Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1486024
D E C E M B E R 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 MEN'S BASKETBALL M icah Shrewsberry smiled as he listened to the question. Sit- ting at the podium in the Bryce Jordan Center's media room, the Penn State head coach had just witnessed a second historic shooting night in as many games to open the season. Connecting on 16 three-point at- tempts, one game after setting a pro- gram record with 18 three-pointers, the Nittany Lions quickly demonstrated their new, long-range offensive identity. But, in doing so, an inevitable byprod- uct emerged. Feigning surprise when told Penn State had attempted 68 three-pointers in its first two games, Shrewsberry ab- sorbed the rest of the question. "As the season progresses, do you worry about becoming too dependent on the three as your main form of of- fense?" he was asked in the postgame news conference. Shrewsberry didn't wait for a beat to provide his response. "Nope," he said. "Three is more than two." For the Nittany Lions, the sentiment is more than just a punchline this sea- son. They have sought to maintain their sound, tough defensive identity, but all of the moves they've made since the end of Shrewsberry's debut season have been aimed at bringing about a radical offen- sive transformation. They signed two high-scoring super senior transfers, wel- coming combo guard Camren Wynter from Drexel and three-point sniper An- drew Funk from Bucknell. After finishing with the nation's 318th-ranked scoring offense, Penn State was determined to improve. The dramatic nature of that change wasn't immediately clear, however. Shrewsberry had dwelled on the basics during the offseason, noting that Penn State would need to play with great dis- cipline to overcome the graduation of highly productive forward John Harrar. The notion that the Lions could become a team predicated on a contingent of prolific three-point shooters was only hinted at. "We want to be a fundamental team, a solid team. I don't think that will ever change," Shrewsberry said. "Now, how we look and how we do those things could change from year to year. We don't have the same physically imposing big guy like John. But how our guys play should be at the same level in terms of their intensity. I think from now until they no longer want me here, that's who we'll always be. "We have the potential to score a lot better and score a lot easier. Offensively, we could look different in terms of how we play. But that's what we're hanging our hat on — gritty, not pretty." Super senior guard Jalen Pickett THREE DIMENSIONAL Strong perimeter shooting has helped the Nittany Lions get off to a fast start NAT E BAU E R | NAT E . B AU E R @ O N 3 . C O M Through Penn State's first six games, super senior guard Myles Dread was hitting 52.8 percent of his shots from three- point range, ranking 33rd among all Division I players. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE