Penn State takes defensive strides, sticking to plan: Notes

Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry is leaning into the plan. His Nittany Lions stocked up on shooters in the offseason and have established themselves as one of the nation’s most proficient, electric teams from beyond the arc. 

And Shrewsberry is fully intending to see that continue the rest of this season.

Coming off a 2-1 set at the Charleston Classic last weekend, Shrewsberry visited with the media to take stock of the Nittany Lions as they continue through their successful nonconference slate:

Setting the formula

Among the top teams in made 3-pointers, 3-point attempts, and 3-point shooting percentage, the season’s opening stretch has offered an opportunity for self-reflection. Held under 60 points only by Virginia Tech, Penn State isn’t denying its interior size soft spots. But, with a resolve to shoot well and shoot often from deep, the course for the season is set. 

“The strength of our team is our shooting, and us being able to have multiple guys that can spread the floor, that can shoot, that can move it to each other. We have to buy into that and I think we’ve done a good job of doing it,” Shrewsberry said. “People also know what our strength is. So their game plan is to try and take that away, and I think that’s where we have to be good is to take advantage of that. So I think that’s gonna continue to be a growth process for us, of knowing this is who we are, this is who we want to be, and let’s continue to play to our style. 

“When people allow us to play that way, we’re really hard to guard, we’re really hard to deal with. We got to be the same exact way when they don’t allow us to do that, which some people are trying to do.”

Still, Shrewsberry continued, all of it is built upon a foundation of defense at Penn State that hasn’t diminished. 

“Whether the ball goes in or not, we’re gonna guard somebody every single game. So, we’re gonna be in it. We’re gonna give ourselves a chance,” Shrewsberry said. “We don’t play off our offense. Not at all. We’re gonna guard you, whether the ball’s going in or the ball’s not going in. So, we’re gonna give ourselves a chance.”

Pushing for playing time

Picking spots for Penn State’s true freshmen to earn valuable time, Shrewsberry turned to 6-6 wing Evan Mahaffey for his most extensive action against Virginia Tech. Scoring 4 points over 16 minutes, Mahaffey notched 5 rebounds and an assist. He built upon it with a block and a bucket over six minutes against Colorado State.

Against increasingly athletic opponents, Shrewsberry said Mahaffey has the qualities to compete for Penn State. 

“Once you start stepping up to a higher level of competition, the athleticism, the length, the speed, all those things are really important. And he’s got all three,” Shrewsberry said. “You can throw him out there and see what he’s going to do because he has the ability to make some plays that frankly, other people can’t make, just because they haven’t been blessed with the wingspan or athleticism that he has. 

“He still makes mistakes. There are still things that he’s doing offensively and defensively that, he’s still unsure of himself a little bit offensively. So how we’re using him and what we’re doing right now is not who he is going forward. He is just trying to help us win in any way possible.”

Shrewsberry started Kebba Njie for the first time this season against Colorado State. Fellow true freshmen Kanye Clary and Mahaffey also were featured early in the rotation against the Rams.

Where Penn State is, where it’s going

Given the tight turnaround of three games in four days, Shrewsberry said Penn State resisted the urge to turn its attention entirely to cramming for the next opponent. And now, having returned to campus late Sunday night, with a day off on Monday, the program is determined to take advantage of its longest stretch of uninterrupted practice time since the start of the season.

Returning to action Friday at the Bryce Jordan Center against Lafayette (7 p.m., BTN+), Shrewsberry took stock of where the Nittany Lions now are.

“We went into those games really trusting our system, is what we talked about a lot. Trusting what we do on offense, trusting what we do on defense, and making the adjustments that we needed to make possible to try and win the game. And I thought we did that,” Shrewsberry said. “I thought we could have been a little bit sharper in each of those games, where it took us too long to adjust to what we need to do. That’s learning experiences for us as a team.

“I thought we played really hard. I thought our defense made strides. Even during the Butler game, it started really turning the tide in that way. I like where we are right now. Even though I like where we are, we still got a long way to go. But we’re working towards it. You see positive steps.”