By Dana O’Neil, Brian Hamilton and Matt Fortuna
Notre Dame is set to hire former Penn State men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry for the same role, a source with direct knowledge of the decision told The Athletic on Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Shrewsberry was 37-31 over two seasons in State College, leading the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament this season.
- He is an Indianapolis native and played collegiately at Hanover College in Hanover, Ind.
- Notre Dame had a coaching vacancy following Mike Brey’s retirement after 27 years. He led the Irish to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, including back-to-back Elite Eights in 2015 and 2016.
Backstory
Before taking over as the Nittany Lions head coach in March 2021, Shrewsberry served as an assistant at Purdue, Butler, DePauw and Wabash. He also spent six seasons with the Boston Celtics as an assistant, and his first head coaching position was at IU South Bend, where he compiled a 15-48 record over two seasons.
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What they are saying
“This afternoon, Penn State head men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry called to inform me that he was leaving the University to accept a position at another institution,” Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft said in a statement. “We thank Micah for his contributions to the Penn State community and wish him the very best. We are already moving forward in a search for a new head coach and will identify and appoint a tremendous coach, teacher and person, who will take us to unprecedented heights.
“We are so proud of our amazingly talented student-athletes and all they accomplished this year and will in the future. We are also so appreciative of our student body and our passionate fans who support our basketball program.”
How big a hire is this for Notre Dame?
This is pretty much an ideal version of how the school’s coaching search would end. There were other coaches who, at least theoretically, would be a fit and qualify as a knocked-out-of-the-park hire. Shrewsberry is at the top of that list. It’s not only the right move to hire a coach who should be able to develop talent over time — Notre Dame isn’t going to live in the transfer portal, ever — but it’s a sign that the school remains committed to putting a high-level men’s basketball product on the floor.
Notre Dame administrators could’ve set their sights lower or decided to pay less. It would’ve been a concession that the hire simply didn’t matter that much. This is not that. This is a statement of intent. —Hamilton
How bad are things at Notre Dame?
Well, that’s the thing. It’s really bad. Even if the program can squeeze another year out of one or two of the veterans on the roster, through whatever technicality they can find…those veterans haven’t done much of anything impressive lately. One player Shrewsberry might’ve been able to build around — former five-star recruit J.J. Starling — already transferred to Syracuse.
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A trio of three-star guards comprises Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting haul. So even if they still make their way to South Bend, it’s not a cavalry. Maybe Shrewsberry received some assurances that Notre Dame would be more flexible on accepting undergraduate transfers, but that would be very out of character. The tail doesn’t wag the dog there, ever. Notre Dame men’s hoops is a ground-up project. It’s going to take a while. —Hamilton
What does this mean for Penn State?
As one Penn State graduate tweeted right after the Shrewsberry news: “why can’t we have nice things?” Days after the Nittany Lions made their first NCAA Tournament in 12 years and won their first tourney game in 22 years, Shrewsberry is leaving, lasting only two years.
The challenge for the next coach will be big. Penn State won this year largely because the Lions were the oldest team in the country, but most of that experience is moving on. Five players — Jalen Pickett, Cam Wynter, Myles Dread, Mikey Henn and Andrew Funk — are out of eligibility. Second-leading scorer Seth Lundy announced hours before Shrewsberry’s decision that he would forego his final year for the NBA. The Lions do have a three-person class for next year, but one of them is Braeden Shrewsberry. Odds are he isn’t coming now. — O’Neil
What’s next for the Nittany Lions?
The silver lining is that new athletic director Pat Kraft is more intent than his predecessors in making a committed investment to basketball. Much of Penn State’s issues have been administrative, stemming from a lack of interest to fully invest in hoops. Shrewsberry’s reported $2.5 million salary sits well below the average in the Big Ten, and for years, the program had to fight to do things that their peers did regularly — like, for example, charter for recruiting trips.
But sources close to the negotiations with Shrewsberry said Kraft put together a serious counter package in the hopes of convincing his head coach to stay. Presumably, he’ll make the same sort of offer to a new coach and might be able to lure a coach who can help continue the Lions’ trajectory. Otherwise, the churn will continue. — O’Neil
Required reading
- Notre Dame coaching candidates: Could Micah Shrewsberry be Mike Brey’s replacement?
- Penn State must use resources to keep Micah Shrewsberry in State College
- Which college basketball coaches could be on the move? Seth Davis picks 25 names to watch
(Photo: Mike Mulholland / Getty Images)
