Penn State hires men’s basketball coach as five players reportedly enter transfer portal
Multiple reports say Jamari Wheeler, Izaiah Brockington, Myreon Jones and John Harrar, have put their names into the portal.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/Q6E6GLDZMJFENHVSORE7QM7RTI.jpg)
Penn State has hired Micah Shrewsberry, the associate head coach at Purdue, as its new men’s basketball coach amid questions centering on the number of holdover players who intend to return to the Nittany Lions next season.
Shrewsberry, 44, spent the last two seasons at Purdue and the six seasons before that as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics under Brad Stevens. He also served with Stevens at Butler for one season as coordinator of basketball operations and three seasons as an assistant.
» READ MORE: How to watch this year’s NCAA Tournament on TV and online streaming
Shrewsberry, whose hiring was announced Monday night, will remain with the Boilermakers through the NCAA Tournament.
According to several reports Tuesday, four Penn State starters — seniors Jamari Wheeler and John Harrar, and juniors Izaiah Brockington and Myreon Jones — plus backup senior forward Trent Buttrick, all have entered the NCAA transfer portal. Harrar and Jones were named honorable mention All-Big Ten this season, and Wheeler made the all-defensive team.
The Lions finished 11-14 under interim head coach Jim Ferry, who took over following the Oct. 21 resignation of Patrick Chambers after nine seasons with the Lions. Chambers’ move came after an internal investigation by the university’s athletic department into allegations centering on a racially insensitive remark against guard Rasir Bolton.
» READ MORE: How Drexel’s Camren Wynter bet on himself and came out a winner
The comment, made during the 2018-19 season, came to light in an article last spring in The Undefeated. Bolton was struggling and Chambers was said to have talked about “loosening a noose” around Bolton’s neck, an apparent reference to relieving the pressure the player was feeling, according to the story.
Bolton transferred to Iowa State after the season ended.
Wheeler and Brockington both supported Chambers at the team’s preseason media day in November, with each saying he was shocked by the decision. Brockington, a graduate of Archbishop Ryan High School, said the players wanted “to play this season out for Coach and for each other.”
Because of the pandemic, the NCAA said the 2020-21 season did not count against a player’s eligibility.