Penn State Sports Magazine
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4 8 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M N ew Penn State men's basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry readily describes himself as a people person. He took his first head coaching job with the Nittany Lions in the middle of a global pandemic, which shut out the face-to-face relationship building he thrives on in favor of screens. This summer, though, Shrewsberry found himself in more of the social situ- ations he enjoys, working to build the foundation of his program through the community, and through his program's alumni. "It's their program, Penn State bas- ketball," Shrewsberry said in August. "They were a huge part of building this program." Shrewsberry and his staff took part in the annual Coaches vs. Cancer golf event at the Penn State golf facilities in late August, and, while the pandemic prevented former players and celebrities from returning to campus to serve as captains, as tradition dictates, Shrews- berry said he appreciated the oppor- tunity to connect with the Penn State community and serve a worthy cause nonetheless. ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL? Shrewsberry is a massive college football fan. He has discussed renting an RV and traveling to big games around the coun- try with his friend and mentor, Brad Stevens, the head coach of the Boston Celtics. Well, Micah, you've come to the right place. College football season is a mas- sive deal in Happy Valley — everybody knows that. But it's also a key time of year for the basketball staff, which uses home football games to showcase what the university is all about to prospects. "Now we get a chance to show our recruits the spirit of Penn State and how they rally around their teams," Shrews- berry said. "For some of these guys, they've never had the college experi- ence, so it's introducing them to Penn State and how the atmosphere is going to be. "It's a football game, but this same atmosphere can happen with basketball if we do it the right way." SUMMER SHOWCASE Lamar Stevens, who established himself as one of Penn State's all-time greats by the time he left campus in 2020, had a nice showing for the Cleve- land Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League. Stevens played in five games, post- ing 14.6 points per game on 45 percent shooting. He also contributed 6.4 re- bounds and 2.4 assists per game. It's unclear what his role will be in his second season with the Cavaliers, but the former Nittany Lion certainly made a strong case for himself this summer. ■ MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK Micah Shrewsberry Building Relationships In The Penn State Community DAV I D E C K E R T | D AV I D E C K E R T 9 8 @ G M A I L . C O M PSU To Face Buckeyes In Big Ten Opener Penn State's complete men's basketball schedule was released on Sept. 8. The Nit- tany Lions will play a 20-game Big Ten slate in Micah Shrewsberry's debut season as head coach, beginning with a Dec. 5 conference matchup against visiting Ohio State. PENN STATE 2021-22 MEN'S BASKEBALL SCHEDULE DATE OPPONENT TIME Nov. 10 Youngstown State TBA Nov. 15 at Massachusetts TBA Nov. 18 St. Francis Brooklyn TBA Nov. 22 Cornell TBA Nov. 26 LSU at Niceville, Fla. 7 p.m. Nov. 27 Oregon State or Wake Forest at Niceville, Fla. 4 or 7 p.m. Dec. 1 Miami (Fla.) TBA Dec. 5 Ohio State TBA Dec. 8 Wagner TBA Dec. 11 at Michigan State TBA Dec. 18 at VCU TBA Dec. 22 Quinnipiac TBA Dec. 29 Delaware State TBA Jan. 2 Indiana TBA Jan. 5 at Northwestern TBA Jan. 8 Purdue TBA Jan. 11 Rutgers TBA Jan. 16 at Ohio State TBA Jan. 19 Minnesota TBA Jan. 22 at Iowa TBA Jan. 26 at Indiana TBA Jan. 31 Iowa TBA Feb. 5 at Wisconsin TBA Feb. 8 Michigan TBA Feb. 12 at Minnesota TBA Feb. 15 Michigan State TBA Feb. 21 at Maryland TBA Feb. 25 Northwestern TBA Feb. 28 Nebraska TBA March 3 at Illinois TBA March 6 at Rutgers TBA March 9-13 Big Ten Tournament at Indianapolis TBA Shrewsberry is getting set to begin his first season as the Nittany Lions' head coach, having been hired in March. MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS