Nittany Lions add D-II sharpshooter Thomas Allard

After losing a lot of guard depth in the transfer portal this cycle, the Nittany Lions have yet again added another guard to their roster overhaul, this time from the D-II ranks. On Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that Alabama Huntsville's Thomas Allard will be joining the Nittany Lions. He joins Penn State as the fifth transfer addition they have made, but also as the fourth guard they have added in their search for a Kayden Mingo replacement.

Allard has been on an interesting career arc, spending all of his career in the D-II ranks. He started his career redshirting for Lincoln Memorial, then slowly but surely, seeing an uptick in production. His breakout campaign came in his redshirt sophomore season, when he started 20 games and made 30 appearances, shooting the ball at a 46.7 percent clip and 41.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Last season saw him move to Alabama Huntsville, where he averaged career highs across the board. While his shooting percentages dwindled, he still averaged a solid 13.7 points per game across 32 starts. What was most impressive is that more than 50 percent of his shots came from the 3-point line. Even more shocking is that those numbers were down significantly from his last season with Lincoln Memorial, where he took an absurd 79 percent of his shots from the 3 point line.

It seems that that has been Mike Rhoades' philosophy during the transfer process as he brings in yet another sharpshooting specialist. While Allard will certainly have to take time to acclimate to Big Ten play, his bravery from the three point line could come in handy in close conference games.

This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State basketball adds D-II sharpshooter