BIG TEN BASKETBALL MEDIA DAYS

October 12, 2022

Micah Shrewsberry

Penn State Nittany Lions

Men's Head Coach

KEVIN WARREN: A few final announcements as we wrap up two great days with our men's and women's coaches and student-athletes.

Again, I would like to thank Ben Olson, who has been our American Sign Language interpreter. Thank you for your work.

I'd also like to thank Grace McNamara, who has been instrumental with our scheduling but helping with the logistics with the media here today.

Also like to thank Satvik Patel, who is here onstage, by far receives the best-dressed award. Please stand up. We're going to start giving an annual award each year. Got to see the shoes, too (laughter).

I do also want to thank our Big Ten staff for putting this on. It really, really is special. It adds a certain panache by being here at the Target Center. They've worked so hard to do it. We look forward to actually having tournaments come up. But these media days are really special and I'm grateful for our Big Ten staff.

Another thank you to TIAA again, to be our sponsor and partner on our men's and women's basketball tournaments, but also our men's and women's Basketball Media Days.

I want to thank Big Ten Network, who is a great, great partner, able to air this live across the country. People around the world can watch and keep up with their favorite teams.

I'd like to thank our coaches, all of our administrators, our student-athletes, our fans, but most of all I'd really like to thank everyone from the media here who has taken the time to come here today. So many other things you could be doing. But thank you for being here to be able to tell the stories about Big Ten basketball and what makes our conference so very special. I appreciate your attention to detail and dedication, but most of all your time.

With that another incredibly bright mind in the college basketball coaching world, Micah Shrewsberry is the head basketball coach at Penn State University. He and his wife have done so much in the community with Coaches Versus Cancer, which has raised over $3.7 million to date. He is also done back to school shopping sprees for local youth who are struggling to get on their feet. Also done school supplies, gifting donations to local students who are scheduled to return back to school. He's very active during the holiday season. He's done a lot in the community. We are so honored and blessed to have him in our conference. He had a great season last year. Exciting all the way down to the last bounce of the ball. I know he's excited about his team this year.

So with that I'd like to introduce head basketball coach at Penn State University Micah Shrewsberry.

MICAH SHREWSBERRY: Thank you, Commissioner Warren for what you do for our league and helping us become the greatest basketball conference in America.

Also congrats Satvik, stealing my swag. There should be a recount here. We're going to go back and check this about the best outfit. I like you, though (laughter).

I'm proud to be here as a head coach in the Big Ten Conference. I grew up in Big Ten country. I said it last year. I understand that there are 14 of these jobs, and I stand here as one of those. I don't take that lightly.

I'm also proud to stand here and represent Penn State University. Penn State took a chance on me last year, and I wake up every single day trying to repay that and get our program to the top of the Big Ten. That's all I'm thinking about every single day.

I have a staff, the guys that are back in State College right now, that work in that same manner to do what we need to do for us to be successful to challenge and be at the top of the Big Ten.

I understand that everybody that gets up here is excited about their season, excited about the guys that they have. I know Coach Painter talked about it yesterday, like nobody's had a bad summer.

But we've grown from year one to year two. Having continuity is huge in this time. Even though we have eight new players on our roster, having the other guys, the other five guys that were with us last year, it makes it easy.

Staff continuity makes it easy to continue to do what we did. That was lay a foundation of how we wanted to play and lay a foundation that we're going to be a hard team to play every night out.

It starts with the two guys that are here with me, Jalen Pickett, Seth Lundy, both sitting out here. I think those two guys are two of the underrated defenders in this league and in this conference. I think when the voting came out last year, I don't think they got just due for what they did on the defensive end of the court.

People talk about how we play, talk about our pace, but it was really hard to score on us. These two guys were a big reason for that.

Jalen Pickett, what he's done in his career, I'm biased because I coach him every single day, I think he's one of the best guards in the Big Ten Conference. He's got a chance right now, he's at 1500 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists in his career. There's not many guys that have accomplished that through time.

Seth Lundy is going to join him in that thousand-point list this year. Once again, like what he did when he was guarding the best of the best last year was really impressive.

