Micah Shrewsberry deflects question about Notre Dame, Georgetown openings

Following another upset victory by his Penn State squad in the Big Ten tournament, head coach Micah Shrewsberry‘s name is beginning to pop up more and more in conjunction with other coaching vacancies around the country. After picking up the 77-73 victory over Indiana on Saturday to advance to the conferences tournament final against Purdue, Shrewsberry was asked about these rumors. And like former Penn State running back Saquon Barkley avoids defenders, the Nittany Lions head man eluded that line of questioning with ease.

“You know me. I’m like basketball season is going on, I am completely tunnel vision on our team and State High basketball. I missed my kid’s game today. They won by 40. Shout out to State High. Moving on, Little Lions. Moving on to the state tournament,” said Shrewsberry.

“That’s what I’m focused on. I’m happy to be here. Nobody wanted me a few years ago. I’m happy to be here. I love our guys. We’re going to prepare to play for a championship tomorrow.”

With the win over Indiana, Penn State became the first double-digit seed in the Big Ten tournament to make it to the conference final. In this year’s tournament, the Nittany Lions started out by taking down the no. 7 seed Illinois. That was followed by a win over the no. 2 seed Northwestern and then the no. 3 seed Indiana. But it’s not just how Shrewsberry has the Nittany Lions performing in the Big Ten tournament that has him on other programs’ wish lists. It is also how quickly and effectively he was able to turn around the program.

When Shrewsberry took over the program in 2021, the Nittany Lions were fresh off of an 11-14 season. In his first year as head coach, he was able to lead them to a 14-17 record. But even with the sub .500 record, the makings of an impressive basketball squad were already there. Of Penn State’s 17 losses that season, nine of them were by six points or fewer. And in last year’s Big Ten tournament, Penn State made it to the semifinals, where they would fall to the then no. 9 ranked Boilermakers.

Fast forward to this season, and Shrewsberry and the Nittany Lions currently have a 22-12 record and are 10-10 in conference play. And he has gotten the best out of the talent on his roster. Senior guard Jalen Pickett has turned in an impressive season under Shrewsberry. The 6-foot-4 combo guard leads the Nittany Lions in points (17.8) rebounds, (7.4) assists (6.8), and steals (1.0) per game.

Other programs may want the services of Shrewsberry, but his focus is on the here and now with Penn State. Next up for the Nittany Lions is a showdown with Purdue on Sunday. If Shrewsberry can lead Penn State to another upset victory, they will lock up the Big Ten’s automatic bid to this year’s NCAA men’s tournament.