Micah Shrewsberry Expects Penn State to Field More 'Firepower'
Penn State took the stage Wednesday at Big Ten basketball media days in Minneapolis, where coach Micah Shrewsberry and players Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy sounded thrilled for Season 2 together.
Shrewsberry generated positive signs in his first season at Penn State and said Wednesday that the players he has added means "we have a little more firepower in terms of what we'll be able to do offensively."
Here's a look at Shrewsberry's comments from media day, courtesy of ASAP Sports Transcripts.
Opening Statement: I'm proud to be here as a head coach in the Big Ten Conference. I grew up in Big Ten country. I said it last year. I understand that there are 14 of these jobs, and I stand here as one of those. I don't take that lightly.
I'm also proud to stand here and represent Penn State University. Penn State took a chance on me last year, and I wake up every single day trying to repay that and get our program to the top of the Big Ten. That's all I'm thinking about every single day.
I have a staff, the guys that are back in State College right now, that work in that same manner to do what we need to do for us to be successful to challenge and be at the top of the Big Ten.
I understand that everybody that gets up here is excited about their season, excited about the guys that they have. I know [Purdue] coach [Matt] Painter talked about it yesterday, like nobody's had a bad summer.
But we've grown from year one to year two. Having continuity is huge in this time. Even though we have eight new players on our roster, having the other guys, the other five guys that were with us last year, it makes it easy.
Staff continuity makes it easy to continue to do what we did. That was lay a foundation of how we wanted to play and lay a foundation that we're going to be a hard team to play every night out.
It starts with the two guys that are here with me, Jalen Pickett, Seth Lundy, both sitting out here. I think those two guys are two of the underrated defenders in this league and in this conference. I think when the voting came out last year, I don't think they got just due for what they did on the defensive end of the court.
People talk about how we play, talk about our pace, but it was really hard to score on us. These two guys were a big reason for that.
Jalen Pickett, what he's done in his career, I'm biased because I coach him every single day, I think he's one of the best guards in the Big Ten Conference. He's got a chance right now, he's at 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists in his career. There's not many guys that have accomplished that through time.
Seth Lundy is going to join him in that thousand-point list this year. Once again, like what he did when he was guarding the best of the best last year was really impressive.
He's going to have a chance to play for the same head coach for two years in a row. To understand how difficult that is, try working for a new boss every single year, right? He's more comfortable when you watch him in practice. He's more comfortable in terms of what we're doing in our system offensively and defensively. Now you'll see the game slow down for him. I think he'll take his game to another level.
We've added some really good transfers. Camren Wynter came from Drexel. Andrew Funk from Bucknell. Cam is another guy that scored 1,600 points in his career. He'll join Jalen on that 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists platform here shortly into our season. Andrew Funk has scored 1,200 points in his career. We have a little more firepower in terms of what we'll be able to do offensively.
We're still going to play the same exact way. We're still going to challenge people defensively and make it as hard as possible. But I think we'll be able to score the ball a little bit better.
We also have some returning guys in Dallion Johnson, Myles Dread, Caleb Dorsey, who have played in the Big Ten and can help us in their own way.
Then five freshmen that we've all recruited that fit our personality, that fit who we want to be as a program, that have also raised the competition level in our practices.
I'm happy with our group. We're going to fight every single night. We're going to make it as hard as possible. We're going to do what we can each and every day to become one of the best teams in the Big Ten.
Question: Sometime during this season there will be at least four games where there will be two Black head coaches on each sideline in the Big Ten. Could you speak on the significance on that? Are we coming closer to the time where this could be more of a rule than exception?
Micah Shrewsberry: I think last year with three Black head coaches joining the Big Ten at one time, myself, [Minnesota's] Ben Johnson, coach [Mike] Woodson at Indiana...
We still have steps to take, we still have progress to make, but I think during these times representation is one of the biggest things that you can have. So if you're a young kid, you're watching that game, you see people that look like you on the sideline. Now maybe they want to become coaches, things like that. I think that's really important for what we do.
I think as a league, to be out front in that, I think Commissioner [Kevin] Warren has been great in terms of what he's been able to do with helping the college athletes in the Big Ten do more and learn more.
I want to be a great representative. I know the same thing of the other coaches in our league. Just give young kids something to strive for, give them something to look up to. Hopefully one of those guys is standing in my shoes.
Question: What did you learn about yourself in year one that's going to help you in year two?
Micah Shrewsberry: I think it's an ever-evolving process. I spent a lot of time trying to pick the brains of the coaches in our league. We have great coaches in our league. We have great welcoming coaches in our league. Even though we're all competitors, you can reach out to any of them and ask them for advice.
Myself, I don't think I'll ever be a finished product. I think [Michigan State] coach [Tom] Izzo would say the same thing even now. Growing each and every day. I think decisions, delegating, whatever it may be, it's still going to be a process for me that I'm still trying to learn, I'm still trying to grow.
Like, I want to be better for our team every single day, right? We had six losses at six points or less last year. How do we flip those to wins this year. How do I change practice to make us better in those late-game situations so we change those to wins. That's always a process that I'm trying to learn.
Year one to year two I'm way more comfortable, I can tell you that. I know my way around campus. May not know the street names around campus but I can get there when I need to. I know the places I like to eat and everything else.
I can say a drill and everybody kind of knows it, our staff knows it. We're growing as a program. Take our team into Big Ten arenas, not the first time we've done it. That part of we'll feel a little better about. I've still got a lot to learn.
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