Penn State Men’s Basketball: Shrewsberry Uncertain of Future, but That Doesn’t Mean He’s Leaving Just Yet

DES MOINES, Iowa. – Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry was noncommittal when asked about his future in State College on Wednesday ahead of the Nittany Lions meeting with Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“That’s a great question,” Shrewsberry said. “There has been a lot of those. I got that question last week at the Big Ten Tournament. I told our guys after the Rutgers game that I felt like I let them down as a coach. I didn’t feel like I did my best. So I told them that will never happen again. That’s all I’m focused on is being that person for them.

“We’ve just played four games in four days. We have had our backs against the wall for three weeks and now I’m getting ready to coach my first opportunity as a head coach to be in an NCAA Tournament game. I don’t have time to focus on anything else but just being the best version for these guys and that’s all I’m focused on. When the off-season comes then I can focus on other things, but I’m tunnel vision on playing this game for our guys tomorrow.”

Pushed to answer the question of whether he’d be Penn State’s coach next season as a “yes”, “no” or an “I don’t know,” Shrewsberry relented.

“It’s an ‘I don’t know.'”

For Penn State fans this is perhaps equal parts refreshing and ominous. It’s unlikely that Shrewsberry — amidst being one of the hottest names in up-and-coming coaching circles — would not at least entertain the calls his rising value will warrant (Georgetown and Notre Dame two popular names, somewhat in no small part due to being two of the few active vacancies). In some respects Shrewsberry’s bout of honesty may feel poorly timed ahead of Penn State’s first NCAA Tournament game in over decade, but at least it’s transparent. It seems likely that Shrewsberry may truly not know, and given Penn State’s pending roster turnover it’s entirely possible that his stock may cool to some degree if the Nittany Lions are in for even a short-term revamp.

Equally true, it’s unlikely that new Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft is not working to the best of his ability around the clock to keep Shrewsberry in State College. Kraft, is a regular fixture next to Penn State’s bench and was a visibly emotional participant throughout the Nittany Lions’ Big Ten Tournament run in Chicago. There may ultimately be nothing Kraft can do to keep Shrewsberry at Penn State is he wants to leave, but it’s probable Shrewsberry is more interested in broader changes and improvements as it pertains to support and development than something like a straightforward raise.

Those are things Kraft could possibly deliver on and would also be in Penn State’s best interest either way. Paying Shrewsberry more just to keep him could turn out to be a poor longterm investment while furthered support and material investment in men’s basketball as a matter of principle is something that will stick around far longer and far more reliably. It would also make Penn State an increasingly more appealing destination which could soften the blow of potentially losing Shrewsberry to more of a short-term setback than existential chaos. For Kraft personally, being able to keep Shrewsberry at Penn State would be his first major accomplishment in his new role and potentially one of his biggest over the course of his tenure.

“I’ve been at programs that haven’t had the most,” Shrewsberry told StateCollege.com prior to the season. “Like at Butler we we weren’t Kansas, we weren’t Kentucky but we did the most with what we had. And I think that’s what we’ll try and do here. Like I don’t know if I’m gonna ask for a lot. It’s just not that important to me. If there’s things that are really important that we need to change, I’m gonna go ask for it. But I’m not gonna ask for something just to have it, right? Like, it’s got to be really important to our program. Really important to our student athletes.”

Asked what it takes to win at Penn State, Shrewsberry echoed an often heard talking point by Penn State football coach James Franklin, who has long lamented, and now increasingly celebrates, the value of aligned administrative support. By all accounts from Franklin that alignment has improved under Kraft and President Neeli Bendapudi. It is, however, interesting to consider the striking differences in budget approaches as Bendapudi pushes for a more fiscally responsible academic wing of the university while Penn State Athletics, which operates under a separate and independent budget, is embracing increasing expenses and investments. These two facts may never clash when it comes to Shrewsberry, but it’s an interesting juxtaposition across campus.

That alignment also, in the eyes of Shrewsberry, extends to the support system and culture of the program.

“I’ve been in a lot of different places,” Shrewsberry said. “But there is a part of it where everybody is in sync. This isn’t like — I feel like really in sync, like our administration, our president, our athletic director, like in sync with that. But every group that’s a Penn Stater needs to be in sync, and when you have a lot of change and a lot of turnover sometimes you get out of sync a little bit, right? Like I can be a Bruce Parkhill guy. I can be a Ed DeChellis guy. I can be a Jerry Dunn guy. I can be a Pat Chambers guy. I can be a Micah Shrewsberry guy. What about being a Penn State guy? Right? Obviously like Purdue, where I just came from, they’ve had Matt Painter and Gene Keady and everybody is a Purdue person, because there’s only been those two coaches, and those two coaches are linked.

“Same thing at Butler. The coaches that they have gone through have all been there, so people are a part of it because they’re Butler people. I think getting everybody in sync and us being a part of it. All those coaches have reached out to me. Which is great. Like during this run, during this tournament I’ve talked to every single one of them. That’s where, like, I’m trying to aim for is, like, we’re Penn State. That’s who we are.”

“You’re not, ‘I played for this coach or that coach or the other.’ I tell the players all the time: ‘This is your program not mine. Absolutely not mine. This is your program. Let’s rally around it in that way.’ I’m happy that this group gets a chance to fire up all Penn Staters about basketball. I’m happy that this group gets a chance to bring everybody together, because I’ve talked to players that have played for all of ’em. They’re all so excited about that.”

That was among the most telling moments in Shrewsberry’s press conference. Penn State’s second-year head coach may not actively be looking to leave, even if he is obligated to entertain the opportunities his rising stock affords him. All the same, Shrewsberry seems unlikely to sacrifice those opportunities for the sake of Penn State if Penn State and the stakeholders, from former players to NIL donors, don’t take the steps they need to in order to keep Shrewsberry even longer.