Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry Press Conference
MICAH SHREWSBERRY: I'm excited to represent Penn State here. I've had a chance to coach in a few NCAA Tournaments, but this is the first time in Des Moines, so excited to play in front of a great, basketball knowledgeable crowd. Texas A&M is really, really good opponent. Getting a chance now to go through their tape for a few days and prepare for them. Just a talented team. Their guards are special. They are elite and attacking the rim, being able to score, being able to get to the free throw line and really, really, really good rebounding team, one of the best in the country, if not the best in the country.
We're going to have to hold our own on the offensive glass and keep these guys off the free throw line but it's going to be a great challenge and we're looking forward to it.
Q. Coach, just want to ask what's the support been like from fans and alumni leading up to this point and what are you hoping to see from Penn Staters in the arena?
MICAH SHREWSBERRY: It's been great seeing everybody rally around this team. Once I got here my main goal was to just put a team together that Penn State would be proud of. I think what this group does in the classroom, in the community and on the court, I hope all Penn Staters are proud of this group, because it is a group that's easy to root for and rally behind.
I don't know what to expect tomorrow. That will be a surprise for us all! But the one thing about Penn Staters is they're everywhere. So I'm sure there is a good group here that's coming to support us, and we need it. We will need and can't wait to hear every bit of support.
Q. Micah, obviously you've touched on how keeping them off the offensive glass is going to be key. Your team just faced two of the hardest offensive rebounding assignments in the country in Trace Jackson-Davis and Zach Edey. How much will that experience help with this match-up?
MICAH SHREWSBERRY: It helps. Part of what we do and how we defend, a lot goes into it, right? We talk about the kind of shots that we need to force and everything else. You've got to finish it on the glass. It's been a challenge for us. We've been a good defensive rebounding team all season but now you're going to get tested by one of the best teams in the country. Playing Illinois who was a good offensive rebounding team that will send a bunch of guys to the glass, similar to how Texas A&M does, and following up with Indiana, Northwestern is a really good rebounding team. Purdue is a good rebounding team. We have had a chance to practice but you gotta do it. That's the name of the game. You have to do it every single time and you can't be satisfied with doing it once. You box out once and get a rebound. The next time it's not okay to miss, you gotta continue to do it. That's our challenge for forty minutes.
Q. Micah, I think a lot of Penn State fans like not only what you've done with this team but they like you. Are you going to be the Penn State coach next season?
MICAH SHREWSBERRY: That's a great question. 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. Right?
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.
Q. Micah, going back a couple years when you were going through the interview process that brought you to Penn State, what were you looking for in a head coaching opportunity? What specifically attracted you to Penn State?
MICAH SHREWSBERRY: Penn State fit a lot of what I was looking for. One, the great opportunity in the midwest. It felt like coming to State College, felt like being home. It felt like a huge part of that and the places where I've been. They were all pretty similar. Coaching in the Big Ten is a big deal. I grew up in the Big Ten and coaching in that is a really big deal. But then it's people. People is the biggest thing for me. I'm a people person, and you get a feel for that. Penn State is -- as large of a school as it is, it fits what I look for from, like, my Division III background, somewhere you can get a great education, somewhere where there are great people around you and somewhere where you can have success.
It fit the box for every single one of those places. That's why I was thrilled, like, you know, to have this opportunity. The people around it have been absolutely great, and wonderful. I love the relationship I have with the other coaches, right? Like, Coach K and I are texting about each other being in the Championship this week. Coach Franklin was at the gym as we were leaving. Carolyn Kieger, Katie Cawley were both there as we were leaving. All the coaches have reached out and texted. That's a tight-knit community, that's a tight-knit family and I'm big on family as well.
Q. Micah, how have you handled the last few days when it comes to balancing the preparation and making sure guys are fresh after playing four in four days?
MICAH SHREWSBERRY: I don't know, I guess your biggest ability is availability. You gotta be fresh. When we are at our best, we're fresh. Purdue is a great opponent, but playing four games in four days was tough on our group that plays a lot of minutes. I don't think we were at our best the entire time. Like I said, not to take anything away from Purdue, they were awesome and a bad match-up for us. But I don't think we were at our best physically, obviously, playing those quick turn arounds, especially playing two night games and then it flips to an afternoon game and an afternoon game, so it takes away some of your preparation.
So we have tried to get that back here in the last couple of days. We have an older group of guys that don't need as much reps. We can do more mental reps to see what we're doing and walk through what we're doing so they're ready to go. I feel good about where we are and what we've done and we got one more day to continue to get ready. We're ready for a dog fight tomorrow.
Q. Micah, you talked about manifesting this moment. Now that you're here, what's it like to be sitting up here having these moments, these press conferences?
MICAH SHREWSBERRY: I'm having a blast. I'm having a blast. I love coaching this team. I love coaching this group of guys. I don't -- like when I got here, like I don't have patience. I knew it would be a challenge but my goal was always to get to the NCAA Tournament and have our program there,.
