Micah Shrewsberry’s departure Wednesday rocked Penn State basketball.
Shrewsberry is leaving for Notre Dame, and that creates a lot of uncertainty for Penn State’s future.
Who will be the next coach?
Will Penn State get back to the NCAA Tournament soon?
Will this inspire the university to invest in the men’s basketball program?
Among the list of uncertainties is what will happen with Penn State’s 2023 recruiting class.
Logan Imes was one of three young men who signed with Penn State basketball in November, planning on being part of a bright hoops future in Happy Valley.
In this idyllic future, the plan was for Shrewsberry to lead Penn State to prosperity with Imes playing a big part.
Now, Shrewsberry is gone, and Imes doesn’t know what he’s going to do yet.
“Throughout the whole recruiting process, I’ve loved Coach Shrews and the staff,” Imes told Nittany Sports Now via text message Wednesday. “They were a huge role in me coming to Penn State.”
Imes went in to say that his appreciation for Penn State goes beyond Micah Shrewsberry.
“I also love Penn State University as a school,” he said. “So with all this news breaking, I’m just going to take some time to think about my decision and talk about it with my family and those close around me.”
NSN also talked with Imes last March after he committed to Penn State.
He described Shrewsberry as an “awesome guy.”
“And he’s funny,” Imes said. “He likes to joke around, which is good. I mean, you know, you like goofy dudes. You like dudes that relate to your personality. So yeah, Micah’s a great guy.”
Micah isn’t the only Shrewsberry that Imes has grown close with.
Imes, a Zionsville, Indiana, native, played AAU basketball with Shrewsberry’s son, Braeden, when the two were freshmen in high school and Micah was an assistant at Purdue.
Braeden Shrewsberry was the first player to commit to Penn State’s ‘23 Class, doing so in November 2021, and Imes followed. So knowing both the elder and younger Shrewsberry was a big draw in Imes coming to Penn State.
”Having that connection before even starting the recruiting process (gave Penn State a) step ahead (of) most people,” Imes said. “Penn State’s not super close to where Zionsville is, but knowing that I have people out there that care for me and know me as a person and (have known) me for a while is a comforting feeling.”
Now, things are anything but comfortable in Happy Valley.
Nothing is confirmed yet, but one would think Braeden Shrewsberry is unlikely to play at Penn State for obvious reasons. The futures of Imes and Carey Booth are up in the air.
Booth, a four-star who is Penn State’s highest-rated of the three signees and second-highest-rated ever behind Tony Carr according to 247Sports, is a legacy. His father, Calvin, was a star at Penn State in the 1990s and is currently the Denver Nuggets’ general manager.
So that could give Penn State in advantage in keeping him. At the same time, Booth, like the other two, was recruited by Micah Shrewsberry.
The three were also recruited by Shrewsberry’s top assistant, Adam Fisher, a man who many want to be Penn State’s next coach— including some of Penn State’s leaders from this year’s NCAA Tournament team.
Imes grew close to Fisher over the recruiting process.
“He’s become like family over the last seven, eight months,” Imes said in March. “Which is super awesome. Out of everyone that was recruiting me, Coach Fish was always there. He was always there for me, texting me after every game, multiple times a week. He was great. He’s definitely one of the main reasons I’m coming to Penn State.”
Almost a year later, Imes didn’t openly endorse Fisher the way Jalen Pickett and others have.
But he feels Penn State should consider him.
“Coach Fish is an awesome coach,” Imes said, “and has felt like family this last year and a half of recruiting. He also is a great basketball mind, and deserves to be looked at for the job. I hope that he is considered for it.”
Last spring, Imes told NSN that Micah Shrewsberry “knows what it takes to win, and I believe in my abilities to help that.”
Shrewsberry proved the first part of that quote true this past season by taking Penn State to its first NCAA Tournament and Big Ten Championship Game since 2011 and getting leading it to its first NCAA Tournament win since 2001.
That’s why Notre Dame wanted him.
But if Imes is to stay with Penn State basketball, he’ll have to help another coach.
