'We're Right There,' Penn State's Micah Shrewsberry Says
One of Micah Shrewsberry's fondest memories of his first year at Penn State is framed in his office. It's a photo of Shrewsberry and his basketball staff standing on the Beaver Stadium sideline, dressed in white, at last year's Whiteout football game.
"Enjoying that together, that part was so cool," Shrewsberry said.
On Tuesday, the first anniversary of his hiring as Penn State's men's basketball coach, Shrewsberry reflected on a year that was full-throttle from the start. The Lions closed their season with a 69-61 loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament, an event where they generated some late-season momentum with wins over Minnesota and Ohio State.
Shrewsberry found more good than bad in a 14-17 season during which Penn State had three non-conference games canceled by COVID-19 protocols and lost eight Big Ten games by seven points or less. A few swings of fortune here or there, and maybe Penn State is joining nine Big Ten teams in the NCAA Tournament.
"We're right there," Shrewsberry said. "That's the part where you get a little disappointed that you're close, you're really close. Now, don't take steps back to take steps forward. We need to build off what we did this year."
During his season-ending media session, Shrewsberry discussed what he established this season, his plans for the transfer portal and how the incoming freshman class might contribute early. Here are the highlights.
The best of 2021
Shrewsberry pointed to the defensive platform Penn State established as a season highlight. The Lions led the Big Ten in scoring defense (65 ppg), their lowest average since the 2010-11 season (62.5). Not coincidentally, that was the last time Penn State made the NCAA Tournament and the only time it reached the Big Ten championship game.
Penn State's defense was relatively consistent, both in style and execution, holding 19 opponents to at least 10 points below their season scoring averages at the time they played.
"I was pleased with how we defended, the things that we established as a defensive team," Shrewsberry said. "... People will point to our style of play or our pace of play, but other people have a choice in terms of how they want to play. It's not like they automatically come to us and, because we're the home team, that they have to play a slower pace. No, we dictated the pace to everybody else."
Notes on the roster
Shrewsberry said he'll have discussions in the next few weeks with Myles Dread and Sam Sessoms, both of whom have a bonus season of eligibility. Dread is fifth all-time in 3-pointers at Penn State (232), and Sessoms led the team in scoring nine times this season.
Jalen Pickett returns as the team's leader in scoring (13.3 ppg), assists (135) and steals (35) after a season in which he led the Big Ten in minutes (37.2). He also ranked second at Penn State in blocks (19) and third in rebounds (133).
Pickett, who played three seasons at Siena before transferring to Penn State, has a chance to be one of the conference's top players next season.
"He wants to maximize his time here, really spend time getting better with us and competing in the Big Ten," Shrewsberry said. "... With him coming back, it gives us a cornerstone to start with."
Pickett also will provide a veteran presence to a young roster that will introduce five true freshmen. As a result, Shrewsberry said he'll look for "need-based" solutions in the transfer portal.
"We do want to add a couple older guys so we don't have to lean on those freshmen just to be prime-time players right off the bat, which is really hard to do as a college freshman, no matter how good you are," Shrewsberry said.
About that freshman class
Shrewsberry is eager to bring in his first group of freshmen, which arrives as Penn State's highest-ranked recruiting class in history. ESPN lists Penn State's five-player class at 24th in its 2022 rankings, one spot ahead of Michigan State. Just above Penn State are Villanova (21), Illinois (22) and LSU (23). Villanova is a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Illinois is a No. 4 seed and LSU is a No. 6 seed.
"I hope they're ready right away," Shrewsberry said of the freshmen, "and they come in and take the reins and do it themselves. But I want to make sure that they have the help that they need to do it right away."
What's more, Shrewsberry won't have to re-recruit his own roster as intensely this offseason. Convincing John Harrar, Seth Lundy, Dread and Sessoms to return took up a large chunk of the staff's recruiting time last year, which Shrewsberry said stretched into the summer and reduced their time recruiting players from the transfer portal.
"I don't think that's going to be the case this year," the coach said. "I feel much better about our roster construction, about where we are, about the Class of 22 and future classes. So I feel like we're ahead of the game a little bit, so we can focus more on our culture. We can focus more on basketball this summer than spending the entire time kind of chasing our tail."
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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.
