Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1439730
3 8 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M MEN'S BASKETBALL M icah Shrewsberry could be forgiven for downplaying the importance of on-the- court results in his first season as head men's basketball coach at Penn State. He faces a rebuilding project in Happy Valley, especially following the depar- ture of several key players from last year's sub-.500 team. It might even benefit him to remind the public once in a while that the picture on the court won't always be pretty. John Harrar is the reason why he doesn't. "I'm going to fight tooth and nail. If I have to get my old a-- out there and play, too, I'm going to fight for that dude to have a good season," Shrews- berry said after a 76-64 loss to Ohio State on Dec. 5. "We're going to come back tomorrow, we're going to watch film, we're going to learn from this and we're going to get better. "What that kid does every day in practice, in the film room, in the locker room, on the court — that's Penn State." Harrar is the Nittany Lion basketball team's unquestioned face, and its voice, too. A bruising fifth-year big man who was once committed to play tight end at Army, Harrar has transformed him- self over the course of his career from a bench body to an outright star. As of mid-December, he was leading the Big Ten with an average of 10.6 re- bounds per game and was also atop the conference in field goal accuracy, hav- ing shot 71.4 percent from the floor to average 11.4 points per game. Through 10 games, Harrar stood alone as the only player in the conference who was averaging a double-double. He's been a facilitator, too. His quick decision-making with the ball in his DAV I D E C K E RT | DAV I D E C K E R T 9 8 @ G M A I L . C O M Rising To The Occasion Playing his final college season, senior big man John Harrar is determined to help the Nittany Lions reach their full potential on the court Harrar was averaging 10.6 rebounds through the first 10 games of Penn State's season to lead the Big Ten. He was the only player in the conference who was averaging double figures in both rebounding and scoring (11.4 points per game). PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL