Penn State Basketball: 2021-22 season preview for Nittany Lions

Penn State is a school synonymous with football, not basketball. The program hasn’t even made the NCAA Tournament in a decade. There may finally be some momentum to turn it around, though.

For starters, there’s a new sheriff in town. Micah Shrewsberry takes over with a Big Ten pedigree after a couple of seasons on Matt Painter’s bench at Purdue; he also has several years of experience with the Boston Celtics. He struggled in two seasons at the NAIA level, but that was over 15 years ago and he’s a much better coach now, well prepared for the tough job ahead.

Penn State Basketball is also coming off of a promising offseason when the Nittany Lions landed some intriguing transfers. Sure, they lost three players to the portal too, but that’s the way it goes these days – it just means Shrewsberry can get his players into the system sooner.

Last season, Penn State went 11-14, 7-12 in Big Ten play. But a majority of the losses were decided in the single-digits, meaning the Nittany Lions managed to be competitive often, just a couple of missed shots from victory. It’s impressive when considered in the context of the scandal that resulted in Pat Chambers’ resignation at the beginning of the season.

Former assistant Jim Ferry did the best he could guiding the ship during last season’s turmoil. But the former interim coach is gone now and it’s time to turn the page in Happy Valley as Penn State looks to regain momentum from 2019-20’s promising campaign that was dashed by the pandemic.

Let’s take a look at the 2021-22 Nittany Lions, beginning with the potential starting lineup.