State College boys basketball’s Braeden Shrewsberry’s 1,000th point a ‘reflection of his hard work’
Braeden Shrewsberry entered West Lafayette High School in Indiana known purely as a shooter who was a bit undersized.
Now at State College, Shrewsberry stands at 6-foot-2 and has netted 1,000 career points between both high schools. On Tuesday in the third quarter of State College’s matchup with Chambersburg, he fought through contact and moved without the ball. Sitting at 997 career points, he received a pass at the top of the 3-point line, took two dribbles and nailed the 3-pointer.
Right after making the shot, Shrewsberry was recognized over the PA system and handed the basketball from his 1,000th career point. It was something that he said he was unprepared for, but appreciated.
“It’s been an easy transition,” Shrewsberry said on Tuesday. “Just coming to State High, I like all of my teammates, I love playing with them. But honestly, I didn’t know they were going to do the 1,000-point ceremony because I didn’t know that it would transfer over from my last school, but I’m thankful that they did that tonight.”
Shrewsberry moved two states away from Indiana when his father, Micah, accepted the Penn State men’s basketball head coaching position. As soon as Braeden’s school year was over at West Lafayette, he and the rest of his family packed their bags and headed to State College. The younger Shrewsberry immediately met his team and began to work out with them in June.
State College head coach Brian Scholly sees Shrewsberry’s work ethic each day. It begins with the junior’s ability to enter the gym and lead by example. Fellow newcomer Issac Dye and the rest of his teammates have learned to gel together in a short period of time.
“One, it’s a reflection of his hard work, his work ethic and the ability to make himself the player that he is,” Scholly said. “It’s a reflection of the willingness of the guys to accept a newcomer. Both him and Issac Dye are new to our program. We have guys that have played together their entire lives and their willingness to embrace both of those guys with open arms and allow them to have the success that they’re having is a testament to those guys.”
Shrewsberry began his high school career under the tutelage of David Wood, the former West Lafayette head coach. Wood saw the diminutive freshman and dissected his game, saying that Shrewsberry “was nothing but a shooter” when he entered high school. Shrewsberry still scored the most points that a freshman had ever scored in West Lafayette varsity boys basketball history.
He wasn’t done yet.
During the summer of 2020, Shrewsberry locked himself inside of a gym with his father and got to work. His game expanded beyond being just a catch-and-shoot player — he could take defenders off of the dribble, he could pass better, his ball handling was vastly improved, he could get to the rim and score at all three levels of the floor.
“As a freshman, if they got to him before he shot it, he was mostly a passer at that point,” Wood said. “His game just really expanded as a sophomore and I’ve seen him and talked to him at different points this year and now he’s taller, he’s strong and he’s obviously spent time on his body. He’s becoming a big-time player, rather than a really good shooter. That’s what he was when he came to us.”
Braeden Shrewsberry committed to play for Penn State in November and will join his father’s program in 2023. Throughout Penn State’s men’s basketball season, Micah Shrewsberry has split time coaching his team in games and in practice, going on the recruiting trail and heading to his son’s games during his downtime.
The Penn State men’s basketball coach spent Tuesday watching his son’s hard work pay off on the basketball court. He was joined by his parents, wife, Molly, and children in the stands to watch Braeden score his 1,000th point. With all of the extra hours in the gym, the sweat spilled onto the hardwood floors of both West Lafayette and State College, Micah Shrewsberry reveled in his son’s accomplishment.
“Just the timing of it worked out,” he said on Tuesday. “With our schedule (Penn State) and where we’re going to be and for his grandparents to be here and see him play a couple of games while they’re out here and visiting is amazing. We didn’t even know how close he was until after the last game they played on Friday. Then, everybody was like, ‘Wow, that’s a blessing,’ that his grandparents are here and it’s his grandfather’s birthday. So, to do something like that is always going to be remembered.”