He's going to have a chance to play for the same head coach for two years in a row. To understand how difficult that is, try working for a new boss every single year, right? He's more comfortable when you watch him in practice. He's more comfortable in terms of what we're doing in our system offensively and defensively. Now you'll see the game slow down for him. I think he'll take his game to another level.

We've added some really good transfers. Cam Woodyard came from Drexel. Andrew Funk from Bucknell. Cam is another guy that scored 1600 points in his career. He'll join Jalen on that 1500 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists platform here shortly into our season. Andrew Funk has scored 1200 points in his career. We have a little more firepower in terms of what we'll be able to do offensively.

We're still going to play the same exact way. We're still going to challenge people defensively and make it as hard as possible. But I think we'll be able to score the ball a little bit better.

We also have some returning guys in Dallion Johnson, Myles Dread, Caleb Dorsey, who have played in the Big Ten and can help us in their own way.

Then five freshmen that we've all recruited that fit our personality, that fit who we want to be as a program, that have also raised the competition level in our practices.

I'm happy with our group. We're going to fight every single night. We're going to make it as hard as possible. We're going to do what we can each and every day to become one of the best teams in the Big Ten.

Q. Sometime during this season there will be at least four games where there will be two black head coaches on each sideline in the Big Ten. Could you speak on the significance on that. Are we coming closer to the time where this could be more of a rule than exception?

MICAH SHREWSBERRY: I think last year with three black head coaches joining the Big Ten at one time, myself, Ben Johnson, Coach Woodson at Indiana...

We still have steps to take, we still have progress to make, but I think during these times representation is one of the biggest things that you can have. So if you're a young kid, you're watching that game, you see people that look like you on the sideline. Now maybe they want to become coaches, things like that. I think that's really important for what we do.

I think as a league, to be out front in that, I think Commissioner Warren has been great in terms of what he's been able to do with helping the college athletes in the Big Ten do more and learn more.

I want to be a great representative. I know the same thing of the other coaches in our league. Just give young kids something to strive for, give them something to look up to. Hopefully one of those guys is standing in my shoes.

Q. What did you learn about yourself in year one that's going to help you in year two?

MICAH SHREWSBERRY: I think it's an ever-evolving process. I spent a lot of time trying to pick the brains of the coaches in our league. We have great coaches in our league. We have great welcoming coaches in our league. Even though we're all competitors, you can reach out to any of them and ask them for advice.

Myself, I don't think I'll ever be a finished product. I think Coach Izzo would say the same thing even now. Growing each and every day. I think decisions, delegating, whatever it may be, it's still going to be a process for me that I'm still trying to learn, I'm still trying to grow.

Like, I want to be better for our team every single day, right? We had six losses at six points or less last year. How do we flip those to wins this year. How do I change practice to make us better in those late-game situations so we change those to wins. That's always a process that I'm trying to learn.

Year one to year two I'm way more comfortable, I can tell you that. I know my way around campus. May not know the street names around campus but I can get there when I need to. I know the places I like to eat and everything else (smiling).

I can say a drill and everybody kind of knows it, our staff knows it. We're growing as a program. Take our team into Big Ten arenas, not the first time we've done it. That part of we'll feel a little better about.

I still got a lot to learn.

Q. You're an Indianapolis guy. The Big Ten often has these things in Indianapolis. Some people were saying Minneapolis is not as good. Obviously the conference wants to expand around the country. What are your thoughts?

MICAH SHREWSBERRY: Playing in the Big Ten and us becoming -- when you're in the best league in the country, you go to different places. I'm biased, right? I'm from Indianapolis. I wish I could go home every single time because my parents are there. Get a chance to see them.

Chicago is a great town where our tournament is going to be. Great basketball people there. There's good basketball here in Minnesota, as well.

Being able to move our conference tournament to different places, being able to move our Media Day to different places, we're the Big Ten. Like, people are watching no matter where it's at. If they're not here, they're watching it, know what we're doing.

Wherever they had it... If they had it in Alaska, I'd be proud to represent the Big Ten in Alaska, too, if we have some teams from there at some point in time.

This is a good event. I trust our league. I've only been here as a head coach for a year. I don't have much say in what we're doing. I follow along with guys like Coach Izzo and Coach Painter. I trust our league, what we're doing. If this is the best for our league, this is what we're going to do.