Shrewsberry picks Irish over Penn State
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Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft confirmed on Wednesday that Micah Shrewsberry is leaving his position as men's basketball coach for Notre Dame.
"(Wednesday 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," Kraft wrote in a statement released Wednesday night. "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.
We are so proud of our amazingly talented student-athletes and all they accomplished this year and will in the future. We are also so appreciative of our student body and our passionate fans who support our basketball program."
Shrewsberry, in his second season at Penn State (23-14), led the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and a tournament victory for the first time since 2001.
The Nittany Lions beat Texas A&M and were eliminated by Texas in the second round.
Notre Dame has been searching for a replacement for Mike Brey, who spent the last 23 season as coach of the Fighting Irish. He announced in January that this would be his last season with Notre Dame. The Irish finished 11-21.
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.
ESPN first reported Notre Dame was close to a deal with Shrewsberry.
He decided Wednesday morning to accept the Irish's seven-year offer, sources told CBS Sports, and in the process left an enticing contract upgrade on the table from the Nittany Lions. Shrewsberry will also become the first Black head coach in Notre Dame men's basketball history.
Also on Wednesday, Penn State forward Caleb Dorsey became the second member of the Nittany Lions to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal since the season ended, Dorsey confirmed in a social media post Wednesday.
Dorsey, who was recruited by Patrick Chambers, spent three years with the program before moving on. Dorsey will have up to two years of eligibility remaining, if he utilizes his extra year of eligibility from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier Wednesday, classmate Dallion Johnson entered the transfer portal, and senior Seth Lundy announced he was foregoing his final season of eligibility to enter the 2023 NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-7, 235-pound Dorsey averaged 2.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game over 16 games (nine starts) in 2022-23. He opened the season as a starter at forward for Penn State before moving to a reserve role.
Lundy declared for the 2023 NBA Draft in a social media post Wednesday.
"My time at Penn State has been nothing short of a blessing," Lundy wrote. "I've cherished every moment and will always call this place home.
"With that said, I will be foregoing my extra year of eligibility and entering the my name in the 2023 NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Lundy averaged 14.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 45% from the floor and 40 percent from three-point range. He scored at least 20 points five times, including a season-high 25 points against Indiana on Jan. 11, and he was in double figures in 31 of 36 games. Lundy was an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection, and he made the Big Ten All-Tournament Team.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Johnson appeared in 23 games for Penn State in 2022-23 and averaged 2.0 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 8.7 minutes per game. Johnson scored a season-high eight points against Loyola (Md.) in the second game of the season. He was also recruited to Penn State by Chambers.
Johnson's Penn State career ends after three seasons. He averaged 2.6 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 10.6 minutes per game over 60 career games (14 starts).
After playing only 14 minutes over eight games as a true freshman in 2020-21, Johnson moved into a more prominent role as a sophomore last season. He appeared in 29 games (14 starts) and averaged 3.7 points and 1.2 rebounds per game while shooting 36.5 percent from three-point range.
Notre Dame is expected to officially introduce the 46-year-old Shrewsberry next week. It reportedly vetted in one way or another 75 different coaches -- both head coaches and assistants, in college and professional basketball -- before targeting Shrewberry.
Shrewsberry recently was quoted as saying, "nobody wanted me a few years ago." That wasn't entirely true. He was considered one of the hot, young assistants in the game for years. Even when he went off to the NBA with one of his mentors, Brad Stevens, Shrewsberry seemed destined to return to be a head coach in college.
This month, it seemed everybody wanted him. A coaching vacancy opened, and it likely had Shrewsberry's name next to it. Notre Dame. Georgetown. Providence. Texas Tech There would've been others this spring for the 1999 graduate of Hanover College.