Penn State Basketball to Hire Scott Pera as General Manager
According to Field of 68‘s Jeff Goodman, Penn State men’s basketball head coach Mike Rhoades is set to hire former Rice head coach Scott Pera as the program’s new general manager. Pera, who succeeded Rhoades as head coach at Rice in 2017, previously served as Rhoades’ associate head coach with the Owls.
While the university has not officially announced the hire or the specifics of the general manager role, such positions are increasingly common in college basketball. General managers typically handle tasks such as managing budgets, assessing player market value, and negotiating contracts.
Pera brings a wealth of experience o the role, including his time as a head coach, a Penn State degree, and strong connections to Pennsylvania and Rhoades. His most recent role was as the head coach at Rice, where he led the program for seven seasons, compiling a 96-127 record. Before taking over at Rice, Pera spent three years as an assistant and associate head coach under Rhoades at Rice.
Prior to his time at Rice, Pera spent two seasons on the coaching staff at Penn and also had a six-year stint at Arizona State. He began his career at Arizona State as the director of operations before moving into assistant coaching and recruiting coordinator roles.
At 57, Pera hails from Hershey, Pennsylvania, and attended Penn State-Harrisburg. His coaching career began at Elizabethtown College, and he later coached high school basketball in central Pennsylvania, where he guided Annville-Cleona to a PIAA title in 1999. Pera also coached at Artesia High School in California, where NBA star James Harden was on the roster.
Pera will join a Penn State basketball staff that recently welcomed Nittany Lions legend Talor Battle and includes former Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery, who serves as the director of basketball initiatives.
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