Junior guard Ethan Roberts announced his transfer to play for Penn men's basketball.
In an offseason that has seen Penn men’s basketball lose two of its starting guards to the transfer portal, Drake Bulldogs men’s basketball sophomore guard Ethan Roberts announcing his commitment to the University is welcome news.
Penn will be the former four-star recruit’s third school in as many years. In his freshman year at the Army Black Knights, Roberts averaged 12.4 points a game, shooting 47.6% from the field and 40.7% from beyond the arc, to go along with 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists a game. Roberts scored a career-high 32 points against Bucknell and led Army to the Patriot League Tournament semifinal before conceding to then-top-seeded Colgate. His performance earned him Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors.
At the conclusion of his freshman year, Roberts announced that he would be continuing his collegiate career at Drake for his sophomore season. Roberts joined a Drake squad that finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference and won the Missouri Valley Tournament to secure an NCAA March Madness tournament appearance. Drake bowed out of the tournament with a 66-61 loss to Washington State in the first round.
Despite the team’s overall success, Roberts was unable to contribute to it. Roberts missed the entirety of the season with an undisclosed injury that he announced that had picked up over the summer at Drake’s Media Day. The guard, who was expected to play a major role in the squad after an impressive rookie campaign, did not get the chance to take the court for the Drake Bulldogs.
"I'm completely good [now]," Roberts said with regard to his current health status. "[It was a freakish medical issue] that will not affect me again in the future."
Now, Roberts will be bringing his talents to the Ivy League. Roberts will be a welcomed addition after the Penn men’s basketball roster was recently depleted of starting guard-level talent with freshman guard Tyler Perkins recently committing to cross-city rivals Villanova and senior guard Clark Slajchert announcing that he would be using his final year of eligibility at the University of Southern California.
In addition to spots opening up on the roster, a major part of Roberts decision-making process was the quality of the academics offered at Penn.
"Penn obviously separates itself from almost every school in the country when it comes to academics," Roberts said. "And that's what I was really looking for — having a situation that invests in me as a person."
Given that he is healthy and can return to the level of play pre-injury, Roberts will likely contribute immediately to the Red and Blue squad that severely underperformed expectations this past season. Roberts is also bringing with him winning experience and restless energy that he hopes can help bring Penn's stature in basketball back to where it should be.
"Penn has a lot of potential where I felt like if I came there, we could really get it back to where it used to be," Roberts said. "It's a great fit for me to come to Penn and win."
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