Penn State Sports Magazine
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J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 41 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Shrewsberry said the next growth opportunity for the Nittany Lions is to play with a killer instinct and extend leads, rather than letting teams sneak back into games. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE P e n n S ta te 's ea rly- sea so n fo r- mula for winning games has been straightforward, In Micah Shrewsberry's second sea- son at the helm of the Nittany Lions, three-pointers have been paramount, both attempted and made. Penn State sped through the first two weeks of De- cember having taken the ninth-most three-pointers per game (29.1) in all of Division I, and having made the fourth- most (11.7). Hitting at a rate of 40.2 per- cent (15th nationally), the Lions have been winning when their three-pointers go in. They've also been losing when those shots don't fall. In Penn State's first 10 games, there was a marked contrast be- tween the team's shooting percentages in its seven wins and its three losses. Dropping its first game of the season against Virginia Tech in the Charleston Classic on Nov. 18, the Nittany Lions shot 36.7 percent from deep and 41.1 from the floor. Then at Clemson in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 29, the Lions went just 30.6 percent on threes and 40.8 percent overall, followed by 29.6 percent from long range and 34.5 percent overall in a home loss to Michi- gan State on Dec. 7. From three-point range, the percent- ages were at least 4 points worse than any winning effort on the season. The overall shooting percentages were also at least 4 points worse than the Lions' season average. Even so, Shrewsberry isn't convinced that Penn State's fortunes have been dictated by its perimeter shooting. In the coach's view, the Nittany Lions have been hurt in their losses by the higher- percentage shots that haven't gone in. "We shoot a bunch of threes, but we don't live and die by them," he said. "We live and die by the twos. If we make layups against Michigan State, we win. Even if we shoot the same percentage from three, but don't miss layups, we win. "We missed layups in that game. We missed shots at the rim. We missed free throws. That's the game. We need to make those." PSU Keeps The Faith After Consecutive Losses Suffering back-to-back setbacks, first in a double-overtime loss at Clem- son and again in a disappointing perfor- mance against Michigan State to open Big Ten play on Dec. 7, Penn State might have appeared to be a team wavering in its confidence. Shrewsberry was resolute that confi- dence hasn't been, and won't be, an is- sue for this particular group of players. "This team never lacks confidence. They don't lose their confidence. They don't lose their swagger," Shrewsberry said. "We might not play well at all times. We're going to play hard every game, but we might not play at our best in terms of an execution standpoint. But they never lack confidence. "You should hear them in practice, after practice, before practice, and ev- erything else. They believe in them- selves. They believe in the work they put in. They believe in the preparation that our staff puts in. "That's never wavering. We just need to be performing and executing at a high level at all times." Nittany Lions Seek 'Killer Instinct' This Penn State team has adopted a fighter's mentality that has made ev- ery game it has played competitive. It's a mindset that Shrewsberry is happy to see his players display, one that has helped them respond and play well when their backs are against the wall. And yet, another level remains. In its losses to Clemson and Michigan State, PSU held double-digit leads in the first half, only to see them steadily disappear. Shrewsberry wants to see the Nittany Lions maintain their intensity when they have an opportunity to put an op- ponent in a deep hole. "When you get that lead, are you go- ing to let teams back in it because you take your foot off the gas?" he asked. "Or are you going to play with more of a killer instinct and take the lead from 10 to 15, or 15 to 20, and completely shut people down and take all their hope away? "That's where we have to improve," he continued. "This team is really good when their backs are against the wall. They're not always really good when things come easy for us, and that's where we need to get better. "I want to see us take a lead and ex- pand it and get better in that way. The next opportunity we get to do it, that'll be a challenge for us." ■ Shrewsberry: Lions Are Not Reliant On Perimeter Shooting NAT E BAU E R | NAT E . B AU E R @ O N 3 . C O M