Column: Progress at Rutgers can show path forward for Penn State basketball

Penn State head basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry remembers flipping on the television to catch a Purdue road game at Rutgers. Shrewsberry was an assistant with the Boston Celtics at the time, checking in on the Boilermaker program he’d left as he jumped to the pros.

“There was nobody in that gym,” Shrewsberry said.

“Looking at the crowd, there ain’t nobody there. They’re getting blasted every single night.”

On Sunday, Penn State went into the same building — although it has changed names from The RAC to Jersey Mikes Arena — and encountered an environment that stands among the best in the Big Ten, even the country. Rutgers edged out a 59-58 victory that it absolutely had to have. The Big Ten Network reported that the get-in price for the game was over $400.

Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell took over a program that went 3-33 in its first two seasons in the Big Ten and has steadily elevated it over six years. The Scarlet Knights have finished .500 or better in conference play in each of the last three seasons, culminating in a fourth-place finish this year.

There are inherent differences between Penn State and Rutgers, both institutionally and relative to the basketball programs themselves.

But the mission statement for Shrewsberry seems very similar to Pikiell’s remit: Somehow, someway, bring sustained success to a program that hasn’t had it in decades. And — oh, by the way — do so while playing in arguably the toughest conference in college basketball.

The Scarlet Knights — for the moment — look poised to make a second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, with Joe Lunardi placing them just on the right side of the bubble. Had the pandemic not canceled the 2020 postseason, they’d be looking at three consecutive trips to The Big Dance.

Before Pikiell’s arrival, they’d qualified for the NCAA Tournament only six times — and not since 1991.

Certainly, there will be some eye rolls here from the Penn State faithful who would prefer not to be compared with Rutgers — and who could certainly do without a lesson on how great its program looks at the moment. But the point is not to throw roses over Rutgers’ basketball program, it’s to illustrate that the type of turnaround Penn State is hoping for under Shrewsberry is possible.

It might be hard to envision, but it is possible. A coach can bring a bottom-of-the-barrel Big Ten program to prominence. An arena totally devoid of energy can learn to bounce again, even if it is awkwardly named after a fast-food sandwich chain.

“I’m almost envious,” Shrewsberry said. “My hope is one day to make Penn State this same exact way.”

In Shrewsberry’s view, Pikiell’s accomplishments in Piscataway resulted from a fierce dedication to identity. The Scarlet Knights are tough. They are gritty. They are everything you have to be to win in the Big Ten when nobody expects you to be a factor.

The Scarlet Knights have signed two four-star recruits since 2016. Neither of them are on the roster this season. Ron Harper’s only other power conference offer was Nebraska. Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Caleb McConnell was in the same boat. Geo Baker‘s only other high-major offer was Kansas State.

This is not an argument that talent and athleticism don’t matter. Clearly, the Scarlet Knights were the more gifted of the two teams on the court on Sunday.

It is, however, evidence of the power of resourcefulness and identity.

“Steve Pikeill didn’t care about anybody else’s thoughts on who he recruited in terms of what kind of players they were,” Shrewsberry said. “They fit him. Then he built around that group and now they’re seeing the success of that.”

Rutgers wins ugly. You won’t find high-flying, run-and-gun offense in Piscataway very often. But the Scarlet Knights have the Big Ten’s fourth-best defense, according to KenPom. They play at one of the slowest paces in the conference.

Sound familiar?

In practice, the Scarlet Knights rely on many of the same principles Shrewsberry is trying to instill in year one of his tenure.

“His style, being OK with being ugly every once in a while,” Shrewsberry said.

Shrewsberry, both with his words and the identity his team clearly plays with, feels the same. Penn State pours every ounce of its effort into the defensive side of things. The Lions stay in games by playing at the seventh-slowest pace in college basketball.

“I care about winning. Whether it’s ugly, pretty, however we have to get the job done, “Shrewsberry said. “That’s what we’re gonna do here. We’ll find guys that fit that style. That are tough, that are competitive, that are great teammates, that are great students, that love basketball. I’m gonna find those guys and I’m gonna recruit those guys and those guys are going to carry us to some great things.”