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Shrewsberry aware of challenge

Power-5 conferences seeking new leadership in football or basketball generally have two choices: A head coach at a mid-major program who has had success or a rising assistant from a bigger-name school. In Micah Shrewsberry, Penn State chose the latter. Shrewsberry has spent the last 13 years of his career at the highest level, serving as an assistant under Brad Stevens (Butler, Boston Celtics) and Matt Painter (Purdue). One of the biggest transitions for assistants ascending to head-coaching positions is they suddenly become not only the focal point but the leading spokesman. ...

Current Lady Marauders add to program’s rich history

HERSHEY — When legendary Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic coach Mark Moschella was considering stepping down after a long career of winning state championships and more than 600 wins with the Lady Marauders, he saw something special happening in his program. Moschella said it started with the 2020 senior class, sophomores at the time, and mentioned the names of Jamison Consiglio, Blaise Kilmartin and Giana Georgiana. He also saw the potential in a freshman class that included Teresa Haigh, Sophia Warner, Aurielle Brunner and Daniela Scipioni and decided to coach one more season. ...

Shrewsberry good hire for one tough job

Micah Shrewsberry looks like a great hire for Penn State. Can he succeed in turning the Nittany Lions into a consistent winner in the Big Ten? We’ll see. This is a tough, tough job. Penn State doesn’t have the tradition or resources to think that it will ever become a consistent threat in basketball. The school won’t pay the kind of money it would take to lure a big-name coach, something a lot of fans clamor for, so the choice had to either be an up-and-coming head coach or a proven assistant coach. Shrewsberry is the latter. He has a fantastic resume for an assistant ...

PSU vote to improve Lasch produces ‘crack’

Penn State football went 1-0 last week with the Board of Trustees’ decision to approve a $48.3 million upgrade to the Lasch Football Building. But while the 27-6 vote may appear to have been a three-touchdown victory, there was notable sideline disagreement that could linger and affect the Nittany Lions’ long-term picture. One of the nay votes came from Jay Paterno, Joe’s son who has been a board member since 2017. Paterno invoked his dad, saying, “My former boss used to say, ‘Football is here to serve the university, not the other way around.’’’ Let’s not kid ...

Two weeks to go for District 6 1A-4A seedings

Tonight would have originally marked the start of the District 6 playoffs, but thanks to a decision by the PIAA to shorten the PIAA tournament and allow only champions into the field, teams have two more weeks before the final rankings are set for Class 1A through 4A. With only champions advancing to the state playoffs, the playoff picture is a little less complicated, and unfortunately some very talented area teams will not make the PIAA field. Fortunately for those teams, as long as they have not already competed in 22 games, they can continue their regular seasons if they chose to ...

PSU shouldn’t dismiss a Ferry ride

Other than an occasional Twitter comment, I don’t cover Penn State basketball anymore, but I still watch it, and I think Sandy Barbour has an interesting situation on her hands. The Nittany Lions are 7-9 overall and 4-8 in the Big Ten entering Sunday’s game with Nebraska at the Bryce ...