Micah Shrewsberry praises Penn State Basketball’s ‘commitment to excellence’
By Evan Smith
As news broke this morning of the potential hire, Penn State Basketball made it official this evening, announcing Micah Shrewsberry as the 14th Head Coach of the Men’s Basketball program.
Shrewsberry replaces interim head coach Jim Ferry
President Barron on the hire: “Micah is an outstanding coach, with a bredth of experience, who will do great things for our program. He is respected nationally as an outstanding talent, and brings an unwavering comitment to the academic success and overall wellbeing of our student-athletes. I am pleased he will be joining the Penn State family and look forward to the program’s development under his leadership.”
"Athletic Director Sandy Barbour: “Micah was a name that immediately jumped to the top of our list with his experience in the Big Ten and the NBA. He has had success at all levels and knows what it takes to develop a program into a consistent national contender. He has learned form and worked under some of the most respected coaches in the country in Brad Stevens and Matt Painter. Micah will be an exceptional leader for the young men in our basketball program and I can’t wait for him to get to know our student-athletes. We know he will be a great addition to our Penn State family!"
https://twitter.com/PennStateMBB/status/1371593299639816197
"Finally, from our Penn State Basketball’s new Head Coach himself: “I am extremely humbled and excited to be the next Head Coach at Penn State University. I want to thank Dr. Barron, Sandy Barbour, Lynn Holleran and the rest of the search committee involved in this process. The values of this University and it’s commitment to excellence are the major reasons why this job was so appealing to me. I can’t wait to arrive on campus to beign working with our tremendous student-athletes. My family and I are looking forward to becoming part of the Nittany Lion family.”"
Interesting is the timing of this announcement as the Nittany Lions are less than 24 hours from somewhat stunningly not being invited to the NIT tournament after (now former) interim HC Jim Ferry expressed a strong interest. Immediate reaction to the Shrewsberry hire was mixed but heavy praise from former Buckeye standout Jared Sullinger, and NBA star Isaiah Thomas Jr.
There are some fans that have postulated that Penn State asked not to be included in the NIT in order to officially turn the page on this season and the Chambers/Ferry era.
By officially announcing the Shrewsberry hire today, AD Sandy Barbour only added fuel to that fire.
What we don’t know is whether or not Micah will be with Purdue in the NCAA Tournament. Frankly, he deserves the opportunity to finish his season with the Boilermakers but then why the rush to officially announce the hire today?
Especially if that announcement comes at the cost of the season continuing the NIT, as both point guard Jamari Wheeler and small forward Myles Dread had hoped:
https://twitter.com/Jamariwheeler5/status/1371261973783056384
https://twitter.com/mylesd12_/status/1371273317693464579
Is this another instance of the players being kept in the dark? Sandy Barbour expressed disappointment Penn State wasn’t selected by the NIT and in reality we’ll never know what happened. One thing is for sure, Penn State Basketball is never boring!