Penn State Preparing to Name Men's Basketball Coach 'Very Quickly'
Penn State interim coach Jim Ferry said several times this season that he won't politic to become the permanent men's basketball coach. Late last week in Indianapolis, though, Ferry said he would love to continue coaching his team in the NIT Tournament.
"Hopefully we still get to play," Ferry said. "I will politic for that."
Ultimately, that didn't happen. Penn State's season ended with a 75-74 loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament's second round. The game encapsulated Penn State's entire season. Once again, the Lions rallied from a deep deficit (down 18 with 7:48 to play) to generate the potential game-winning shot in the last seconds.
But after Sam Sessoms' apparent pass inside to John Harrar was stolen, the players left the floor in tears. Ferry had trouble containing his later as well.
"It's always hard when a season comes to an end, but especially this one and the way it did, because these guys had so much fight," Ferry said. "These guys could have laid down several times this year in tough situations, but they never did."
Penn State's Seth Lundy (1) and Myles Dread leave the court after a 75-74 loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament. (Photo: Aaron Doster, USA Today Sports)
After the loss to Wisconsin, Ferry said that the team "absolutely will play in the NIT" if invited.
"We are all on the same page: the school the players, we all want to keep this thing going," Ferry said. "If we get invited, we'd be more than happy, we'd be excited to play in the NIT. Absolutely."
But Penn State (11-14) did not receive an invitation to the 16-team tournament, whose field was announced Sunday night. The Lions met the decision with disappointment.
In a Twitter post, Penn State Athletic Director Sandy Barbour called the selection process "a big miss."
Now, the program moves on to what Barbour called "the next chapter" of Penn State men's basketball.
Barbour said during a recent appearance on the Penn State Coaches Show that she is moving swiftly with the hiring process and expects to announce a hire as soon as the season ends. The compensation sub-committee of Penn State's Board of Trustees has scheduled public meetings for every day this week to discuss personnel matters. One likely will involve the men's basketball position.
Barbour said she has been impressed with Ferry's "audition" along with the candidate pool that applied. Purdue assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry and Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates reportedly are among the top contenders.
Both coaches are being mentioned as candidates for multiple jobs. Gates led Cleveland State to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.
"We're going to be in a position to name a new head coach very quickly after the conclusion [of the season] when the guys are done playing, and I hope that’s a long time away from now, and then move into the next chapter," Barbour said on the Coaches Show.
Ferry deserves credit for how he handled a tumultuous season. The team abruptly lost their coach last October, went through a COVID-19 shutdown and lost multiple heartbreakers. Perhaps two more wins would have sent the Lions to the NCAA tournament.
So after the tournament loss to Wisconsin, Ferry left his players with this.
"I told them I love them, I appreciate every single one of them and that we absolutely all grew from this season," he said.
Watch Ferry's entire post-game press conference above.
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