Penn State basketball entered a new era Sunday when new coach Micah Shrewsberry arrived in Happy Valley with his family and got to see all of his new surroundings for the first time.
Shrewsberry’s previous team, Purdue, was upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday by North Texas, which allowed him to get to PSU a little earlier than expected. An assistant coach with the Boilermakers, he was set to stay with them throughout their run in the NCAA Tournament.
There’s no question, though, that having Shrewsberry get to Penn State a week or two early can only help, since he has a whole lot of things to do on his agenda.
Six PSU players have entered the transfer portal, so the new coach may try to see if he can convince some to stay. He also has to start recruiting hard, since the Lions are way behind in that regard, as well.
RELATED: What the hell happened to Penn State with six players entering transfer portal?
There was some interesting news on the recruiting front Sunday that could impact Penn State, and we’ll get to more on that in a bit.
Penn State posted several videos online showing Shrewsberry’s arrival and welcoming to State College. There also is an outstanding photo gallery that can be found here.
Welcome to Happy Valley, Shrewsberry family! 🏡#WeAre pic.twitter.com/7dE4VIlbZS
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) March 21, 2021
There's no place like home! 🏡 @Coach_Shrews takes a walk around the @JordanCenter with his family! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/M0Bx90uot0
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) March 21, 2021
.@Coach_Shrews taking a look around the Men's Basketball Wing!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/P0lbR6rAwv
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) March 21, 2021
An office with a view ☀️
Watch as @Coach_Shrews sits at his Head Coach's desk for the first time! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/in9ra7V8lQ
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) March 21, 2021
It’s not a campus tour without stopping by the Lion Shrine to meet some Penn State fans! 🦁#WeAre pic.twitter.com/2EopQgiuPG
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) March 21, 2021
Recruiting update
Shrewsberry was the lead recruiter for 4-star prospect Jameel Brown from Philadelphia, who had committed to Purdue. But with Shrewsberry’s departure from the Boilermakers, Brown made news himself Sunday when he decommitted. Here’s what the 6-foot-4, 190-pound combo guard posted on Twitter:
— ripmommom (@JameelBrown1) March 21, 2021
The hope from Penn State’s perspective, of course, is that perhaps Shrewsberry can flip Brown from his former stop to his new one. That sort of thing happens a good bit in college sports when a coach takes on a new job somewhere.
Here is what Brown told 247Sports on Sunday, and there’s a lot of noteworthy stuff about Shrewsberry:
“Coach Shrewsberry leaving impacted me a lot,” he said. “He was one of the main people recruiting me and I have a great relationship with him. I feel like with him leaving it’s not a diss on Purdue but I just want to make sure it’s the right decision for me to go there.”
“I recently spoke with coach Shrewsberry and he wants me and I’ll always have that relationship with him,” he said. “He was the main recruiter to get me to Purdue and he said he’ll always have a spot for me.”
“Our relationship has always been the same he was contacting me throughout my injury so he’s definitely loyal to me and he says I’m one of his priorities now too.”
Penn State will still have a whole lot of competition when it comes to recruiting the highly touted Brown.
Since reopening his recruitment this afternoon, four-star junior Jameel Brown tells @Stockrisers that he has heard from Virginia Tech, Georgia, Pittsburgh, and Xavier.
I expect plenty of programs to enter the mix over the next few days, in addition to those listed above. https://t.co/fSTQRzzK9k
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) March 21, 2021
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