We are in the bye week of Penn State football. But that also means we are in the midst of preparing for Penn State Nittany Lions men’s basketball.
Penn State is under former Purdue assistant [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag], who came into a team that was struggling immensely. Shrewsberry came in and already inked Penn State’s highest recruiting class in program history.
How will Shrews be in his second year with the Nittany Lions? Let’s take a look.
Penn State finished 14-17 (7-13) last season, which was 10th in the Big Ten.
Their biggest loss will be forward [autotag]John Harrar[/autotag], who averaged 10.6 points per game, 10.3 rebounds and a 64.0 field goal percentage with Penn State last season.
Another big loss for Penn State is guard [autotag]Sam Sessoms[/autotag], who transferred to Coppin State. Sessoms averaged 11.6 points per game last season with the Nittany Lions.
Penn State has plenty of returning players, with senior [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] and fifth-year senior [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag]. Pickett was the team’s leading scorer last season and his coming back to Penn State is huge. He averaged 13.3 points per game in the 31 games he played.
The Nittany Lions have five talented freshmen coming in this season. One to keep an eye on is [autotag]Jameel Brown[/autotag].
Brown was a Top-100 prospect out of high school and the number five overall recruit in Penn State men’s basketball history, according to 247 Sports Composite Rankings.
One area where Penn State excelled last season was scoring defense, finishing with the Big Ten’s best scoring defense. They allowed an average of 65 points per game. That was Penn State’s best defensive season in the past 11 seasons.
If there is another area where Penn State excelled, it’s free throws. Well over half of the Nittany Lions shot over 70 percent of their free throws last season.
Now, one area where Penn State could use more consistency is its shooting. They only had four players who averaged double-digit points last season, one of them being Harrar.
Penn State brings plenty of experience to the table. If there is anyone to step up, it’s the veteran guard [autotag]Myles Dread[/autotag], who averaged just 6.2 points per game. That was Penn State’s fifth-leading scorer. Fifth. That isn’t ideal for a team that is filled with veteran experience.
In his first season, Shrews had a promising year at Penn State. He took them to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, the first time any first-year B1G head coach has done that since 2008.
Penn State lost some key talent in Harrar and Sessoms. But, with their veteran experience still present, they are poised to pick up right where they left off from last season.
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