And we were able to do it in two years. But a big part of that is the guys sitting in that locker room and the guys that we have. I love coaching them, I love coming in every single day and being with them. This is special. This is what everybody is hoping for. There are people sitting at home and not getting a chance to play in this and our guys get to play. We get to play another game tomorrow and I'm so excited for that.
Q. If someone can fix the things they would fix in a program they are trying to work toward that. How do you in the course of the year itemize the things that you want for your program and do you have a timeline in mind of inevitably putting this behind you, whatever "it" might be?
MICAH SHREWSBERRY: I said it last week, I am completely tunnel vision. I don't think about anything outside of our basketball team. And my family. That's it. That's all I got time to give energy to. I got a big family and I got a big basketball team that is also my family.
So things that are outside of our program, like those are things that, like, what do we need to get better, what do we need to do? Those are things I will think about when the season is over. Right now I just want to enjoy this with our guys and continue to push forward and continue to do something special. All my focus goes to that. It goes to this game and the State High game tonight.
Q. The three previous Penn State head coaches have made the tournament combined two times. You've made it once in year two. What does it take to win at Penn State?
MICAH SHREWSBERRY: Continue to do something special. I've been in a lot of different places, 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. This is -- 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.
Let's keep that going. Let's be one family, and let's keep rolling in one direction, and let's keep going to tournaments every single year.
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Student-Athlete Press Conference: Myles Dread, Andrew Funk, Seth Lundy, Jalen Pickett, Camren Wynter
THE MODERATOR: We are pleased to be joined by the Penn State student-athletes.
Q. Guys, when we spoke in Chicago most of you admitted you didn't know much about Texas A&M right after the selection came out. Since then what have you learned about your upcoming opponent?
CAMREN WYNTER: They're a great team. Have two really good guards, high scoring. They rebound the ball well and like to play in the paint. I think after watching film we figured out that they're a very good team, obviously to have a run like that in the SEC you have to be good.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Like Cam said, they do a great job rebounding the ball and taking charges and being physical with you. They're a really good team.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Like I said before, they are a team that was in and out of the rankings, top-25 rankings all season so that showed they're a good team. I believe they were 15-3 in the conference, in a really good conference and I know they're physical and they like to play fast and play with a lot of pace and stuff like that.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Definitely physical, athletic, well coached. Coach Williams has done a great job at many different places including there. Had a great run in the SEC and you don't do that by being an average team so going to have to bring our best stuff on Thursday.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: They said it all, really, they're a physical team, very athletic, big, strong, well coached.
Q. Seth, I imagine you saw a lot of SEC basketball on the tape. How would you characterize the SEC relative to the Big Ten?
SETH LUNDY: I would say that the SEC plays a lot faster. I would say they're more athletic and stuff like that. They have a lot of long and athletic guards that can really score the ball. I feel like the Big Ten has a lot of -- like the best bigs in the country and I feel like the SEC has a lot of really good guards and wing players.
Q. How about their three-point shooting.
SETH LUNDY: I believe they like to attack the rim more.
Q. When Micah Shrewsberry first started to sell you on coming to Penn State, what was his vision and what would you describe it's like to play for Micah?
JALEN PICKETT: His vision was us competing for championships, like we did this year, and going to March Madness and seeing where Penn State can go. I think we fulfilled that, and my two years here they got the ball rolling and changed the culture for Penn State basketball tried to make it more of a national stage. And I think Micah is going to do a great job of not just making this a one-time thing. I feel like he's going to do it a couple times. For me it's been a joy to play with him. He's got me up here with a couple of great guys, bringing in Cam and Funk to help us achieve these goals.
Q. Myles, obviously all of you guys have grinded out careers at the college level in different places. You most of all have been put the entire time and that's just how your career panned out. What does this moment mean to you, especially if you go back a couple years, where you would have made the tournament and then COVID happens, and you have to walk out of the Jordan Center saying maybe that was my chance?
MYLES DREAD: It means the world. I don't get here without the guys before me and with the guys to my left. Like the work we put in this year, how connected of a team we are. The team chemistry we built throughout the year, it goes to show in the last few games that we've played how when things got tight, we just got closer together and made plays down the stretch. It means the world that we are here on the biggest stage to finish my ride out.
Q. Talk about what that ride has been like since you all found out you were coming here?
MYLES DREAD: From the send-off yesterday, the Penn State fans have been nothing but supportive. They show a lot of love and have given us nothing but the best praises since they found out we were going to the tournament. I'm excited to keep that going.
ANDREW FUNK: Having the program on the national stage and the support we've seen from it has been incredible. Even just seeing -- I haven't been here for four years, this is my first year here, but I knew guys like Lamar Stevens and Tony Carr who have played here before, and seeing them step up and support us, as well, it means a lot and we're going to hope to continue that momentum going forward.
SETH LUNDY: This experience has been great for me, and not just me but everybody on this team. We fought all season to get here for this moment. Now that we're here, it's everything that we expect it to be, but we still got more games to play and we not satisfied.
