BREAKING: Micah Shrewsberry makes coaching decision
In his second season at Penn State, Micah Shrewsberry guided the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten Tournament finals appearance. And, with it, the program advanced to its first NCAA Tournament since 2011.
He will not be returning for an encore at Penn State, though. Multiple reporters Wednesday afternoon, including ESPN’s Pete Thamel, say Shrewsberry has reached an agreement to become Notre Dame men’s basketball’s next head coach.
Details of Shrewsberry’s agreement with the Fighting Irish are said to be for a 7-year deal, and are still being finalized according to the reports. He is taking over a Notre Dame program coming out of a stretch of difficult seasons in recent years. Though having reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 following the 2021-22 campaign, the Irish finished 10th-or-worse in the ACC in 2017-18, 18-19, and 20-21.
Again struggling during the 2022-23 season, the vacancy opened in January when Mike Brey, the head coach with 23 years of tenure at Notre Dame, announced his retirement following the campaign. The Irish finished with an 11-21 mark overall including a 3-17 record in the ACC, with a first-round exit in the conference tournament.
Micah Shrewsberry roller coaster
The news wraps a whiplash of activity for Shrewsberry following the Nittany Lions’ 71-66 loss to Texas in the Round of 32 on Saturday night in Des Moines, Iowa. Returning to State College, Pa., early Sunday morning, his name quickly gained steam as a target for the Irish.
Beginning with Ed Cooley’s move from Providence to Georgetown, the national college basketball coaching carousel cranked into gear on Monday. By late afternoon, Shrewsberry became a focal point, reportedly in early talks with Notre Dame, though the Nittany Lions hosted St. Francis (PA) transfer target center Josh Cohen in the afternoon.
Tuesday, reports continued to surface that Shrewsberry had emerged as “a primary candidate” to fill the Irish vacancy. By late afternoon, the process of choosing between Penn State and Notre Dame took hold, leading into Wednesday’s decision.
Building a sustainable Penn State winner
Asked following the loss to the Longhorns of the opportunity to build a sustainable winner at Penn State, Shrewsberry insisted the program wouldn’t be satisfied by its resurgence this season. Instead, motivated by its successes, the work that helped lift the Nittany Lions to their seventh .500-or-better mark in Big Ten play since joining the conference would need to continue.
“You want it to be sustainable. We’re not going to be satisfied with this. It’s not like, 10 years from now let’s go back to the tournament. No, we worked for it every single day,” Shrewsberry said. “There’s a lot that goes into it. You gotta have the right people, you gotta have the right mix of guys. And you gotta have the right work ethic, and then things can fall into place.
“That’s what we’re gearing up to do and that’s what we’re trying to do each and every year. These guys aren’t satisfied. The young guys aren’t satisfied with being here one time and setting a bunch of school records and everything else. We’re all competitors. You want to win.”
Shrewsberry’s next opportunity to do so will come at Notre Dame.
