Micah Shrewsberry provides NIL picture clarity at Penn State

Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry didn’t say the three letters at his November signing day press conference. But, in stressing the importance of fan support for the Nittany Lions men’s basketball program, the subtext was clear. 

In an era of college athletics in which name, image, and likeness rules have created a new paradigm, in essence, Penn State needs all the help it can get. 

Wednesday afternoon as a guest on the BWI Penn State Hoops Podcast, Shrewsberry opened up more on the subject and its impact on the program. Calling NIL a “controversial” topic for many people, he acknowledged it as a front-and-center reality to address.

“Right now, you have to adjust to what’s happening in the times,” Shrewsberry said. “It’s something that, it’s really big. It’s really big in recruiting and it’s really big in player retention.”

Micah Shrewsberry’s NIL push

How big?

Coming out of back-to-back top-30 recruiting classes in which the Nittany Lions have landed eight highly-rated prospects, Shrewsberry suggested that relationships were primary to those successes. But, he added, in many ways the signing of the Class of 2022, when NIL was still in its infancy, and the Class of 2023, highlighted by Carey Booth, Logan Imes, and his son, were unique fortunate circumstances.

Unable to count on the same 

“We got guys. But we also lost guys,” Shrewsberry said. “We’re not gonna be like Illinois. Illinois is one of the best in the league right now with what they’re doing with NIL. But we have to do something. That’s something where we can’t fall behind.

LISTEN: Micah Shrewsberry joins the BWI Penn State Hoops Podcast

“It’s about what you want as a program and what you’re happy with. If we have a little bit more that we’re offering to our guys, or that we’re doing for our team in NIL, that top 30 class is probably top 15 in the country. Just one or two more guys.”

Instead, Shrewsberry offered a blunt assessment of Penn State’s basketball NIL war chest. 

If Illinois is at the top, and Purdue, a program he mentioned as being strong in its support, is also among the best in the Big Ten, Penn State is decidedly not. 

“I can’t speak for everybody, but I would say of 14 teams in the Big Ten, we’re probably 14. Maybe 13,” Shrewsberry said. “So it’s just about who we want to be as a program. What are we willing to say is going to be our standard? 

“Because, I can be as good of a coach in the world, but if you don’t have as good of players, it doesn’t matter. Or, if you do a great job with your development, you find a kid, you develop him, and then somebody comes in and they have something for him, that’s kids, that’s life right now, and that’s what’s happening.”

Next steps

Determined to be competitive in the space, insisting that a funding match isn’t necessary, but that the baseline can’t be zero, Shrewsberry laid out his vision for Penn State basketball now and into the future as it adjusts to the new competitive landscape of the sport.

“A lot to nothing is hard to overcome,” Shrewsberry said. “A lot to something, and then the relationship starts to kick in and make a little bit of ground up.

“I’m never going to complain. We need as much help as we can get. But also, it’s your choice. I’m going to keep coaching, I’m going to keep trying to find good kids, I’m going to keep trying to retain the kids that we have, we’re going to keep making them better. But I want to build this thing into something really good.”

Penn State is off to a 7-3 start on the 2022-23 season, notching a 74-59 upset at Illinois on Saturday. The Nittany Lions return to action Sunday when they host Canisius at the Bryce Jordan Center.