Penn State Sports Magazine
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4 6 A P R I L 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 P enn State point guard Sam Sessoms entered the transfer portal in mid- March and is poised to spend his last year of eligibility elsewhere after a se- nior season in which he averaged 27.6 minutes per game. Sessoms, who spent two seasons with the Nittany Lions after transfer- ring from Binghamton, contributed 11.6 points per game this past year for a team that struggled to score, shooting 42 percent from three-point range. He could still return to Penn State. But if he chooses to depart, it will give coach Micah Shrewsberry a second scholarship to work with this offseason. While Shrewsberry has said he in- tends to build Penn State's program by relying heavily on the traditional high school recruiting model, he did ac- knowledge after the season that he and his staff will again look to the transfer portal this offseason to help fill imme- diate needs. The most immediate need, he said, is for experienced players who can help the Lions' five incoming fresh- men acclimate to the college level. "We just want some guys with them who can relieve that pressure from them so they can grow on their own timeline," Shrewsberry said. "I think it's similar to how you saw [sophomore guard] Dal- lion [Johnson] used this year. He grew into becoming a more prominent player for us. That's what our hope is for these freshmen. "I hope they're ready right away and they come in and take the reins and do it themselves. But we want to make sure we have the help that they need right away." Harrar Receives All-Conference Nod Penn State senior forward John Harrar wrapped up his career as a Nit- tany Lion with honors. For the second time, Harrar nabbed honorable mention All-Big Ten rec- ognition, the conference announced March 8. No other Penn State players made the first-, second- or third-team all-conference squads. As a super senior, Harrar produced his best performance at Penn State during the 2021-22 campaign. Playing a career- high 26.9 minutes per game, he aver- aged a double-double — 10.6 points and 10.3 rebounds. Late in the season, coach Micah Shrewsberry made his case for Harrar as a deserving recipient of all-conference honors. "I think the other coaches in this league recognize what he's done over his career," Shrewsberry said. "He's prob- ably the best rebounder in our league, based on percentages, offensively and defensively — one of the best in the country. "[Because of ] his importance of- fensively and defensively and how he's played and what he's done, I think he should get rewarded for that. I think he will get rewarded for that, just based on his reputation around this league." Following the Big Ten Tournament, in which Penn State won its first two games and advanced to the quarterfinal round, Harrar was leading the confer- ence in both offensive (113) and defen- sive (207) rebounds. His total of 320 re- bounds was 26 more than Iowa's Keegan Murray, who ranked second. Penn State To Play In 2022 Charleston Classic Penn State's 2022-23 schedule has begun taking shape. The Nittany Li- ons will be part of the eight-team field for next season's Charleston Classic, which is set to take place Nov. 17-20 at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C. The rest of the field consists of host Charleston (150th in KenPom this sea- son), Colorado State (33rd), Davidson (45th), Old Dominion (187th), South Carolina (96th), Virginia Tech (29th) and Furman (74th) It's not yet known who the Nittany Sam Sessoms Enters Transfer Portal 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 In what may have been his next-to-last game at Penn State, Sessoms finished with 18 points in a second- round upset of Ohio State at the Big Ten Tournament. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Harrar's final season with the Nittany Lions was his best. He averaged 10.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL