Penn State Sports Magazine
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3 8 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P e n n S ta te wa s w i t h o u t transfer forward Greg Lee at the beginning of the sea- son due to an undisclosed in- jury. Coach Micah Shrewsberry offered no timetable for his re- turn. Lee, a 6-foot-9 super senior, averaged 13 points per game last season at Western Michigan, shooting 50 percent from the floor. He also contributed 7.2 re- bounds in 27 minutes per game. Fi f t h -yea r b i g m a n Jo h n Harrar could be asked to play more minutes in Lee's absence. Shrewsberry said 6-8 Canisius transfer Jalanni White is an- other player who will be asked to do more in Lee's stead. "I don't think they have a choice," Shrewsberry said with a chuckle. "That's the fun part about it. It's not like you're looking over your shoulder and there are a lot of people behind you. These guys, people come because they want a chance to play. If you're ready for your op- portunity, you're going to get a chance to play." White averaged just over 14 minutes per game at Canisius last season, scoring 3.7 points per game and adding 2.2 rebounds. "Jalanni is a great athlete," Penn State senior guard Myles Dread said. "He's going to bring energy, he's going to block shots. He's going to rebound, he's going to make plays." White showed well for the Nittany Li- ons in their 75-59 season-opening vic- tory over Youngstown State. He played 14 minutes, collecting three offensive rebounds and scoring four points. Shrewsberry said after the game that he would have liked to get White more minutes had it not been for some foul trouble. Even in Lee's absence, Shrewsberry occasionally put two big men on the floor at once, something Penn State fans rarely saw in previous seasons. Despite White's positive early returns, the Nittany Lions will, of course, miss Lee's impact. Senior guard Sam Ses- soms said Penn State misses the energy he provides on the practice floor. "We notice the difference in practice," Sessoms said. "Greg is a guy who brings a lot of energy and tenacity to the floor." Shrewsberry said the Nittany Lions haven't adapted much of their scheme with Lee not available, aside from some small tweaks on the defensive end of the floor. Penn State won't be afraid to go small under Shrewsberry's purview, that much is clear. With Lee or without him, Shrewsberry intends to put his five best players on the floor. He's fine with the idea of posi- tionless basketball. The Nittany Lions won't always field a tradi- tional lineup. "We're just going to play whoever is rolling," he said. "If everybody is 5-6, then you're just going to have five 5-6 guys out there." JEVONNIE SCOTT'S TRANSFER HITS SNAG Lee is not the only transfer addition who was unavailable at the start of the season. Junior forward Jevonnie Scott has not been working out with the team while he works through some NCAA red tape surrounding his transfer process. Scott is enrolled at the uni- versity, but Shrewsberry did not indicate how long he expects to be without the transfer from South Plains College in Texas. At 6-7, Scott figured to be a key ad- dition to a Penn State team that lacks size. He averaged 11.5 points and 5.6 re- bounds per game at the juco level last season before making the jump to Penn State. Even with Lee and Scott unavailable, Shrewsberry made it clear that he is not interested in making excuses. "We've kind of taken on that mantra, 'win anyway,'" he said. "Doesn't matter who's out there, doesn't matter what Injury Keeps Transfer Forward Greg Lee On Sideline As Season Begins D A V I D E C K E R T | D A V I D E C K E R T 9 8 @ G M A I L . C O M BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK Lee came to Penn State during the offseason after averaging 13 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season at Western Michigan. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL