UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A new coaching staff, a strong group of newcomers, and returning veterans has the Penn State men's basketball team eager for a fresh start and, more importantly, a winning season.
The 2021-22 Penn State men's basketball media day showed a team ready to go for the upcoming season, set to tip off on November 10. With a productive summer and fall, and a close-knit group, the Nittany Lions are confident they can reach their goals under new head coach Micah Shrewsberry.
As the official start of the season is set to tip off in just over two weeks, here are the five biggest takeaways from media day.
Core Returnees
Fans will be excited to see a group of familiar faces returning to the court this upcoming season in the Blue and White. That group includes John Harrar, Myles Dread, Seth Lundy, and Sam Sessoms, a quartet that combined for 48 starts last season and all averaged between 10.1 and 7.3 points per game.
With the extra year of eligibility due to the Covid-19 pandemic, returning to Penn State for an extra season was never a hard decision for forward John Harrar.
"I have no regrets coming back," said Harrar. "This is home for sure and I want to do everything in my power to make sure we win this season."
Junior Seth Lundy, the team's top returning scorer at 10.1 points per game, will be returning alongside Harrar with the goal of winning. After considering his options in the spring, Lundy decided returning to Happy Valley was in his best interest.
"Coach Shrewsberry had a big impact on me coming back," said Lundy. "I went into the portal just to weigh my options and I felt like what he had planned for me was better than what any other coach had to offer."
"There were absolutely no doubts in my mind that I wouldn't be returning," said Myles Dread when asked about his decision to return this season. "My job here isn't finished yet."
Dread plays a large role in the backcourt and has been ranked either first or second on the team in three-pointers in each of his first three years at Penn State. He is excited for his senior year alongside fellow senior Sam Sessoms.
Sophomores Caleb Dorsey, Dallion Johnson, and Andy Christos will also be returning for their second year looking to make an impact on the court.
Defense Has Been A Key Focus Point
Shrewsberry emphasized the amount of time the team has spent on defensive philosophies and execution, and admitted that there is a lot he still wants to cover offensively at this early point in the year.
"We're getting there and there's plenty of time to do it," said Shrewsberry. "I know 12 practice opportunities is a lot of time to get to where we need to be."
Offensively, Shrewsberry has them moving the ball a lot faster, focusing on different cuts and different concepts.
"He's teaching us more about reading the defense," said Harrar on Shrewsberry's offensive coaching. "He has us focusing on reading the third defender and not just the first and second one."
A key to that successful offense, Lundy knows what he has to work on in order to ensure he can contribute in the best way he can.
"I'm working on consistency in practice," he said. "I know my job is to score, I just want to be more consistent in my results."
Shrewsberry notes that competing is not an issue for the guys in practice. He loves putting them up together and seeing how hard they compete against each other. The group still has a chance to work and compete for those starting spots on the November 10th season opener.
"Just Win"
In a team meeting earlier in the preseason, the team mentioned one of its biggest goals, to just win. Harrar and Dread are eager to make it to the NCAA tournament this year, and will do whatever it takes to get there.
"Our team slogan this year is 'just win'," Harrar said. "I don't care what it takes to win. I want to see the NCAA tournament."
"I haven't been to the NCAA tournament yet, that's always been a goal of mine," Dread added. "In one of our meetings we made it a goal as a team, and I know what we have to do to accomplish it."
The team has set high goals for this season and Coach Shrewsberry holds them accountable to make sure they are accomplished.
"I want to know what drives them and what motivates them so I can coach them to reach their goals," said Shrewsberry. "I hold them to this winning mentality by telling them, 'You told me you wanted to win, this is what it is going to take, and we stick by that'."
Building Trust
With a new coaching staff and an eager winning mindset, one of the core values this year for the Nittany Lions is trust. Learning how to trust new teammates, coaches, and staff is vital to coach Shrewsberry's ideology in order to have the winning season they hope for.
"You have to be honest with them because that's how you build trust," said Shrewsberry on how he holds the team accountable as a new head coach. "You grow trust through difficult conversation and with fun conversation as well."
This is what inspired Shrewsbury to have the team partake in what he calls the "three-H team bonding activity." Each player went around talking about who the heroes in their life are, what are some of their life highlights, and lastly life hardships.
"If I have to tell the guard that there's a ball screen coming and I'm going to be able to trust that he is going to get the offensive rebound, doing these activities just builds trust," said Harrar. "The three-H activity reminded me that at the end of the day we are all just people."
Shrewsberry feels this activity not only builds trust on the court but allows his players to understand they are people first and that mental health is his main priority.
"We're here to get a great education, we're here to have fun and try and win together. We want to provide entertainment for the people who come and watch us, but we need to have fun and remember there's people going through a lot more in their lives than losing a basketball game here and there" Shrewsberry said.
Legion of Blue Returns
After a long hiatus since the start of the global pandemic, the Legion of Blue and basketball fans will be welcomed back into the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
"We're excited as can be to have fans back," said Coach Shrewsberry. "Playing without fans forces you as a team to bring your own energy, and we still want to do that, but we want the rowdy students, the Legion of Blue, and all of Nittany Nation to help us. I think we are going to put out a product that they will be proud of."
By the time the season tips off on November 10, fans will be allowed to return to the BJC for a Penn State basketball game for the first time in 617 days. Coaches, players, and staff are thrilled to see the energy they will bring.
