Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1445781
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 3 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M M icah Shrewsberry was admittedly unsure of the timeline for his first season with the Penn State men's bas- ketball program. Having taken the job with the Nittany Lions last spring, the former assistant to Matt Painter at Purdue and Brad Stevens at both Butler and with the NBA's Boston Celtics understood how the trajectory should look. Returning a mix of starters and heavy contributors and bringing in veteran newcomers acquired through the transfer portal, Shrewsberry expected progress. But at what pace? Halfway into the first season of his tenure, that timeline has crystallized. The Nittany Lions were competitive through the first third of the Big Ten season, creating a sense of possibility heading into February. With victories against Indiana and Rutgers, plus a road win at Northwestern, Penn State was 8-7 overall and 3-4 in Big Ten play heading into a Jan. 22 visit to Iowa and was undeniably improved. "I think we're constantly growing. I think we're constantly getting bet- ter," Shrewsberry said. "I've always thought this team would take time with a lot of new pieces, a lot of guys play- ing together for the first time, every- body playing for me for the first time. It's a constant learning process, and I thought we would get better as the sea- son went on." Since turning the calendar to 2022, the team has done that. The Lions began the season on a see- saw. During the first month of the cam- paign, they never won more than two in a row but also never lost more than two in a row. In December, the Lions had three consecutive nonconference games can- celed due to COVID-19. Forced into a 22-day layoff, Shrewsberry doubled down on an approach that was already central to his big-picture view of the program and its trends. "I had an extended amount of time," he said. "Even though I've seen them, maybe there's something I'm missing. Maybe there's something that we can get better at. So, I watched all 10 games. "You get the chance to see everything. Without that amount of time, I wouldn't have been able to do that as deeply. It was, I guess, a blessing and a curse in some ways. In the middle of the season, you don't normally get to go that deep into your team. You get a chance to do some things and look at some numbers, but not to do the numbers and the film and every- thing else. I was making projects up, I was that bored." Coming out of the unplanned layoff, the Lions won three of their first five games in January before a COVID-19 out- break at Minnesota forced the postpone- ment of the Gophers' visit to the Bryce Jordan Center on Jan. 19. The key to PSU's upswing was a strong performance defensively. During that five-game span, they held three oppo- nents to 61 or fewer points, and their two losses — both to ranked opponents — were by a combined 12 points. But Shrewsberry has been unwilling to settle for mere competitiveness and has continued to push for the kind of im- provements that will be necessary to turn close losses into wins. After a 61-56 loss to Ohio State on Jan. 16, he complained about the team's lack of discipline, citing the season-high 25 fouls that PSU com- mitted against the Buckeyes. "Good is the enemy of great," he said, Lions Showing Signs Of Progress In Shrewsberry's Debut Season N A T E B A U E R | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Shrewsberry led the Nittany Lions to eight wins in his first 15 games as head coach and was eager to see continued development in the final month of the regular season. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL