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First Impressions: Player development key for Shrewsberry at Penn State

Penn State Nittany Lions basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry does not intend to take a one-size-fits-all approach to developing his talent in Happy Valley.

Player development will be heavily emphasized within Shrewsberry's program, he explained. And his mixture of NBA and collegiate experience positions him uniquely to set his players up for success in college and down the road.

"I have some ideas of what it takes for these guys to reach the next level," Shrewsberry said Tuesday. "I've seen it. I've been there. I've seen the best. I've also seen guys in college get to that point.

"It's here's how you can make it. Here's where I'm going to help you make it. But you've got to buy into the team. There's a lot of stuff that you can do, but we can help your game as you grow and get better...I'm going to do everything I can to help you reach your goals."

Penn State Nittany Lions coach Micah Shrewsberry took charge of the program's fifth official practice of the fall Tuesday.
Penn State Nittany Lions coach Micah Shrewsberry took charge of the program's fifth official practice of the fall Tuesday.
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Shrewsberry and the Penn State basketball program opened the door for the media to observe the opening 45 minutes of practice on Tuesday for the first time since the pandemic.

The new Nittany Lion head coach is laid back in public, but his intensity on the court is obvious — and the tone of the practice followed suit.

The communication was almost constant, and when it wasn't, that was quickly corrected by a member of the coaching staff or a veteran player.

The media observed passing drills, a drill designed to work on defending screens, as well as the beginning of some three-on-three half-court action.

New transfer additions like forward Greg Lee and guard Jalen Pickett appeared sharp. Those are both veteran players who the Nittany Lions will depend on this season.

"He can really pass the ball," Shrewsberry said of Pickett. "His vision as a playmaker is something that stood out to me when I was trying to recruit him...The thing that surprised me is how well he shoots it. He makes really tough shots."

Facilitating the transition to Big Ten basketball for those players is key. None of the five scholarship transfers Penn State added this season comes from a power conference program.

Extracting production from those new additions — as well as the players recruited by the previous staff — will be an interesting early case study in Shrewsberry's player development approach.

"These guys worked in small groups, usually groups of two, for 40-minute segments this summer," Shrewsberry said. "It's kind of personalized plans for what they need to do to get better. Sometimes you were with a guy who was similar to you, but as we move into the future of our program, it's one-on-one.

"You and I are out there. It's me and you. We have a plan. We have a couple managers that can help us rebound, but we work on the things that are specific to you getting better. That's important."

That's a concept that Shrewsberry is pitching to recruits as well. Top-150 forward Kebba Njie, for example, listed those detailed plans as the main factor in his decision to come to Penn State.

"Something that stood out to me on the visit was their individual workout plans, and how they can translate it into the game," Njie said. "The coaches, they did a really good job of demonstrating that to me. They showed me other players who they think that I could be like, and I think that really influenced me to make my decision a lot. That was a major key part of my decision, the individual part of it. I know that once you get to college, there's a lot of team stuff that you do with everyone, but I want to see us working out one-on-one."

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