Penn State Basketball: Reasonable expectations for this season

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Dec 5, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Micah Shrewsberry talks with guard Myles Dread (2) during the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Bryce Jordan Center. Ohio State defeated Penn State 76-64. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Finding the ‘happy medium’

This is something we discuss a lot with the football team. How do you be as competitive as possible this season but also understand you have a ton of young talent that needs experience?

This is easier in basketball than football because you can put a young player in for a couple minutes and still have four experienced players out there with them handling the majority of the offensive workload.

It’s understandable that Shrewsberry will play his starters and rotational pieces as much as possible, he should be going for wins. But getting young guys like Clary, Brown and Mahaffey some experience wouldn’t hurt either.

Early in the season against lesser competition will be the best time to evaluate this young talent. Shrewsberry and his staff can then figure out who can handle some minutes in Big Ten play and who may need some more development.

The problem with this is that unlike in football, freshman in basketball burn their redshirt the second they step on the floor. That means Shrewsberry and his staff may have already decided which freshmen they will play, and which will use the season as a developmental year.

So, while we may not see everyone from that talented recruiting class, we should still expect to see the ones that are deemed “game ready” get valuable experience.

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