Penn State Sports Magazine
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J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry didn't say the three letters at his November signing day press conference. He didn't have to. Stressing the importance of fan sup- port for the Nittany Lion men's bas- ketball program, Shrewsberry ensured that the subtext was clear. In an era of college athletics in which name, image and likeness rules have created a new paradigm, the Lions need all the "sup- port" they can get. That support can take a variety of shapes, including fans showing up at the Bryce Jordan Center for games, but the most direct and impactful av- enue involves financial commitments. Shrewsberry acknowledged that the sentiment has at times been regarded as "controversial" despite its front- and-center reality. "You have to adjust to what's happen- ing," he said. "It's something that is really big. It's really big in recruiting, and it's really big in player retention." How big? While the football program has right- fully gotten the most attention from Penn State's athletics department, with head coach James Franklin pushing for a bold and aggressive approach to the pursuit of NIL funding, the issue isn't isolated to the university's most promi- nent team. Shrewsberry's bright first season, first recruiting class, follow-up cam- paign thus far, and second recruiting class all serve to demonstrate how NIL considerations affect the program, both positively and negatively. Having signed back-to-back top-30 recruiting classes that included eight highly rated prospects, Shrewsberry has stated plainly that relationships were primary to those successes. The staff devoted countless hours to developing strong bonds not just with prospective recruits but also with their families and friends. It was an effort worth boasting about. But in many ways, the 2022 and '23 classes were assembled under unique, fortunate circumstances. NIL legisla- tion was still in its infancy in the first of those two recruiting cycles, and the second cycle included a four-star pros- pect with family ties to the program in forward Carey Booth, as well as Shrews- berry's son, shooting guard Braeden Shrewsberry. Penn State won't be able to count on the same dynamics in the coming years, and strong relationships won't be enough to overcome the influence of NIL factors if they aren't up to snuff. "We're not going to be like Illinois. Il- linois is one of the best in the league right now with what they're doing with NIL," Shrewsberry said. "But we have to do something. We can't fall behind. "It's about what you want as a pro- gram and what you're happy with. If we have a little bit more that we're offering to our guys, or that we're doing for our team in NIL, that top 30-class is prob- ably top 15 in the country. Just one or two more guys." Offering a blunt assessment of Penn State's NIL war chest for basketball, Shrewsberry said the Nittany Lions were at the bottom of the Big Ten. And not in the bottom half or third, but the actual dead-last basement of the conference. "I can't speak for everybody, but I would say of 14 teams in the Big Ten, we're probably 14th, maybe 13th," Shrewsberry said. "So, it's just about who we want to be as a program. What are we willing to say is going to be our standard? "I can be as good a coach as there is in the world, but if you don't have the play- ers, it doesn't matter. Or, if you do a great job with your development, you find a kid, you develop him, and then some- body comes in and they have something for him — that's kids, that's life right now, and that's what is happening." If Shrewsberry's accounting is correct, it's an urgent problem that needs to be addressed for the program to continue on its current upward trajectory. And it can be addressed; the mountain doesn't have to be insurmountable. Penn State isn't going to match the spending of Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue or Indiana on its NIL endeavors. The support just isn't there, and Shrews- berry isn't blind to that reality. But the baseline can't be zero. Shrews- berry has demonstrated he can get the job done, and his vision for the program is worth getting behind. It's just going to demand considerably more support than is currently being provided. "A lot compared to nothing is hard to overcome," Shrewsberry said. "A lot compared to something, and then the relationship starts to kick in and you can make a little bit of ground up. "I'm never going to complain. We need as much help as we can get. But also, it's your choice. I'm going to keep coaching. I'm going to keep trying to find good kids. I'm going to keep trying to retain the kids that we have. We're going to keep making them better, but I want to build this thing into something really good." Given the opportunity, one intrinsi- cally tied to NIL support, he can. ■ Second-year head coach Micah Shrewsberry said recently that Penn State is having to compete against programs that have much more NIL money to offer players. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE O P I N I O N NATE BAUER NATE.BAUER@ON3.COM HOT READ NIL Support Is Vital To Penn State's Basketball Future