Penn State Basketball: Micah Shrewsberry’s haul just may be historic
By Evan Smith
The 2021 off-season has been a wild ride for Penn State Basketball but things are looking up as Micah Shrewsberry is making an impact on the recruiting trail.
A quick recap: Penn State Basketball let go their interim head coach (Jim Ferry), hired Micah Shrewsberry, lost multiple key players to the transfer portal (Myreon Jones, Jamari Wheeler, Izaiah Brockington, eventually that is, and Abdou Tsimbila, to name just a few) and picked up some portal recruits (Jalannie White, Greg Lee, Jevonnie Scott, Jalen Pickett, and Boogie Cornwall.)
Deep breath.
But, with an eye on the future, perhaps the biggest impact Shrewsberry and his staff have made is on the 2022 recruiting trail.
It started with Kanye Clary, the two/three star recruit from Virginia who has been rising up recruiting boards with his play this off-season. Building momentum, he followed that up with Evan Mahaffey, a three star recruit from Ohio.
But, the piece de resistance was the most recent signing of four star recruit Jameel Brown from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Brown was committed to Purdue, where the lead recruiter for the Boilermakers was one former assistant named…Micah Shrewsberry. Brown decomitted from Purdue shortly after Shrewsberry was announced the head coach of the Nittany Lions and Penn State Basketball was able to hold off Minnesota, Notre Dame and Purdue for the highly rated recruit. Brown is currently the 19th ranked combo guard in the nation.
Could Brown’s commitment be a sign of times to come for Penn State Basketball recruiting under Micah Shrewsberry?
Where things stand … What’s next for Penn State Basketball recruiting?
Jameel Brown plays with Otega Oweh and Dereck Lively.
Why do those names matter to Penn State Basketball fans?
Otega Oweh was the younger brother of Odafe (Jayson) Oweh, a 2021 NFL first round pick for the Baltimore Ravens. Oweh is a four star recrit form New Jersey, and it appears his recruiting will be a battle between Penn State Basketball and Illinois.
Dereck Lively is a five star recruit who hails from Bellefonte, PA, just minutes off the Penn State campus. Lively is, frankly, the greatest recruit Penn State Basketball has ever been in the running for.
While it’s assumed Duke and Kentucky are the front-runners, other finalists include North Carolina, Florida State, Michigan and the Nittany Lions. Lively has all the NBA potential you could want from a college prospect and could significantly change the course of Penn State Basketball recruiting.
If Lively and Oweh committ, the class of 2022 would be the greatest recruiting class in the program’s history.
Previous bests?
2015 — Josh Reaves (NBA G League), Mike Watkins (playing professionally overseas), Devidas Zeumgulis = .9174 rating (41st in the nation)
2016 — Tony Carr (2nd round NBA pick), Lamar Stevens (signed a four year contract with the Cavs) , Joe Hampton (star of Last Chance U on Netflix) and Nazeer Bostick (transferred); Average Rating = .9044 avg. rating (26th in the nation)
2022 — Jameel Brown, Evan Mahaffey, Kanye Clary; Average Rating = .9043 (17th in the nation)
2007 — Jeff Brooks (playing overseas), Talor Battle (coaching at Northwestern), Schyler King
2018 — Myreon Jones (transferred to Florida), Myles Dread, Rasir Bolton (transferred to Iowa State then Gonzaga), Danil Kasatkin, Izaiah Brockington (transferred to Iowa State) = .8783 average rating (57th nationally)
The 2022 class is incomplete, thus the higher ranking the nation than other seasons that have a lower average rating.
Either way, this recruiting class is already amongst the best in Penn State Basketball history and could get even better!