JALEN PICKETT: For me it's been an up-and-down season. I love to see our guys come together as a family and our fans really get behind us and support us for all our hard work that we've done and for us to get on a winning streak and see so much alumni and the fans really care about Penn State basketball has been special to me.
CAMREN WYNTER: I would say it's been great from the former players to the alumni to our fans now. They have been really supportive to us since we made the tournament. From the send-off to this moment now it's just a relief to be here and obviously, like Seth said, we have more games to play and there's more to do.
Q. Jalen, when you watch film of Texas A&M, who do they remind you of in the Big Ten?
JALEN PICKETT: A combination of Michigan State and Illinois. They send a lot of people to the glass, they play fast in transition and they have really good guards. For us it's going to be hard to contain their guards and keep them off the boards and allow us to play offense at a faster pace once we grab those rebounds and go.
Q. You have seen your fair share of change in the time you have been at Penn State. How much has this year sort of been a reward for, not to staying put but kind of holding the belief in what you had?
SETH LUNDY: Always belief. Once I was being recruited by Coach, he told me the vision that he had, not just for me but for this program. And I trusted him and believed in him and I stuck with him and everything he's doing with his recruiting class and getting good transfers in, I believe that we could have made it here and that's exactly what we did. Like Coach said, we didn't just want to get here, we want to win some games, too.
Q. Jalen, you used the word "joy" to say what it's like to play for him. Could you unpack that? Why is it such a joy to play for him?
JALEN PICKETT: After our last couple of games going to the tournament, he put up a poster talking about believe. We were slapping it before, but he would hit it too and it was just an energy, joy and a passion. Like we just won this game in the Big Ten Tournament. We can compete with anybody. That was joy. Everybody was excited for each other and cheering for each other and we believe that we can play anybody and beat anybody. It's been a crazy ride and we're still trying to go.
Q. Obviously all you guys have -- Jalen, Funk and Wynter, you guys are all transfers, but for Seth and Myles, you guys have been on a lot of close-knit teams at Penn State, but how close is this group and how far do you think this team can continue to go?
SETH LUNDY: I believe this team is very well-connected, especially off the court. Coach always tell us that a lot of people reach out to him and tell him how connected his team looks on the court, we love each other and stuff like that. Basketball is a game of runs and sometimes we'll be down and our captains, we huddle up and we just stay connected and don't let the outside noise get to us. It all starts off the court, the connection and the relationship off the court and when you create a bond off the court it's easier to play with each other on the court. This team is really connected and we all love each other and love each other's successes.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I would say our bond off the court creates a trust on the court and with the caliber of guys that we have on top of the belief in each other that we have, the sky is the limit.
Q. Building off that, was there a game or a moment this season when you guys felt that bond coming to fruition and becoming as strong as it has?
CAMREN WYNTER: I don't know if there has been a specific game, but throughout the season you can see guys holding each other more accountable for different things that maybe we wouldn't get on each other for in the beginning of the season, and that kinda just shows you how, like -- how much we trust each other and we listen to each other. And, you know, these last couple games you can see the trust that we have just by holding each other accountable, whether it's a defensive assignment or where we are supposed to be. Coach doesn't have to get on us anymore, it's more each other.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: For me I think it might have been our Northwestern game the first time around. Coming off the game, where we dropped a 20-point lead to Rutgers, going into a hostile environment, getting down double digits and us rallying together basically with not a lot of fans, we were playing at Northwestern. So it was basically just us rallying together and showing each other we can. I think that was a moment for us, showing we can go anywhere, play in any arena and get a win.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I think the switch flipped for us when we had lost four games in a row in the Big Ten. We were at 5-9 at one point and ever since then our team huddled up and we had meetings with each other individually and with the coaches as well and we said it's all or nothing. We've got to give everything we got if we want to go make this run and ever since then we've been on a tear.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: What everyone highlighted was great and it's especially highlighted in these last four days when we showed in Chicago. We didn't play perfect basketball in the Big Ten Tournament, other teams played well against us, but there was no point in time where we turned our backs on each other or we didn't believe in one another and it was a culmination of all the work that we put in behind the scenes and the trust we have built throughout the year.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Similar to Jalen, the Northwestern game where we decided we were going to draw the lane in the sand and we weren't going to get pushed anymore and we were going to fight back. We came together as close as we have ever been, and from then on it was just a different energy that we brought and a different confidence that we brought to every game.
Q. Andrew, you touched on the run you had in Chicago, four games decided by 4 points or less. How much is that going to help you guys now that it is survive and advance or the season is over?
ANDREW FUNK: I think it's huge. You watch this tournament every year and you see how close every game is, games you didn't think were going to be close and games you thought were going to be close and whatnot. A lot of it comes down to one possession. And just even thinking back to that and even the three weeks prior to that, we've been playing in very high stakes games that were very close down the stretch, and building on that experience and having that to look back on is definitely going to be important for us as we go through this tournament.
