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Penn State basketball is headed back to square one.
Already set to lose much of a senior-laden lineup, the Nittany Lions must now also replace the coach that led them to their best season in more than two decades.
Micah Shrewsberry is leaving Happy Valley to return to his home state of Indiana for the Notre Dame job. Though Notre Dame has not made any public announcements while finalizing a contract, Penn State confirmed that Shrewsberry was on his way out on Wednesday night.
”This afternoon, Penn State head men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry called to inform me that he was leaving the university to accept a position at another institution,” Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said through the school.
“We thank Micah for his contributions to the PSU community and wish him the very best. We are already moving forward in a search for a new head coach and will identify and appoint a tremendous coach, teacher and person, who will take us to unprecedented heights.”
Shrewsberry was reportedly deciding between the Fighting Irish and remaining at Penn State this week before making his choice late Wednesday afternoon. Word of his move was first reported simultaneously by ESPN and CBS.
CBS reported that Shrewsberry will be getting a seven-year deal worth “well more than $4 million per year.”
According to ESPN, Shrewsberry “turned down a lucrative long-term contract extension from Penn State, sources said, with the pull of going back home being a factor in his decision.”
Now Penn State and Kraft must hope that the recent surge under Shrewsberry translates to increased national interest in the job. It will be the first major hire for Kraft, who is finishing up his first year at the school.
The Lions were one of the country’s top stories in March, going from outside of the NCAA tournament bubble to a string of last-second victories that took them all the way to the Big Ten tournament title game and a No. 10 seed in the big dance.
Penn State then thrashed favored Texas A&M in the first round for the program’s first NCAA tournament win since 2001 before bowing out in a close loss to No. 2 seed Texas on Saturday. The Lions finished 23-14 in their second season under Shrewsberry.
Shrewsberry’s success at a program that has had little of it did not go unnoticed. Heading into the tournament, he was linked to openings at Notre Dame and Georgetown.
As such, he wasn’t making any promises when pressed earlier this month if he would be Penn State’s coach next season.
“It’s an ‘I don’t know’ question,” Shrewsberry said.
Whoever takes over the program will be operating with something of a blank slate. Leaving the program is a group that includes All-American Jalen Pickett, Myles Dread, Andrew Funk, Camren Wynter and Mikey Henn.
Another name was added to that list a few hours before Shrewsberry made his decision. Second-leading scorer Seth Lundy announced that he would turn pro instead of using the extra year of eligibility afforded by the NCAA because of the pandemic.
Penn State’s most recent signing class will certainly be affected as well. One of the Lions’ three 2023 recruits is Braeden Shrewsberry — Micah’s son — and another is Braeden’s former teammate, Logan Imes.
Though the Lions had a far better season than Notre Dame, which finished 11-21, there were indications during the year that Shrewsberry had serious concerns about Penn State’s commitment to basketball.
A major factor hurting the Lions has been a slow adaptation to the new landscape created by name, image and likeness rules. Shrewsberry publicly stated in December in an interview with Blue White Illustrated that Penn State basketball was dead last in the 14-team Big Ten in terms of NIL money, which has become a critical resource across the country.
Notre Dame, meanwhile, has been searching for a replacement for Mike Brey, who spent the last 23 season as coach of the Irish. He announced in January that this would be his last season in South Bend.
Shrewsberry grew up in Indianapolis and went to school at Division III Hanover College in Indiana.
He was the head coach at Indiana University South Bend, an NAIA school located in the same city as Notre Dame, from 2005-07.
He later worked as an assistant coach at Butler and Purdue, with a stint as an assistant with the Boston Celtics in between.
Among the replacement candidates Penn State will likely consider is Shrewsberry assistant Adam Fisher, who got loud endorsements on social media Wednesday night from Pickett, Funk and Wynter.
“Don’t overthink it,” Funk wrote on Twitter. “Adam Fisher is the man for the job.”