Penn State is “prepared to make a significant, long-term financial commitment” to basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry, college basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported late Friday afternoon.
Per Rothstein, this commitment is expected to take place “as soon as the Nittany Lions conclude their season.”
Source: Penn State is prepared to make a significant, long-term financial commitment to Micah Shrewsberry as soon as the Nittany Lions conclude their season.
Shrewsberry has been linked to other high profile jobs.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 17, 2023
This report comes less than 24 hours after Penn State handled Texas A&M, 76-59, for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2001. It was the first tournament game Penn State had played since 2011, when it lost to Temple in the first round.
After Penn State’s win, Rothstein tweeted that the school should do what it could do keep Shrewsberry around.
“In the past five days, Penn State won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in 22 years and nearly won the Big Ten Tournament,” Rothstein tweeted. “If the school likes winning, it should get a long-term deal done with Micah Shrewsberry ASAP.”
In the past five days, Penn State won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in 22 years and nearly won the Big Ten Tournament.
If the school likes winning, it should get a long-term deal done with Micah Shrewsberry ASAP. https://t.co/xSR1RCk8ta
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 17, 2023
It’s hard to argue with Rothstein’s logic.
When Shrewsberry took the Penn State job in 2021, the program was coming off a losing season and in the middle of a decade-long tournament drought. In the 2020-21 season, Penn State didn’t have a full-time coach.
Jim Ferry ran the show after Pat Chambers’s sudden resignation amid a pandemic.
It took Shrewsberry just two seasons to get Penn State back to winning.
But one of the downsides to Shrewsberry and Penn State’s success is that other more basketball-rich schools want him.
Shrewsberry has been linked to the open positions at Notre Dame and Georgetown.
Notre Dame’s job is open for the first time since 2000 due to longtime coach Mike Brey’s resignation.
Georgetown finished 7-25 this season and fired Patrick Ewing after six seasons as a result.
Reports about Shrewsberry’s future will ramp up even further after Penn State’s season ends, whenever that may be. But for now, Penn State is still playing. Its next game is Saturday night against second-seeded Texas in the Round of 32. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:45 on CBS.
