Plum grad Ta'Rasi Means reaches 1,000 career points for Penn State New Kensington men's basketball

When he played basketball at Plum, Ta’Rasi Means was not a 1,000-point scorer. Means didn’t get any varsity time as a freshman, so that reduced his chances of reaching the coveted milestone.

At Penn State New Kensington, three years has been more than enough for Means to hit the millennium mark. He scored 22 points in a Jan. 21 win over Penn State Beaver — his 63rd game with PSNK — and among those points was the 1,000th of his career.

“The moment was unbelievable, honestly,” said Means, a 6-foot-2 redshirt junior guard. “From where I came from … I picked up basketball in like seventh grade, and, at that time, everyone around me had been around the game at least five years or so. I got a late start.

“It was just awesome, thinking where I started and how my game has evolved over the years.”

A late start in the game wasn’t the only obstacle Means had to overcome.

During his freshman season at PSNK, he suffered a fracture in the fifth metatarsal when another player landed on his right foot. That was five games into the season, and Means was on the shelf for the remainder of 2021-22.

He spent five months in a cast and, once he was out, was in a hurry to get back on the court. Perhaps too much of a hurry. During an open gym workout in the preseason, he rebroke the foot.

“That’s on me,” he said, acknowledging his too-soon return to action.

Surgery to put a pin in his foot followed. That required an additional sixth months of recovery, making Means’ absence from the basketball court, essentially, an entire year.

“After I rebroke it, that’s when all the frustration really kicked in,” he said. “It kind of felt like I worked for those five months in a cast and, not even a month after I’m cleared, I got hurt again. I definitely was mad, and I definitely had to fight through some mental adversity.

“But I had a lot of friends and a lot of family who were there and supported me.”

And he had a better idea of what it would take to recover. He didn’t make the mistake of trying to rush back to the court.

Instead, he made good use of his time by studying the game. Coach Brant Mack said Means did more than just watch film of PSNK. It was major college, NBA, anything Means thought could help to better himself.

Seeing the action unfold from what he called a “sideline view” helped Means process things differently. He said the game started to slow down, and he was able to make better decisions on the court.

“He continued to study the game … individual moves, study team concepts,” said Mack, who is in his fourth year as PSNK’s coach. “(He is) understanding our system and where he can get the best looks, where his spots are.”

Beyond what Means was doing on the court, Mack said he also noticed a difference in what he was doing off it to take care of his body. Now, Mack said, Means is conscious of rehab and “prehab” to keep himself fit.

That is a direct result of working his way back from the injuries. Always an explosive athlete, Means said he lost a little bit of that because of his foot issues. Some of the muscle mass in his right leg atrophied while he was unable to use it.

Means credited plyometrics for — literally — getting him back on his feet. And, coincidence or not, Means said his shooting improved once he made a full recovery.

“I think my game was less athletic and more making reads and being at my own pace,” he said.

The proof is in the stats. After averaging 12.1 points in his redshirt freshman season, Means had a breakout campaign in 2023-24.

He averaged 19.5 points while shooting 52.5% from the field (40.8% from 3-point range).

That season alone got him almost halfway to his 1,000 points (he finished with 468).

Means is putting up big numbers again. Heading into Saturday’s rematch with Penn State Beaver, he was averaging nearly 20 ppg. He also is averaging 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.4 steals.

“He’s a natural scorer, but he’s also a playmaker,” Mack said. “He gets assists. He gets rebounds. He’s able to really fill the stat sheet. There are times when we go into scoring lulls, and Ta’Rasi, we’re able to get him the ball and he can create something.”

Means’ contributions go beyond the stat sheet. Mack said Means’ basketball IQ makes him an asset when it comes to in-game adjustments.

“He does a great job of verbally communicating, not just to his players but also giving us (coaches) feedback,” Mack said. “We’ll constantly ask when we go into halftime, ‘What do you guys see?’ and Ta’Rasi is one of the first ones to step up and say he sees a different look or an opportunity for us.”

PSNK will need every advantage down the stretch. With four games remaining, New Ken is vying for the Penn State University Athletic Conference West title or, at minimum, a better seed for the PSUAC postseason.

With Means and backcourt running mate Aubrey Feaster II (16.2 ppg), PSNK has as good a 1-2 punch as anyone in the conference. Now that his individual achievement is in the books, Means is focused on winning a championship.

“If we can just focus on the little things, one possession at a time, running back on defense, rebounding, I think we can make some things happen,” he said. “We have all the pieces. There hasn’t been a team that I can say that can beat us outright. It’s usually us who beats us.

“But I’m definitely confident. I’m feeling the best that I’ve ever felt for the past five years. I definitely think we’re going to make some things happen and make a deep run.”