had a tremendous amount of success with transfers — Nigel Williams-Goss, Kyle Wiltjer, and Jonathan Williams all came to the Gonzaga program as transfers, and blossomed up in Spokane.