‘I just want to win.’ Penn State basketball responds to coach’s challenge, defeats Iowa
Micah Shrewsberry doesn’t hide his emotions often during games. It’s not uncommon for him to lose his voice from shouting out directions and coaching his players mid-game, and occasionally he’ll throw in a hard dribble when the ball comes his way for effect.
That was even more so the case Monday night against the Iowa Hawkeyes, with the Penn State men’s basketball head coach pumping his first after made shots and celebrating effective offense that ended in points.
Shrewsberry said after the win he already hears it from his staff about his demeanor during games.
“The other guys on staff make fun of me,” Shrewsberry said with a smile. “They say I’m this really nice guy and game time comes and it’s like straight Tasmanian devil.”
His jubilation, frustration and demonstrations were part of the roller coaster ride that was his team’s 90-86 victory over Iowa in a game that could be an inflection point for a team that had just lost three in a row.
Those three losses weren’t necessarily out of the ordinary. The Lions were forced to play three straight road games after their lone home game splitting them up was rescheduled due to COVID-19 issues at Minnesota. They lost all three of those games, at Iowa, at Indiana and at Ohio State, in ways that could’ve led to a downturn for the first-year head coach.
Shrewsberry knew, however, that just because his team lost doesn’t mean it isn’t as good as he thinks it can be.
“The Big Ten is not easy,” he said. “It hasn’t been kind to us with this schedule, not playing a home game in 20 days. Being on the road and playing in three tough places to play. ... There’s a lot of people in the country that are gonna go lose at Ohio State, at Iowa, at Indiana. It’s not exclusive to just us.”
Regardless of the outcomes, Shrewsberry wanted a response. The team came into the game knowing what was at stake. Despite the internal positivity that could have remained with a loss, the outside narrative could have changed on the head coach in his first year with the program.
A once promising season could have been turned into a disappointment. The head coach didn’t say much to his team in the lead up to Monday night’s game, but he did challenge them to be the team he thought he had.
“I just told them, I don’t have anything to say to you,” Shrewsberry said. “ ... If your care meter isn’t as high as it can possibly go right now, then I don’t have the guys in here that I think I’ve got in here. ... I wanted to see our response, I wanted to see our resolve. I thought we had that tonight.”
His players responded. They fought on the glass, outrebounding the Hawkeyes 53-43. They came up big in clutch moments, whether it was at the free throw line or on Myles Dread’s game-tying 3-point shot with 9 seconds left in the first overtime.
Most important, they kept listening to their coach. Late in games, Shrewsberry calls out exactly what he wants, slowing the game down offensively and telling his players exactly where to be. He points to spots where he wants his shooters and yells instructions to whoever he wants setting the screen for the ball handler, essentially telling the opponent what is going to happen.
And his players listen because they believe he knows what’s best in those specific moments.
“I think it was one practice where Coach Shrews drew up a play and we all looked at each other like, ‘this guy’s pretty smart,’” senior John Harrar said. “This guy kinda knows basketball. So we just trust him. We know what he wants.”
Their belief allowed for the trust to lead the offense. It opened opportunities for the team’s best scorers in the lane and for its best shooters on the wings.
In the end it nearly wasn’t enough as the Hawkeyes scratched and clawed, but that only led to Shrewsberry amplifying his emotions. He pumped his fist early in the first overtime as Harrar made a shot when he was fouled. He pounded the ball off the court out of bounds when Seth Lundy missed an open teammate with a pass. He celebrated when his team made crucial shots to extend and eventually end the game.
His first January as a head coach is wrapping up, but Shrewsberry felt the weight of what was happening in the Bryce Jordan Center, and he felt it for his players.
“I just want to win,” he said. “But here’s why I want to win. I want these guys to have so much success. ... I’ve experienced success in my career. But I want these guys to feel it, man. That feeling is special. ... I want success for these guys so much that I’ll give anything for them to have it.”
Monday night wasn’t the team’s last game of the year nor was it the group’s last chance to win. But it was an important chance to prove it could right the ship when things get wrong.
With adjustments made and efforts improved, Shrewsberry and company will have plenty more chances to do what he’s done for a large portion of his career — win.
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
