Time for Penn State to Make Basketball a Priority

Sure, coach Micah Shrewsberry deserves an extension. But Penn State must do much more.

Updated on March 20

Two months ago at the Palestra, Purdue coach Matt Painter briefly turned into Micah Shrewsberry's agent. Painter twice hired Shrewsberry at Purdue, glowingly recommended him to Penn State in 2021 and, in that moment in Philadelphia, helped Shrewsberry look for his next job.

"If I was taking over as an [athletic director] somewhere, that would be my one phone call," Painter said.

Before another athletic director follows Painter's advice, Penn State's Patrick Kraft needs to interrupt, and his offer should be robust — not just with a contract extension to Shrewsberry but with a serious financial commitment to Penn State basketball. This is the time.

Shrewsberry is guiding Penn State to one of its most memorable basketball seasons in two decades, which include the program's first Big Ten Tournament final and NCAA Tournament appearances since 2011. He's doing it in his second year with a roster blended from Penn State's chaos of 2020, a phenomenal transfer-portal hit rate (including Jalen Pickett, Andrew Funk and Camren Wynter) and consecutive top-30 recruiting classes.

Shrewsberry waded through frustration, dry spells and a forgettable four-game losing streak this season to bring Penn State here. The 10th-seeded Lions will face No. 7 Texas A&M in Thursday's Midwest Region first round. And fittingly, the Lions tormented Purdue and Painter on Sunday for the Big Ten Tournament championship. Painter wouldn't have expected anything else.

In January, Penn State played Purdue at the Palestra in Philadelphia, a game that the Lions led by six at halftime against the nation's top-ranked team. Purdue ultimately wore down Penn State inside (Zach Edey had 30 points and 13 rebounds), but Painter left by giving Shrewsberry one heck of a reference.

"He's been fabulous," Painter said of Shrewsberry, who was his assistant head coach from 2019-21. "... His best recruiting job was probably getting a couple of those guys to stay two years ago. So now in Year 2, he's got people who understand what you're saying and what you're doing.

"We definitely learned more from Micah than he learned from us, I'll tell you that."

RELATED: 'You can win in basketball,' Penn State's athletic director says

Painter evidently isn't Shrewsberry's only fan. Multiple reports have linked the Penn State coach to open jobs elsewhere, including Georgetown and Notre Dame. Georgetown hired Ed Cooley from Providence, while Notre Dame reportedly had contact with Shrewsberry, according to Pennlive's David Jones.

Am told by reliable source, Micah Shrewsberry now in talks with Notre Dame. I believe Penn State made its pitch. Whatever is going to happen, stay or go, will happen soon.

— David Jones (@djoneshoop) March 20, 2023

Good. Penn State finally has an in-demand men's basketball coach, an enormous moment for a program making just its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance since 1965. Penn State should revel in it, nurture it and capitalize on it.

First, the extension. Penn State doesn't release contract terms regarding basketball coaches. But according to the athletic department's most recent financial filing, Shrewsberry and his staff made a combined $3.3 million (including benefits) during the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Yet according to USA Today's salary database, the nation's top 25 coaches all made that by themselves. Northwestern's Chris Collins, whose team the Lions beat in the Big Ten quarterfinals, made nearly $3.3 million.

But this investment represents far more than just an extension and raise for Shrewsberry. He needs the kinds of resource upgrades Penn State football coach James Franklin has championed for nearly a decade: a bigger staff salary pool, better dedicated basketball facilities and an NIL program that doesn't rank last in the Big Ten (as Shrewsberry told Blue White Illustrated's Nate Bauer in December).

Penn State long has viewed its basketball program as primarily a dependable revenue stream, one that doesn't expect to fill a rented building in central Pennsylvania with McDonald's All-Americans and 15,000 fans. That perception will be difficult to change.

Still, the athletic department has made an effort. According to its financial reports, Penn State spent $8.2 million on the men's basketball program in fiscal year 2021-22, Shrewsberry's first season at Penn State. The previous four years, Penn State averaged a little more than $7.2 million per year. 

It's a start, but Kraft pointedly made clear in December that he wants to do more. Much more.

"Yep, absolutely, I'm committed to keeping him," Kraft said. "Micah is a great coach. ... Now, here's what I will tell you, and I've said it before. It's not just about paying the coach. The great coaches know that.It's about keeping the staff, being able to hire staff if you lose staff, which is part of the process.

"It's also about putting the infrastructure behind them to be successful. Where can I recruit? How do I recruit? How do I feed my athletes? How do I keep my athletes healthy? That infrastructure, which I think has lacked for a lot of our sports, is where I think we have to invest in now."

Before the NCAA Tournament began, Shrewsberry was asked (for the second time in a week) about being linked to other jobs. He answered in the only way possible in March.

"I tell the players all the time, this is your program, not mine. Absolutely not mine," Shrewsberry said. "Let's rally around it in that way. I'm happy that this group gets a chance to fire up all Penn Staters about basketball. I'm happy that this group gets a chance to bring everybody together, because I've talked to players that have played for all of them. They're all so excited about that.

"Let's keep that going. Let's be one family, let's keep rolling in one direction and let's keep going to tournaments every single year."

Penn State basketball has brightened the sky with occasional lightning strikes: 2001's Sweet 16 run, the 2011 season, a couple NIT titles and 2020's superb season that COVID canceled. But the heat always fizzled, and the program returned to its place in the athletic department as the dependable revenue source.

Tomorrow has arrived once again for Penn State basketball. The program must answer the call.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.